Shakkarkand Jamun, I am afraid they are addictive and highly irresistible, there are no words to describe that these sinful sweet potato balls of sweetness are the clear aroma of saffron and kewra water, they instantly melt in your mouth giving you sensational pleasure!
Sweet Potato Jamuns are originally a Bengali version of Gulab Jamun, lovingly known as Mishti aloo’r Pantua or Ranga aloo’r Pantua. Before making them I googled to find out more about this recipe and found few versions of it, also I came to know that this recipe can be prepared with or without any dairy products and they can be filled with nuts or milk solids ( khoya ).
I added little bit of twist in this original recipe, with a little desiccated coconut along with crushed nuts in making balls and in sugar syrup, in went some Kewra ( Pine screw ) water instead of rose water. Instead of boiling sweet potato, I microwave them without any water, reason for doing this that sweet potato are almost without any moisture thus less plain flour goes in the dough. The flavour of kewra added is so A M A Z I N G ! Crunchiness of the nuts and flavour of the coconut was beautiful, almost took away all the heaviness and felt little lighter on the stomach too.
You will need :- Sweet Potato Balls
- 4 medium size sweet potatoes
- 2-3 tbsp. plain flour or more or less depends of how much moisture there is in sweet potatoes
- 8-10 tbsp. khoya or full fat milk powder recipe here
- 2-3 tbsp. desiccated coconut ( optional )
- 1 tbsp. semolina
- 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped nuts ( I used almonds and pistachios ) almost like powder
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of baking powder
- Sunflower oil for deep frying
You will need :- Kewra Sugar Syrup
- 600-650 g sugar
- 800 ml water
- 1 tsp. kewra water
- Pinch of saffron threads
- Pinch of cardamom powder
You will need :- Garnishing
- Choped nuts
- Few strands of saffron ( optional )
Method :- Syrup
Place sugar and water in a big pan and bring it to boil. Keep stirring and let the sugar dissolves. After 10-12 minutes syrup will get it little thicker. The syrup is done when , while dropping from a spoon it falls in a thin single thread. Turn off the heat and add cardamom powder and saffron. After it comes to a room temperature add kewra water to it and leave it aside for later use. Method :- Sweet Potato Balls
Wash sweet potato thoroughly and pierce with fork or sharp knife. Place them on a M/W proof plate and cook 12-15 minutes or until the flesh is thoroughly cooked and tender. Let it cool little and remove skin, mash them with a potato masher or by hand. Sweet potato mash should be without any lumps. Now add all the other ingredients except oil. Mix all the ingredients and form a soft dough. ( I did not need any water or milk ) Leave it aside for few minutes, once again knead the dough for a few seconds. Now make a golf size balls of even size. Heat sunflower oil well. Switch of the heat and cool a little. Let in some of the jamuns(3-4), when they rise up put back on heat and fry them on a slow heat till medium brown. Remove from the oil and pierce them with fine needle and put them in Sugar syrup to soak. Repeat for all the jamuns. let it soak for 6-7 hours and serve. Enjoy !
Gajar Halwa
Semolina Halwa
Coconut Halwa
Almond Halwa
Honeyed crunchy halva, so tempting. It just cries out to be broken into so that you can discover it’s unique taste and texture. It’s a terrific taste and satisfying treat for all to enjoy. It is not very difficult to make, only thing is a difficult wait as it takes almost 36 hours to get right 😉
You will need:-
- 300 g light tahini paste mixed properly with the excess oil.
- 300 g good quality clear honey
- 150 g pistachio nuts lightly roasted +1 tbsp finely chopped for garnishing
- 2 tbsp edible rose petals for garnishing
- 1/2 tsp rose extract
- Sugar thermometer ( optional ) Make life very easy. I own one 🙂
Method:- Line the base and sides of a loaf tin with baking parchment. My loaf tin was much bigger, so didn’t get much hight to my halva. In a heavy based pan pour honey and start heating on high heat. If using thermometer place in the pan now. Keep stirring and let it simmer until the thermometer reaches 260 F or Firm Ball stage, switch off the heat. Leave it to cool for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, place tahini paste in another pan and gentle heat, keep stirring for 3 minutes. Add rose extract, 150 g nuts and warm tahini in to the hot honey syrup. Combine well and pour the halva mixture in to the loaf tin. Let it cool completely at room temperature. Seal the loaf tin with more parchment so moisture stays out and place in the fridge for 36 hours to allow small sugar crystals that gives halva distinctive flavour and texture time to develop. Cut with very sharp knife into pieces while halva is still cold, but serve at room temperature. Enjoy !
