Dimer Chop - A deviled yummy time snack

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Bengali cuisine needs no introduction as it offers a delectable range of delightful appetizers. One of such classic street food appetizers is  Dimer Devil / Dimer Chop . As the Bengali's are already gearing up to celebrate their favourite festival that is ‘ Durga Puja ’ this recipe could savour to one's heart content. I still remember while doing the  pandal hopping  with friends in our final year of graduation we were all tantalized when the food stall owner said he/she was selling dimer devil. Now, because it's called the Egg Devil, you don't think this dish is filled with demons, or you can only have it if you're devil full. It's nothing like that if we consider the root of Egg Devil to be one of the legends claimed to have originated from a European dish called Scotch Eggs. Another hypothesis suggests that this is influenced by the Mughal delicacy of Nargisi Kofta. While readily available in the street food stalls, cafes and cabins of Kolkata, the dish under...
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Melt-in-mouth spongy Gulab Jamun

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Gulab Jamun is one of India’s most beloved sweets. Gulab Jamuns are soft, spongy deep-fried doughnut-like balls, soaked in delicately flavoured sugar syrup. This traditional dessert is the centre of attraction in every festival and occasion in India. It is not just loved in India but also overseas, especially in countries like Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mauritius, etc. 

If you’re a sweet lover from any part of the world, then you have come to the right place!! You will love to know that; you can make India's favourite sweet from the comfort of your home and relish the savoury Indian delicacy with family and friends on any special occasion.

History reveals some interesting facts and theories about the origins of this sweet. One of the believed theory is that the sweet originated somewhere in the medieval period. The delicacy was very much similar to an Arabic dessert named Luqmat-Al-Qadi, which was introduced to India with the invasion of Mughal emperors. Another theory suggests that the Gulab jamun was accidentally prepared by Shah Jahan’s royal chef. It had a fluffy lump of unleavened dough fried and are soaked in sugar syrup. 

 Tips: The three things that you need to take care while making of Gulab Jamun are

  1. Dough softness - To make Gulab Jamuns soft, the dough needs to be really soft. To achieve this, we need a little ghee/clarified butter during the kneading process. You have to also make sure that there are no cracks while making the balls otherwise, they will disintegrate when you add them to the sugar syrup.
  2. Oil temperature - The temperature of the oil needs to be kept at medium-low. If you fry the sweets in high flame, then the outer layer will cook faster leaving behind an uncooked centre.
  3. One string consistency - While preparing the sugar syrup you have to make sure that it has the right consistency. This can be checked by placing it between your thumb and index finger and when you pull them apart a single string is formed.


HOW TO PREPARE MAWA (KHOYA)?

To prepare mawa at home you have to follow the following steps:
Boil two-litre full cream milk (prefer buffalo milk) in a heavy-based pan or non-stick pan. Cook it over a low flame until it turns very thick and no liquid is left, for around 2½ hours. To prevent sticking it from pan continuously stir it. Approx. 200g - 225g will be prepared from two-litre milk.

Note: If you want to purchase mawa (khoya), you can buy it from any Indian stores (outside India) or from dairy stores (in India).

HOW TO MAKE GULAB JAMUN?

Making of sugar syrup
  1. Place a deep medium-sized saucepan on a gas stove. Set the heat at medium. Add sugar, water, cardamom powder (optional) and rose water/essence (optional) and bring the syrup to boil.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until one string consistency is achieved (see the tips above). Reduce the flame to simmer.
Preparing the dough
  1. Add milk powder, yoghurt, baking soda and ghee/clarified butter to a large bowl.
  2. Strain the all-purpose flour with the help of a strainer, add it to the same bowl and make a soft dough.
  3. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Make balls of your desired size while ensuring that the balls do not have any cracks.
Frying the Jamun balls
  1. Heat oil in a deep-dish pan on high flame.
  2. Reduce the flame to medium-low and add one gulab jamun to the oil and if it slowly rises to the surface, then your oil is ready. If the Gulab jamun rises too fast, then your oil is too hot, so reduce the heat before you proceed.
  3. Add 5-6 Gulab jamuns to the pan once you think the oil has achieved the right temperature.
  4. Continuously stir them using a slotted spatula till they achieve a consistent golden-brown colour.
  5.  Drain the Gulab Jamun balls on a paper towel.
Bring the sugar syrup to boil again add the gulab jamun balls and turn off the heat. Let it allow to absorb the syrup for 1.5 - 2 hours till it becomes doubled in size. Serve the Gulab Jamun hot or cold as per your preference. Best served hot.

Loved the recipe of Gulab Jamun? 

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