Gulab Jaman

In Pakistan most of the people have a sweet tooth. Eating a sweet or sweet dish after every meal is a custom. Gulab jaman is amongst the most famous sweets of all. Originally it is a Bengali sweet but famous across South Asia and probably in the whole world for its only one of its kind texture and flavor.

Gulab jaman is a dessert which is made of a dough consisting mainly of milk solids (often including double cream and flour) in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom seeds and rosewater or saffron. Soft, juicy and normally served hot. The value added varieties of it are also striking the market like center filled with dry fruits.

The term gulab jamun comes from Persian, gulab, “rosewater” referring to the rosewater-scented syrup, and Panjabi jamman, m., “Syzygium jambolanum“, a South Asian fruit with a similar size and shape.

A similar Arabic dessert is luqmat al-qadi (Arabic for judge’s bread). Like the South Asian gulab jamun, rosewater syrup is often used; however saffron syrup and honey are also common. The Greek Loukoumades is also similar, differing primarily in the spices.

Gulab Jamun gets its brownish red color because of the sugar content in the milk powder or khoya. In other types of gulab jamun, sugar is added in the dough, and after frying, the sugar caramelization gives it its dark, almost black colour, which is then called kala jamun, “black jamun”.

It is most often eaten as a dessert, and usually eaten at festivals or major celebrations, such as marriages, celebrations of Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha. There are various types of Gulabjamun and every flavour has its own taste.