Jalebi is a popular Indian sweet. This deep-fried pretzel-like sweet – dish from India is well celebrated among the food lovers. We are sharing a traditional style Jalebi recipe without any yeast.
About Jalebi…
Jalebi is a conventional Indian sweets, which needs no defining introduction. In India, it is widely available at various sweet shops and street carts. The batter prepared with white flour defined into twisted and tangled concentric circles, deep-fried till crunchy and later dunked in saccharine sugar syrup.
The moment batter touches the hot oil it starts taking whimsical shapes as if it has a mind of its own. The pair of hands seasoned with years of practice could only master the tactful technique of shaping a perfect Jalebi.
It is always absorbing to watch the halwai make Jalebis. The man sitting beside the wide and flat skillet filled with pre-heated oil, the batter filled in a muslin cloth, he moves his wrist like a magic wand in a rhythmic motion over the kadhai and voila, there you have Jalebi ready.
Homemade Jalebi Recipe…
My obsession with Jalebi Recipe unfolded two years back. Yes, it took me two years to bring the perfect recipe to the blog. At the first attempt itself, the recipe scored a spot in my journal.
The task of disciplining Jalebi batter on a pan filled with piping hot oil is no less than taming a dragon. Finally, after a lot of trials and errors, we have a failproof jalebi recipe. The Jalebis prepared by me have a tempting appeal to them, which is a good enough reason for me to go back to this perfect jalebi recipe time and again.
Watch Step-By-Step Jalebi Recipe Video
Jalebi Recipe Notes:
Sharing with you a few notes scribbled in my recipe journal after each trial. Hope these might help you understand the process in a better way.
Jalebi Batter: To make jalebi batter at home you need only six ingredients – maida (all-purpose flour), corn starch, curd, baking powder, ghee, and a pinch of turmeric. The batter comes together in 5 minutes. But the important step is the consistency and fermentation of the batter.
The batter should be thick with a dropping consistency to it, little thicker than the idli dosa batter. Use only sour curd to mix the batter, no milk. If required use a tablespoon or so of lukewarm water. Please keep in mind, if the batter is too runny or liquid, the jalebi will not take the right shape.
Inside the oven or microwave are my pet spots to keep the batter for fermentation. During summer or humid season, the jalebi batter gets fermented in 6 – 8 hours but it might give you a heart wreck during the cold season. During winters, wrap the bowl containing batter with a woolen piece of cloth and then keep it for fermenting, it may sound funny but this trick really works.
Jalebi Shape: To shape the Jalebi, you can either use the piping bag, plastic squeeze bottle or a muslin cloth. Initially, it is best to make small size Jalebi with one or two concentric circles.
For testing the batter and to perfect the wrist movement, try making a few jalebis on a plate or kitchen counter. Don’t get intimidated by the idea of creating perfectly shaped Jalebi. Let your creative thoughts flow into the pan to create a toothsome sweet for your loved ones.
Jalebi Syrup: For soaking the jalebi, we need a thick, and one string consistency sugar syrup. To test the sugar syrup, take a spoonful of it and try to check it in between your thumb and index finger. If the syrup is sticking to your fingers and forming one string when pulled apart, it is ready for jalebi. It should be hot while soaking the jalebi.
The sugar syrup can be flavored with saffron, green cardamom powder, kewra or rose water. It is totally a matter of personal choice. You can use plain, non-flavored sugar syrup as well.
Frying Jalebi: While deep-frying the Jalebi, keep on moderating the heat. Jalebi gets the desired color and crispness when deep-fried at the right temperature. The fuming hot oil might result in burnt and disoriented Jalebi. Also, do not flip the jalebi again and again while frying. Let them get crisp and light brown from one side, then flip and cook from the other side.
Traditionally ghee (clarified butter) is used for frying jalebi. But I always prefer using flavorless refined oil for frying the jalebi and the taste is truly delicious.
Soaking Jalebi: After frying, transfer jalebi to a metal colander for 5 – 10 seconds. This step ensures the removal of excess oil from the fried jalebi. Next, transfer the fried jalebi to the warm sugar syrup. The jalebi and the sugar syrup both should be warm and not lukewarm or at room temperature. Let the jalebi sit in the sugar syrup for the next 5 – 10 minutes to absorb the syrup.
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Jalebi Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients For Batter:
- 1 Cup maida (all-purpose flour)
- 2 tablespoon corn flour (starch)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Cup sour curd
- 2 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder for color
Ingredients For Sugar Syrup:
- 2 Cup granulated white sugar
- 2 Cup water
- a few strands of saffron
Instructions
Jalebi Batter:
- To make the Jalebi batter, combine together the maida, cornflour, baking powder, turmeric in a bowl.
- Add ghee and curd to the dry ingredients. Mix nicely to make a thick batter. Whisk the batter nicely for 5 – 10 minutes either with a wire whisk or using an electric hand mixer.
- The consistency of the batter should be thick and not watery, a little thicker than dosa batter. You should be able to make a shape using a piping bag.
- Cover the jalebi batter and place it in a warm place for 24 hours or at least 8 – 10 hours, till it is fermented, the batter will rise once fermented.
- Once the batter is fermented stir the batter in a cut and folds motion to combine it once again. Make sure not to whisk it for too long once it is fermented.
Sugar Syrup:
- To make the sugar syrup, boil the sugar with water and saffron strands in a wide pan on medium heat until the sugar dissolves. When the syrup becomes thick and of one string consistency. Turn off the heat and keep aside. But make sure the syrup is hot while soaking the jalebi.
Frying Jalebi:
- Now to make the jalebis preheat the oil in a wide heavy-bottomed pan for deep frying. To check whether the oil is hot enough for deep frying the Jalebi, drop a teaspoon of batter in oil and if it comes floating to the top almost immediately, the oil is ready for frying.
- Meanwhile fill the plastic squeeze bottle with the batter. Tap to remove air. Test the batter by making few jalebis on a plate. Next, pipe spirals or concentric circles of the batter onto the hot oil. Fry the jalebi on low-medium heat until golden brown in color and crisp.
- Once the jalebi is crisp and browned, transfer to a metal colander to drain the excess oil. Let it sit for 5 – 10 seconds.
Soaking Jalebi:
- Transfer the warm jalebi to the hot sugar syrup. And let them sit in the syrup for the next 5 – 10 minutes to absorb the sweetness.
- Serve Jalebi warm with rabri, kheer or curd.
Recipe Notes:
- The leftover batter can be stored in the fridge and is good to use for next 2 – 3 days.
- As we are not using any yeast in this recipe, it is important to use sour curd for making the batter. The batter will turn light and fluffy after fermenting.
- Turmeric is added only for the color in the batter. You can use organic food color as well.
- If the nozzle or tip of squeeze bottle is too thin, cut it a little bit to get the desired thickness of jalebi. Please keep in mind, the jalebi exapnds in size while frying. So adjust the thickness of nozzle accordingly.
- Equipment Used: Heavy Bottomed Pan ( buy it here ), Plastic Squeeze Bottle (buy it here)
4 comments
Looking v delicious
Thank you!
Hina Gujral, thank you for sharing this post about Jalebi recipe. Jalebis always tastes delicious when hot. I have never tried preparing them at home because I was never sure of my culinary skills. I like the way you have shared images of each step. It is a helpful guide and I may try this.
awww…..thank you for such positive feedback. You made my day.
Love,
Hina