Friday 12 February 2016

KALAJAMUN / KALOJAM


I was thinking of preparing a sweet that is hassle free, related to my origin, Bengal / Kolkata, yet people elsewhere can identify with it. This is Kalajamun or Kalojam which belongs to the Gulabjamun family. Though not as popular as gulabjamun, I love it very much because of my love for fried sweets. I remember mom used to scold me for this. In our home, the preferred sweet option had always been Rasgulla / Roshogolla. Roshogolla was considered a healthier choice. My choice differed. I loved kalajamun, gulabjamun.jalebi, chanar jilipi. Sweet old memories.

It may be after relocating to this island, that I started enjoying roshogolla like my parents & brother! Our son had been eating roshogolla since his rice feeding ceremony. For few years, each day evening, two roshogollas were allowed for him! T not only loves roshogolla but is too particular about it's quality! T's family are sweet connoisseur and welcomed a variety of sweets in their home, but of good quality! Our parents only allowed roshogolla & few sandesh variety alone, the rest of the pithe, naru, moya were prepared by the mother! I craved for fried sweets, though I was not a sweet lover as such!

My reason for choosing this sweet is that I loved it a lot once upon a time. I thought let me give it a try and see how the home made ones taste. I think I have done justice, it came out just like the shop ones; it was a bit hard outside and soft and juicy inside. I came across some Bangladeshi sites and saw this sweet is very popular there too. I went through similar recipes of Rownak, Siddika Kabir, Khadija who are popular chefs from there. I opted for Khadija's way of doing it because I had all the ingredients at home that were required in the recipe. I have provided a stepwise picture for it. Let us do it.




INGREDIENTS :[for the balls]

Milk Powder : 1/3 coffee mug + 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Refined Flour : 1/4 coffee mug
Semolina : 1tbsp
Ghee[clarified butter] : 1tbsp
Baking Powder : 1/2tsp
Baking Soda : A pinch or two
Yellow Food Colour : A pinch or two
Cardamom Powder : 1/2tsp
Milk : 1/2small tea cup
Oil : 150-200 ml [for frying]

INGREDIENTS :[for the syrup]

Sugar : 1 small tea cup
Water : 1 1/2 coffee mug
Green Cardamom : 3-4

METHOD :

In a large bowl; take the milk powder, flour, semolina, baking powder & soda. Mix well.

Add the ghee to it and rub well for 2-3 minutes. A the green cardamom powder & mix well!

I prepared the milk adding 1tbsp milk to half a small cup of warm water, you can use cow milk! Add the yellow food colour to the milk, mix well! Add it little by little and knead well until it becomes a dough not too hard neither soft. It will look as below.









Let it stand for 5-6 minutes covered with a soft cloth. If it seems dry, add a little more of milk & knead again, then shape!

Pour the water, sugar in a heavy bottomed vessel. When it comes to boil, add the green cardamoms. Let it simmer till it gets  a light sticky consistency.

Simultaneously, we have to prepare small round balls from the dough and fry them at low heat until dark in colour. Cristine shaped them!

We would keep the fried balls onto a tissue paper for few minutes, before adding to the boiling sugar syrup! We would boil them for 3-4 minutes & switch off the gas stove, rest them for a while before taking out!










Take together a tbsp of milk powder & a tsp of ghee and mix together! Arrange the sweets in a serving bowl, pour the sugar syrup on them and sprinkle the milk powder & ghee / clarified butter mix on them!

Or sprinkle with mewa / mama / khoya!



They taste best when had warm!














12 comments :

  1. Ki je perfect hoeychey dekhtey, hats off. Moneyi hochcheyna, baritey banano. Apurbo apurbo. You have nailed the dish completely. I too am a huge fan of Siddika Kabir. Yes they have a treasure trove of recipes which I am mostly familiar with because of the ladies of my family who came from there. Khub Khub bhalo hoeychey. You should give yourself a pat on the back.

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    1. Thanks dear Piyali.... ki money moto ekta katha bolley... bishesh korey oder pithey puli guli dekhlei amar chelebelar smiriti ta nara dei.... didu used to prepare them.... love you for been appreciative always... amaro shanti legechey kalojam thikmoto banatey perey

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  2. Oh my my Black Gulab jamun is my all tym fav sweetdish since childhood..it looks so tempting & thanks for sharing such a beautiful recipe chef Soma :)

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    1. Thanks my dear Jolly... a bowl full of for you....

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  3. Subah subah munh me paani aa Gaya........
    I also made gulabjamun last night but they are the usual one. 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

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    1. Thanks dear... isko na thori der aur fry karna parta hai or syryp mein jyada der tak nehi rakhenge....

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  4. Hello Soma,
    You've transformed the most exotic and delicious dish to a super easy. Looks super delicious my friend I can't believe this is so easy to make.This is looking so tempting. I love to try it!

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  5. Wonderful sweet treat for the occasions...yummy, tasty My all time fav...

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