Kala Jamun / Kalo Jaam

Homemade Mawa / Dried Milk Mawa - 4 cups
Milk - optional (required only if using dried milk mawa)
Maida / APF - 1/2 cup
Baking Soda - 1 big pinch
Sugar - 2 tsp
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 tsp

For Sugar Syrup:
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2/3rd cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp

Oil for deep frying the kala jamuns

For making sugar syrup, add the sugar to the water and bring it to boil. As soon as the syrup reaches 1 thread consistency, remove from add. Add the cardamom powder, mix well and keep aside.

The ratio to mawa and maida is 8:1. If using dried milk mawa, add baking soda to the maida and mix well. Then add this to the dried milk mawa. Sprinkle milk and knead with gentle hands to make a soft dough. Cover the dough with a wet cloth for a few minutes. (If using homemade mawa, keep the mawa in the refrigerator for a few hours to remove excess wetness. Crumble to mawa to a fine mixture. Mix baking soda to the maida. Add this to the mawa and mix well to form a smooth dough).

Take about 3 tbsp of dough and mix it with sugar. Make tiny balls of this dough and keep aside.

Remove the wet cloth and knead the dough slightly. Apply a little ghee to your palms.Take 2 tsp of the dough, stuff with the sugar mixture and make a small smooth ball. Make balls of the entire mixture similarly.

Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai / wok. The oil should be on medium heat and not too high. Add a few of the jamuns and fry on slow fire till they become very dark brown almost black on all sides. The jamuns should be fried on low heat otherwise the outside would get black and burnt and inside would not cook. They should get caramelised on slow heat.

When the jamuns are almost black, remove them from heat, place in a paper towel for a minute and soak in the thick sugar syrup. Similarly fry the rest of the balls in batches.

Soak the jamuns for a few hours or preferably overnight. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed.