Ingredients -
For Jalebi batter:
- 3 cups – Roop Laxmi Maida
- 2 cups – Yogurt/Curd (Dahi)
- ½ cup – Ghee
- ½ cup – Corn Flour
- 1 pinch – Baking Soda
- 4 drops – Rose Essence
- ½ tsp – Food Color (optional)
- 2 cup – Water (as required)
For sugar syrup:
- 3 cups – Sugar
- 1 ½ cups – Water
- ¼ tsp Saffron strands (Kesar) (optional)
- ½ tsp Cardamom (Elachi) Powder
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
Other ingredients:
- Oil/Ghee for deep frying
Cooking Directions -
Step 1 - Making Jalebi Batter
In a mixing bowl, mix Maida, corn flour, curd. Use water as required & prepare thick Dosa like batter. Now add baking soda and give a gentle mix. Cover & keep it in warm place to ferment for 2-3 hours. Now pour this batter in the empty tomato ketchup bottles carefully.
Step 2 - Making Syrup
Add sugar, saffron strands, cardamom powder and water in a deep container and heat it over medium flame. Cook until the syrup reaches to 1-string consistency. When it reaches to 1-string consistency, add lemon juice. Mix well. Turn off the flame. Syrup is ready. [When you start making jalebis, heat the sugar syrup over low flame to keep it warm when the jalebis are dipped in it in next step.
Step 3 - Making Jalebi
Heat ghee/oil in a wide mouthed flat pan over medium flame to deep fry the jalebis. When oil is ready, make round jalebis by squeezing the bottle (or Ziplock bag) and moving it in a circular direction starting from the center towards the outside (or start from outside and move towards the center).
Make 2-3 spirals of batter (or more or less depending on the size of a pan). If the jalebi doesn’t have perfect shape, don’t worry, as it requires some practice to make the perfect round shape. Its shape doesn’t affect its taste and texture.
Flip 2-3 times (or as needed) using a tong to deep fry them evenly. Deep fry them until light golden and crispy. Remove it from the oil using a tong and immediately put it into the warm sugar syrup. Syrup should we warm or little hot, it shouldn’t be cold. Keep it in syrup for approx. 2-minutes; flip it once after a minute. Remove it from the syrup using a fork and transfer it to a plate. Jalebi is now ready for serving.
Tips:
If the batter is too thick, jalebi will turn soft and if it is watery, jalebi will turn flat and crispy. Lemon juice is added while making syrup to prevent sugar syrup from solidifying. It doesn’t affect the taste of syrup. Add few teaspoons of Maida and mix the batter well if the batter turns watery after fermentation.
