Peanut Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun is an all time favorite of every Indian. In North India, its a must on festivals like Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and also on wedding ceremonies. No big event is completed without it. Here in UK, although we get Haldiram's packaged gulab jamuns a lot. But those cant be compared with the usual fresh gulab jamun available in Delhi every nook and corner. Those fried balls when are dipped in the thick sugar syrup.. mmmm... its soo tempting.

Its not difficult to prepare plain gulab jamuns. Will post that recipe soon once I ll prepare them at home. But this time, I was surfing through fellow bloggers posts for deciding something for Blog Hop Wednesday event started by Radhika . This recipe, found it very unique and mouth watering. Gulab Jamuns made of peanuts...  This was one thing I picked to try from Priya's Lovely blog for our Blog Hopping Week 1. First I made them as mentioned by Priya for a Barbecue party we had last weekend. They were good, but since my food processor is not working and I had to blend them using a blender, the peanuts remained a little course and hence tasted a bit raw. So, next day with the remaining batter I did a little variation of my own and it was perfect then ..

Ingredients :
1. 1 cup peanuts, roasted and skinned
2. 1/4 cup All purpose flour
3.  A pinch of baking soda
4. 1 ripe banana
5. Oil for frying
6. 1/2 cup sugar for Syrup
7. A pinch of saffron, soaked in 1 tsp water
8. 3-4 cardamoms
9. 2 cups water

Method:
1. Soak the roasted peanuts for 1 hour. Grind them v fine with the chutney jar of your food processor.
2. Add banana and pulse again till its completely mixed .
3. Pour in a bowl. Add flour and soda and mix well. Keep aside for  20-25 min. Roll spheres of it.
4. Meanwhile, boil the sugar in water and get to 1 string  consistency. Add cardamom and saffron and let it cool at room temperature.
5. Heat oil in wok, fry the gulab jamuns on a low flame else they will be raw from inside. Keep flipping them sideways to avoid burning.
6. Let the jamuns cool down. Dip them in sugar syrup and let them rest for 15 min before serving.
7. Enjoy them warm.

Notes:
1. Process of frying is very imp here, you have to heat the oil at high temp and then cool it down a little bit. Start with pouring a drop of batter first and then try with one gulab jamun first. If it comes out light brown and pinkish from inside ( you have to break it after 2 min and see inside . if its still white, its raw. ) then its done.
2. You can increase the sugar content. I kept it mildly sweet for my buds. :)

First week Entry to the Blog Hop Wednesday started by Radhika :

Also sent it to Book marked recipes Tuesday by Aipi of US Masala :

Also to the event '' From fasting to feasting''