Gulabjam

After watching 'Gulabjam' a Marathi film on a man chef [ A rare concept in Marathi middle class milieu], or who wants to be one, one of my friends commented,'Less Milk solids, [Khawa], more flour, [Maida]'. Very aptly put. Though it's now running in its 4th or 5th week, damn a good show for a Marathi movie, I too had found it insipid. It does have all the ingredients to make a good film but somewhere along the line, it has missed the bull's eye. It does not have that 'Zing!'

But let me assure you that to make real 'Gulabjam'; too is equally arduous. Ask me.

I do like to dabble in the kitchen, as it's like a catharsis, as well as it's extremely creative, but it was never my dream to be a chef like, how they say in Master Chef. I have come a long way from.' I can't or He can not, make even a good cup of tea' Which I can not because I am a coffee person!

Today after experimenting for the nth time I may be in a position to say, I can dole out 'Gulabjams' those are mostly edible.

I started with Khawa, made especially for Gulabjams, that came from Pune. Pune is famous for it and gets it from nearby rural areas made by the local farmers. Though I could not differentiate it from the usual one! I had a vague idea about, how to go about, but to make the en-devour really successful, I referred the cookbooks and after referring the cookbooks I got more confused! There were one thousand and one recipes alone, under the subject. Some used Paneer, some did not, some used baking soda, while some, baking powder, [what's the difference ?]. Proportions of the ingredients to be added to Khawa, too changed drastically, from negligible to practically more than 50%. I decided to use my instincts and went ahead.

All-purpose flour I concluded must be as a binder, so has to be used meagerly, while semolina gives the Gulabjam that luscious grainy consistency, so has to be little liberal. Yes, at this juncture I have to tell you that I don't go by absolute measures. It's too mechanical, food has to have 'Life' in it! I decided to put a pinch of baking powder. Kneaded soft semi creamy dough with milk. And the crux of the matter! Let it be little flowy, this consistency makes Gulabjam absolutely spongy but, big big but, if it's too flowy the batter will spread in the oil so, make the balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so before you fry them in oil on low medium heat, which too is most important because they should turn golden gradually on low flame otherwise the crust is black and the core remains uncooked. Syrup too throws tantrums if not made properly. If too much of water, Gulabjams taste lacklustre and too thick a syrup does not sip in and you end up with hard balls!

Though my first attempt was victorious subsequent attempts bombed miserably. And my pride came crashing down. I felt I won't be able to make them so perfectly again. The second attempt was not less than a horror film. Khawa by that time, had gone stale. And I used baking soda in place of powder. As soon as the balls were in the oil, they refused to stay together and spread all over the wok! I was flabbergasted. Did not know what to do. To reduce the percentage of soda I added more flour and the effect at the outset looked acceptable. Balls floated well in oil, did not break but once in the syrup, they refused to budge. Even after soaking them for hours, syrup simply could not penetrate and they became tough nuts to crack! Could not dare to offer them to anybody, stealthily I finished them off over the days, maybe weeks!

Tried using milk powder in place of Khawa. To get good Khawa in our part of Mumbai is like getting a blue rose ! The recipe was good, edible, tasted good but the milk powder did not give up its characteristic flavour. So it was not the real thing!  Then I came upon a novel way to make Khawa at home. Of course, the source was network! Mix milk powder, full cream, milk and clarified butter in a pan and boil it, stirring all the time, till it solidifies into creamy Khawa. I assure you it tastes equally good.

The rest was as usual.

If Khawa is 5 parts, add two parts of semolina, one part of all-purpose flour, a pinch [ about 5 gms], not more than that at all, of baking soda, as the baking powder has a shelf life and after a time it loses it verve and most important, a teaspoonful of lemon juice! The reaction between the acid of the lemon and bicarb soda releases carbon dioxide and that makes your Gulabjam most fluffy and spongy! As said before resting in the fridge for 30 minutes or so make Gulabjam perfect. Try them I now have mastered the art! Come any time home, I am in need of guinea pigs !!!