History of Gulab Jamun

Gulab jamun is a sweet confectionery or dessert, originating in the Indian subcontinent, and a type of mithai popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, as well as Myanmar. It is also common in nations with substantial populations of people with South Asian heritage, such as Mauritius, Fiji, Gulf states, the Malay Peninsula, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, South Africa, and the Caribbean (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname).

Gulab jamun topped with rose petals

It is made mainly from milk solids, traditionally khoya, which is milk reduced to the consistency of a soft dough. Modern recipes call for dried or powdered milk instead of khoya. It is often garnished with dried nuts, such as almonds and cashews, to enhance flavour.

According to culinary historian Michael Krondl, 12th-century Manasollasa mentions a recipe for fried fritter balls made of chenna cheese and rice flour and soaked in cardamom-scented syrup, but this recipe did not use rosewater (gulab) syrup. The 13th century Arab dessert luqmat al-qadi is similar in appearance to gulab jamun, although it is made of entirely different batter from gulab jamun but was soaked in rosewater-scented (gulab) syrup, the only Persian connection may be the common use of rosewater syrup. Gulab Jamun emerged in medieval India during the Mughal Empire, blending Persianate influence with local influences that eventually became gulab jamun. The word "gulab" is derived from the Persian words gul (flower) and āb (water), referring to the rose water-scented syrup, and "Jamun" or "jaman" is the Hindi word for Syzygium jambolanum, an Indian fruit with a similar size and shape, commonly known as black plum. Jamun is also defined as a fried delicacy in sugar syrup.