Homemade Jalebis Thin And Crispy My Food Story

on Oct 08, 2019, Updated Mar 22, 2021 I definitely have a weakness for homemade jalebis and have eaten them by the kilo in a single sitting. And here’s the thing – I only eat HOMEMADE jalebi. If you ever offer me anything but the jalebis that my mum makes, it’ll be a resounding no. I won’t even get tempted because they are THAT GOOD. And that’s why she is sharing her recipe here today. And it’s so worth it. Like chicken biryani, jalebi is another dish that I have always been intimidated by because it just seems like a complicated process. But wait til you read the recipe.

Reasons why you’ll love this recipe

Unlike what you might think, you can make jalebi at home without breaking a sweat. I have step by step instructions to make homemade jalebi, but in summary here’s why:

It only needs six ingredients. The seventh ingredient is water which doesn’t really count as an actual ingredient. I bet all of these six ingredients, except saffron (maybe) are in your pantry so you don’t need to go buy anything special for this recipe. The maximum time required for this recipe is ‘resting time‘. The jalebi batter of flour and yogurt needs time to rest and ferment. The rest is fairly quick. The shape of the jalebi doesn’t matter. Really! I know we’ve always seen perfectly spiral jalebis. But bite into an imperfect one, and it will taste the same. The thickness of jalebis matter. That determines whether the jalebis will taste light and crisp, or thick and syrupy. Traditionally, cloth was used to hold the jalebi batter and a hole was made in the center for the batter to come out. But we are using a regular squeezy bottle which has the perfect sized hole for the right thickness. Just hold the bottle 2-3 inches above the oil for the batter to fall out into a thin stream for thin, crisp jalebis. If you are a newbie, try to measure the temperature of the oil and sugar syrup. This an important step which will again determine if your jalebis will be thin and crispy. The temperature of the oil should be maintained at 176C/350F, which will ensure that the batter immediately comes up to the surface and cooks just right. The sugar syrup should get to 100C/ 212F and shouldn’t reach the one thread consistency or the sugar will form a thick layer on the outside which is not appetizing at all.

Five easy steps to making Homemade Jalebi

Levain: The levain or batter of the jalebi is made with all purpose flour, yogurt (homemade curd in India) and water. This needs time to ferment and based on the weather, it can be ready overnight or can take up to a day. If you stay in a place where the climate is cold, place the batter in a jar, cover it with a cloth and place it in a warm spot. You’ll know that the batter is ready when you see small bubbles on the surface. If you taste the batter, it’ll taste slightly sour. Sugar Syrup: Once the batter is fermented, and you are ready to make jalebis, prepare the sugar syrup. While making sugar syrup, you can add some limes and milk to it. This sticks to the impurities in sugar and you can easily take out the coagulated milk and limes with a slotted spoon. You’ll be left with clear sugar syrup. Batter: Once you are ready to fry the jalebis, whisk more flour and water into the levain to make the batter. The batter should be of pouring consistency (like heavy cream so neither too thick nor too thin). Watch the video to see the consistency of the batter. Fry the Jalebi: Frying the jalebis can be slightly tricky the first time. But with practice, you’ll get better at it. I love using ghee to fry jalebis because it adds an authentic taste to them. Yes, thats a lot of ghee but trust me, it’s worth it. While frying the jalebis, pour the batter in a thin stream into the oil while rotating your palm to form spirals. Don’t worry about the shape – that’ll come with practice. And get creative – make your own shapes! Soak jalebis in sugar syrup: The final step is to dunk the fried jalebis in sugar syrup while they are still hot. They only need 45-60 secs of soaking. Any more and they’ll be too sweet and will start becoming soggy. You’ll know the real deal only when you make these crispy, thin jalebis at home! They are fragrant from the saffron and have a beautiful golden color that’s completely natural. And that’s what makes homemade jalebi so so special.