Jalebi
Jalebi is a melt-in-the-mouth Indian dessert that can best be described as funnel cakes. A street food sweet, Jalebi is famous across all over South Asia and the Middle East. It is extremely common in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc. It is made by deep-frying maida flour batter in pretzel or circular shapes,like spider web. which are then soaked in sugar syrup.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom divided
- 1 cup water plus 1 tablespoon, divided
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder optional, or 2 drops of orange food coloring
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 strands saffron
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- oil for frying
- rabri for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add the yogurt and ¼ teaspoon of cardamom.
- Add ½ cup (120 ml )of water and the orange food coloring. The batter should have the consistency of a thick pancake batter. Add more water if needed.
- Cover and let rest in a warm place for 10-12 hours to ferment, or until small bubbles develop on top of the batter.
- Once the batter has fermented, add the sugar and ½ cup (120 ml) of water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Add the remaining ¼ teaspoon of cardamom, the saffron strands, and lemon juice.
- Simmer until a sticky syrup develops, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk the batter and add a tablespoon of water if the batter looks too thick. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or piping bag.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low until it reaches 350°F (180°C).
- Squeeze the batter into the hot oil, making small circular spiral shapes.
- Increase the heat to medium-high.
- Fry the dough shapes until they are crispy on both sides, about 5 minutes.
- Remove and immediately dip in the syrup mixture.
- Serve with rabri, if desired.
