HOMEMADE CRISPY JALEBI RECIPE

This Crispy Homemade Jalebi Recipe is yet again a popular Indian sweet. This spiral-shaped Indian sweet is crispy, delicious, and filled with sugar syrup. They are made by frying the flour batter and then dipping these fried spirals into the sugar syrup.

Just like Gulab Jamun, Jalebi finds its place in weddings and special occasions. They are one of the main items to be served in Indian sweet shops. These jalebis are one of the popular Indian sweet, and it is loved by many. I have never seen anyone who doesn't like this sweet treat. Also, it is one of my favorites, especially when served with rabdi.

As Diwali is just around the corner, so I thought of making these at home. Diwali is a great time to make all homemade snacks and sweets to entertain the guests. My mom always made her special Dahi Bhalla at home during Diwali, along with samosas and other fried snacks.

Many people in North India sometimes prefer eating Jalebi with Rabdi for breakfast. Being a sweet still, it's a popular breakfast among many. Whenever I eat Jalebi or even hear its name, I just visualize the ad we used to watch when growing up. It's a 90s ad, watched by every age group, and it is still quite popular. A kid got angry with his parents, and he left the house. Then his grandfather finds him at the railway station and tells him that his mom is making Jalebi at home. So when he hears about Jalebi, the expression on that kid's face is priceless. That is the emotion every Indian feels for this special spiral-shaped Indian sweet.

INGREDIENTS

1. FLOUR: For making store-bought jalebi I have used all purpose flour and gram flour (besan) for the recipe. The mix of these two flours provide the best texture. Though to make these jalebis gluten-free, you can use almond flour or oats flour in the recipe along with gram flour/ chickpeas flour.
2. YOGURT: Adding yogurt along with baking powder helps in the fermentation process. Also, helps in making the jalebis soft yet maintaing the crispiness from the outside.
3. WATER: Water is needed to make the batter smooth. The batter should not be thick or too thin. It should be of flowing consistency but still on the thicker side.
4. COLOR: You can use natural food color like turmeric powder for the yellow color. Jalebis are yellow color Indian sweet. So to bring that color, you can add natural color or artificial color that are easily available in the stores.
5. FLAVORINGS: Along with these ingredients, you can also use some extra flavoring. I have used saffron, cardamom powder, rose water, and lemon juice to make the syrup.
6. SUGAR: Sugar is the main ingredients for making the sugar syrup. Sugar syrup needs to be of string like consistency. So to achieve that, sugar works really well as compared other other sweetener like honey, maple syrup, etc.

PREPARATION

For Making the Batter

Add all the dry ingredients in a bowl, including all-purpose flour, gram flour, cardamom powder, color (natural/artificial), baking soda, and baking powder. Mix lightly and then add yogurt and mix it again. If needed, add water (½ cup-¾ cup) for a flowing consistency. The batter should not be too thick or too thin.

Then cover the bowl with a lid or plate and leave it at a warm place for 12-24 hours to ferment. Time varies depending on the temperature. For me, the weather is too cold right now, so it took close to 24 hours to ferment the batter.

The batter will not double in size that we usually see when fermenting. But instead, the batter will be bubbly; you will see some bubbles on the top of the batter. That means the batter is ready, and the next step is to make the sugar syrup.

For Making the Sugar Syrup

Add sugar to the pot at medium heat. Mix water and let it come to a boil. Once it boils, add cardamom powder, saffron, lemon juice, and rose water.

Continue boiling/ simmering until it reaches string-like consistency. Test it by placing a drop of syrup between your index finger and thumb. So when you move your index finger and thumb away, the syrup drop will form a single thread. If that happens, that means your sugar syrup is ready. Make sure that sugar syrup is warm when you add the jalebis later.

Frying

Once the batter is fermented and ready, pour the batter in the squeeze bottle or Ziploc bags. Add oil to the frying pan at low heat.

Make sure that the tip of the squeeze bottle or Ziploc bag is not too big. Because otherwise, you'll end up with thick jalebis. Thick jalebis sometimes don't turn to crispy.

You can use a combination of oil and ghee for frying the Jalebi. When the oil is hot, using a squeeze bottle or Ziploc bags, shape the batter into spiral-shaped by moving it in circles.

Once you shape it into spiral-shaped, let the jalebis fry at medium-low until both sides are crispy. Remove the jalebis from the frying pan and place them in the warm sugar syrup. Dip the Jalebi for a few seconds on both sides, and then place the Jalebi on the serving plate.

Garnish with some chopped pistachios, saffron strands, and dried rose leaves, and enjoy!

TIPS TO REMEMBER

1. When you make the batter for the jalebi recipe, make sure the batter is neither too thick nor too thin. It should be of flowing consistency.
2. Boil the sugar and water solution until you get string-like consistency. Once that is reached, then that means your sugar syrup is ready.
3. Fermentation of batter usually takes from 12-24 hours. If you are living a cold place or weather is too cold, then batter might take upto 24 hours to ferment.
4. The batter will not double in size after fermenting. But instead batter will be bubbly.
5. First before making jalebis, make sure that oil is hot enough. Fry the jalebis at low heat, to make them crispy. Once you shape the jalebi in the oil then you can fry them at medium -low until golden brown.
6. Place the fried jalebis in the warm syrup for few seconds each side.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How to store Jalebi?

Store jalebi in an air-tight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. For an extended time, you can also store it in the freezer. Freeze jalebi in the freezer for 1-2 months. When reusing either microwave or heat at low temperature.

What to serve Jalebi with?

Jalebi pairs perfectly with rabdi, yogurt, or warm milk. Hot and crispy Jalebi when dipped in rabdi, that taste is just too delicious.

Can we make the Jalebi recipe without All Purpose flour/ Maida?

You can make these jalebis using any flour. Though tastes will also vary if you make Jalebi using any other flour. You can use wheat flour, almond flour, oats flour, cornflour, etc.

Variations

You can make Jalebi using two methods: The Instant Method & the Fermented Method. Instant Method: Make the batter by mixing all the ingredients in the bowl. Then without leaving the batter to ferment, make the jalebis. Fermented Batter: Make the batter by mixing all the ingredients in the bowl. Then ferment the batter for 12-24 hours. This will give a slight tanginess to the jalebis.

Comparing both the methods, the traditionally Fermented Method is used for making the Jalebis. Though if you're in a hurry, you can make Jalebi using Instant Method. Jalebi will turn crispy, but they will not have a tangy flavor to them.

Why is Jalebi recipe turn out soft or not crispy or soggy?

There might be a few reasons that Jalebi will not turn crispy:

1. Batter is either too thick or too thin. If the batter is too thick then the jalebi will not be cooked properly. And if the jalebi batter is thin, then the jalebi will sink at the bottom of the frying pan.
2. Second is the temperature. If the oil is really hot, then the jalebi will not turn crispy. So fry at low heat in order to make the texture crispy.
3. Try to make jalebi into thin sprial-shaped. If the shape is thick then it will take longer time to cook & you will not get the even crispy texture.

Can we make Jalebi recipe without Curd & Baking Powder?

Yes, you can make Jalebi without curd or baking powder. The batter itself will be fermented after 12-24 hours. Curd and Baking Powder is added to speed up the fermented process. You can also speed up the process by using Active Yeast in the recipe.

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