Gluten Free Gulab Jamuns

Disclaimer: Mangala Deshmukh is NOT a licensed Dietician/ Nutritionist.
The information on this website is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your health provider prior to starting any diet.

Here’s a traditional favorite which can be made wheat free! Those with allergies do not have to merely watch while others around them gorge on Gulab Jamuns during festivals and parties. These Gulab Jamuns are equally delicious and can be enjoyed by one and all!

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Soak Time: 2 hours
Makes approx. 16-18 pieces

Ingredients:
Instant Non-fat Dry Milk Powder – 1 cup
Cornstarch – 2 ½ Tbsps
Baking Soda – ¼ tsp
thick yogurt3 Tablespoons
ghee2 teaspoons

Oil for deep frying

For the syrup:
Sugar – 1 cups
Water – 2 cups
Ground Cardamom Seed (Elaichi) – ¼ teaspoon

Method:

1. Mix together all dry ingredients (Milk Powder, Cornstarch and Baking Soda) in a medium bowl.
2. Add 1 ½ teaspoons Ghee, reserving ½ teaspoon for later use.
3. Mix 2 Tablespoons of Yogurt and make a medium soft dough, adding the remaining Yogurt in small quantities as required. You may not need the entire quantity, depending on the consistency of the yogurt.
4. Knead well, so that dough is very smooth. Smear a little Ghee on your hands as you knead, to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.
5. Rub a few drops of ghee on your hands as you form about 18 small balls with the dough.
6. Ensure that the surface of each ball is smooth and does not have cracks on it.
7. Pour Oil into a medium wok (kadhai) and allow Oil to heat well.
8. Test readiness by dropping a small bit of dough into the oil.
9. When oil is ready, lower heat.
10. Fry jamuns on low heat, a few at a time, till the jamun balls are a rich golden brown color.
11. Remove from oil, holding the slotted spoon with the balls against the side of the wok, so that maximum oil will drain.
12. Place on a dish with paper towels.

13. Meanwhile, combine Sugar and Water and place on medium high heat.
14. Stir occasionally till the sugar is completely dissolved.
15. Allow the syrup mixture to come to a rolling boil and continue to let it boil for 5 minutes.
16. Remove from heat and add Elaichi powder.
17. Gently drop the fried jamun balls into the hot syrup, watch them partly absorb the syrup and fluff into larger, spongy balls.
18. Enjoy while warm, or zap your portion in the microwave—just great!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

60 thoughts on “Gluten Free Gulab Jamuns

  1. Hi, thank-you for this lovrly recipe.
    I tried it today and the gulab jamun came out really soft.

    The only thing if I could ask is why dies it deflate in the sugar syrup? Mine all deflated and had dents in them although when fried, they were nice and round.

    1. Hi Asha,
      It deflated because the it was not fried at the right temperature. The oil was probably too hot so the outer layers got cooked faster and the inside did not so it created a air pocket which deflated over time.
      Lower the temperature and allow the whole gulab jamun to cook evenly.
      Hope that helps.

  2. Hi,

    I’m looking for a gluten free, diary free Gulab Jamun Recipe.
    Is there a non-fat milk substitute that can be used?

    Please advice!

    Thanks
    Radhika

  3. Thanks for this glutenfree recipe. I made it as stated/shown in the video and they turned out perfectly. It’s the first time I had made them and they turned out great. I used olive oil and the temperature must have been right as they did not burn at all. I ended up with 25 galub jamun balls so I must have rolled them smaller. It will definitely be a recipe I will be making again.

  4. Thank you very much . Today I tried the gulabjamoo
    And it came very tasty. Once again thankyou very much. My
    Ods has multiple allergy and everytime we go Indian
    restaurant I can see in his eyes he wants to eat it but never
    tells outside. As a mom its nerve wrecking to see
    It. So for Mother’s day I made this sweet snd he
    loves it. Happy Mother’s Day!!!!!

  5. I am so happy My Gulab Jamun turned out perfect .I made them for my nephew who is suppose to have gluten free food.He will really feel happy 😉

    1. Hi Ria,

      In India, corn starch is called corn flour. They are both the same. Make sure it is white and super soft. If you find a grainy, gritty “corn flour”, then it is probably ground up corn (also known as corn meal).

  6. Thank you so much for making this website!!!!
    So glad for Mangala auntie!!!! Finally gluten free Indian recipes, especially chapatti!!!!
    I wanted to ask for the gulab jamon, which oil should be used, vegetable??

    thanks so much
    sejal

  7. Apropos my previous comment. I used Organic Valley’s Organic Nonfat dry milk which is not instant. (I didn’t know there was a difference at the time). Could that have anything to do with it?
    Looking forward to hearing your/Mangala aunty’s thoughts on this.

  8. I just made these, and I’ve got to say they were amazing. They tasted so like the non GF ones! Although, my dough turned out a bit hard. Why do you think that happened? I used 4 tablespoons of thick yogurt, and felt nervous about using more.

    Also, do please consider adding a gluten free puran poli recipe!

    1. Hi Maithili,

      There is always a bit of variance when using yogurt because everyone’s yogurt is a different consistency. It would be okay to use a little more if you feel that the dough is too hard.

  9. My son is allergeic to wheat as well as milk products. Could you please share some alternatives for milk in this recipes?

    thanks
    shital

    1. Hi Kamalpreet,

      Corn starch is also known as corn flour in India. It is white. It is not flour made by grinding dried corn.

  10. Hei!
    I have never tried gulab jamu, i mean i have never tasted. But i always wanted to :/ So now im home for my holiday and wanted to make it tomorrow for xman becz ur recipe looks so easy. But then i hVE doubt.
    Im leaving in Norway and not used to cup, and im not good to cook either.
    So i requesting u to tell me how much 1 cup is in gram?
    And 1 cup water in liter?

    If u also can tell me generally wat 1 cup means, will be very helpfully fr me. becoz i want to try more recipe from ur page, so it make me easy 🙂

    Thanks in advace 🙂 Love ur youtube videos… its very helpful 🙂

    1. Hi Sithara,

      Sorry for the late reply…we were on holiday.

      One US cup is equal to 8 fluid ounces which is approximately 237 ml. We cannot give you a conversion from cup to gram because different things have different weights. For example, one cup of puffed rice will weigh less then one cup of sugar.

    1. Corn starch is also known as corn flour. It has many uses and purposes (for binding, for glazing, for crispiness, etc)

    1. Hi Preet,

      The literal translation would be “makki ka atta” which is corn flour. Corn starch is called corn flour in India but it is not just powdered corn kernels. It is white in color, not yellow.

  11. Hi Anuja and Hetal,
    Is it possible that when you are deep frying your recipes you could give the exact temperature of the oil by using an cooking thermometer? I have difficulty in understanding what is low, medium, or high heat and I normally use either a thermometer or an electric fryer which has a temperature setting. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes.

  12. i want to give big thanks to all three of you for sharing these yummy gluten free recipes.
    i am definately going to try these .
    thankyou

  13. Can you please, explain more clearly her comment about Ghee from grassfed cow has on Omega 3? It is not clear which ghee has more Omega 3. I tried to rewind the video few times but couldn’t get the comment. If ghee has Omega 3, it should be healthy. Does it also contain Omega 6, which is unhealthy, right? Any input or reference appreciated to understand Ghee.

  14. CAN I USE COFFEE MATE AS MILK POWDER PLS CLARIFY AT THE EARLIEST WOULD LIKE TO TRY FOR MY KID …….DONT Have the milk powder but have coffee mate powder form can i use for milk powder instead clarify pls

    1. Hi Kim,

      Coffemate creamer is a non-dairy product. Milk powder is real milk that has been dehydrated. Both products are very different. You cannot use creamer in this recipe.

  15. Could you please share how to store homemade ginger garlic and green chilli paste? I grind it at home however not sure how long I can store it in the fridge. Would like to learn how to “keep” it for atleast 2-3 weeks. Thanks.

  16. Can you please, explain more clearly her comment about Ghee from grassfed cow has on Omega 3? It is not clear which ghee has more Omega 3. I tried to rewind the video few times but couldn’t get the comment. If ghee has Omega 3, it should be healthy. Does it also contain Omega 6, which is unhealthy, right? Any input or reference appreciated to understand Ghee.

  17. Mangala aunty is very sweet and soft spoken…like the gulab jamoon itself 🙂 She has so much information. Felt like someone friendly and experienced sharing information in my kitchen! Please invite her to join for regular recipes too or may be you can bring back Tips Tuesday and have her on it. Happy Deepavali to all of you.

  18. I tried the coconut burfi and chakli for Diwali and it came out fantastic. Thanks to you.Also can u pl. show how to make yellow banana wafers home (one u have the video of one person doing in shop)

    Wishing you all SMTC family members a very HAPPY DIWALI

    Sonia

    1. Hi Aisha,

      You can find it near the coffee creamer. Carnation is a national brand available but local stores have their own brands as well. It usually comes in a cardboard box.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.