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Ingredients
Jarnail Singh's expertise in Indian sweets stems from the culinary traditions of his family's sweet shop, Sagar Sweets, in India. Jarnail volunteers at the community kitchen (langar) at Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar, the Sikh place of worship in Dublin. Each year, Jarnail prepares hundreds of Jalebi for the Vaisakhi celebrations, sharing this festive treat with the community!
Jalebi
Serves: makes enough for 10 people
Time: 40 minutes (plus overnight fermenting )
For the dough
- 500g of plain flour, or chickpea flour
- 450-500 ml cold water (enough to make a smooth, thick batter)
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda.
- ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder (optional, for colour)
- 1-1.5litres ghee or oil for deep frying (enough to half- fill a deep pan)
For the sugar syrup
- 1kg caster sugar
- 450ml boiled water
- 1 tbsp rose water
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- Pinch of saffron (optional, for colour)
Method
- In a large bowl stir the dry flour and baking soda,
- Mix in the water and stir until you have a thick, liquid paste.
- Cover and leave overnight (12-24 hours) at just a little warmer than room temperature, allowing it to ferment.
- Half an hour before you're ready to cook, add a quarter teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and the turmeric powder, if using, and stir it well.
- Make the sugar syrup by adding sugar and water to a pan and simmer until it becomes sticky and syrupy, keep warm while you make the jalebis.
- Fill a wide, sturdy pan halfway with oil or ghee and heat to 180C. If you don’t have a thermometer, test the oil with a cube of bread. It should brown in 30-40 seconds when the oil is at a moderate heat. Be careful not to overheat, if it starts to smoke, turn off the heat immediately and cover with a heavy lid or baking tray.
- Transfer the jalebi batter into a piping bag with a thin nozzle or a squeezy condiment bottle.
- Squeeze the batter in a spiral motion from inside to outside.
- Once you have made the spiral shapes, increase the heat to 190C and fry until crisp on both sides.
- Remove the jalebi from the oil and immediately dip in the warm sugar syrup for around 10 seconds, turning once.
- Serve immediately.
