JALEBI RECIPE | DIWALI SWEET RECIPES

     I have tasted Jalebi only twice before I made this on my own last weekend. First time it was from Sri Krishna sweets,Vj bought me as I said I have never tasted before. And as it was my first time, I din’t like it that much and more over, some times, in some sweets, I don’t like too much of ghee smell. Especially in Sri Krishna sweets. The ghee smell just freaks me out. But the second time I was offered at a friend’s place and it was just awesome without any over dose of the ghee smell. So I loved it. But I never got chance to go to sweet shop and buy Jalebi for myself. Thanks to the busy schedule when we go to India and my weight.
      I took this recipe from Aipi’s USmasala blog, hers look so so perfect that I bookmarked right away when she posted. Though I could not do 100% justice to her jalebi looks, I am totally impressed with the taste. Its was so crisp, sweet and yummy. Firstly I made thick jalebis, but vj asked me to do it thin as he likes that way,so I did it very thin. He loved it very much.

Jalebi recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Sweets
Prep Time: Overnight fermentation    |  Cook time: 40 mins    |  Makes: 15

Ingredients

Maida/All purpose flour	1 cup
Corn Flour	2 tblsp
Thick Curd	3/4 cup(approximately)
Cooking soda	1 pinch
Ghee	2 tblsp
Yellow food colour	1/2 pinch
Oil + ghee	for deep frying

For Sugar syrup

Sugar	1 cup
Water	1 cup
Lemon juice	1 tsp
Yellow food colour	1/4 pinch
Rose essence/elachi powder	Optional

Method

1. Mix maida,corn flour, cooking soda,ghee and yellow food colour in a bowl. Add curd and make a thick batter by adding more water... Consistency should be like vada batter. Keep it in a warm place for 12 hours/overnight or until it ferments well.Next day mix well with a ladle. It should be a sticky thick batter of dropping consistency.

2. In another stove, boil sugar with water,food colour, until one string consistency. Say 15 minutes in medium high flame. Then add lemon juice, essence/elachi,saffron and keep in lowest heat possible.
3. In a flat bottomed pan, heat oil+ ghee. Level should be very low as shown in the pic. Take a cloth with a smallest hole in the middle or a durable Ziploc bag with hole in the middle. Fill with the batter and draw circles in a medium heated oil. oil should never fume. Also  it should be enough to fry the jalebis porous and crisp. So adjust the heat accordingly. Make 3-4 circles per piece and end the circle by overlapping the tip when you end, otherwise the shape wont be good.

4. Fry on both sides till crisp and drain it and add immediately to the hot sugar syrup. Let it be dunked in the syrup for 2 minutes at least. After some time, drain it and arrange in a plate.

Notes

• The batter consistency is very important,it should be thick like vada batter. If its runny, then jalebi will become flat.
• Don’t add cooking soda too much.
• While cooking jalebi, keep flame medium to make it crisp.
• Fermentation is very important. If you doubt if the batter will ferment or no, you can add a tsp of dried yeast and ferment for less hours.
• If using ziploc, use a durable one(thick) as otherwise the bag will tear.
• Lemon juice prevents sugar from crystallizing. If  you want jalebis to be more on tangier side, add more lemon juice than mentioned.

Enjoy hot jalebi or store in containers after cooled down, stays crisp for 4-5 days too.

Technorati Tags: jalebi,jalebi recipes,jalebis,Indian sweet recipes,Diwali sweet recipes,jalebi recipe blog,step by step pictures of jalebi,how to make jalebi at home