Gulab Jamun is a special Indian sweet treat, made vegan and gluten-free! The deep-fried dough is soaked in a cardamom-infused syrup, which gives it a spongey, tender cake-like texture.
Gulab jamun is a sweet treat that will often make its appearance during special occasions like birthdays or festivals. Traditionally, it’s made from milk solids, deep fried and soaked in a rose water syrup infused with cardamom or saffron. “Gulab” means rose in Hindi, and “jamun” means berry, which refers to their small size.
Watch my recipe video on YouTube
What you’ll need to make vegan and gluten-free gulab jamun
I’ve tested about 15 different batches, with varying ratios and ingredients but I found that this formula produced the best results!
- sweet potato
- almond flour
- tapioca starch
- rice flour
- baking powder
and of course, the usual ingredients for the sugar syrup. I chose not to include rose water and just added cardamom pods in this recipe. If you have access, do try adding some rose water to the syrup!
I wa inspired by Vegan Richa, who I first saw used sweet potato as the base for vegan gulab jamun! I also learned a lot of tips and techniques from Sanjana.
Tips to make perfect vegan and gluten-free gulab jamuns
Besides the ingredients of the dough, the method of deep frying and soaking is also really important. I found that handling this vegan and gluten-free version is a bit different from regular gulab jamuns. Make sure you read through this list of tips before making them!
- Sift and mix all the dry ingredients well so that there are no lumps of baking powder throughout the dough.
- The dough should be slightly wet. It will stick to your fingers a little bit.
- Fry the dough at a medium-low temperature first, then increase the temperature towards the end. This ensures that the middle is fully cooked, the dough expands in the oil and they get a beautiful browning. It will take 7-8 minutes to fry the gulab jamun.
- This recipe makes 12 gulab jamuns, and you can definitely fry them all at once in a large pot. But if you’re doing this for the first time, you may want to fry in batches.
- Throughout the whole frying process, use a slotted ladle to agitate the oil around the gulab jamuns. This helps to turn them around in the oil and get evenly brown.
- Do not touch the dough while it is frying, as that may deform their shape so you won’t get perfectly round gulab jamuns.
- Soak the gulab jamun for no longer than 3 hours.
Why is my gulab jamun hard or cracked?
Hard or cracked gulab jamun could be due to frying the dough in oil that is too hot. To gauge whether the oil is at the right temperature, insert a wooden chopstick and the sides should only sizzle very gently.
The dough should remain soft, expand and turn a golden brown while frying.
Why is my gulab jamun mushy after soaking?
You’ve probably soaked them for too long. Some recipes call for 6-8 hours of soaking in the sugar syrup to ensure that the gulab jamuns have absorbed all the syrup. But because these are a gluten-free and vegan version, soaking them for that long will make them mushy.
Soak for at least 1 hour, and no longer than 3 hours.
How to store
Do not store them in the syrup, because they will become mushy and fall apart. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, or in the fridge for longer.
If you don’t like super sweet things but still want to enjoy this amazing Indian dessert, simply reduce the soaking duration! Makes things sliiightly healthier, PLUS you get to eat them sooner. Sounds like a good deal!
I really hope you guys enjoy this vegan and gluten-free version of gulab jamun!
If you liked this recipe, here are a few Malaysian desserts I know you’ll love:
- Snow Skin Mooncake with Purple Sweet Potato Filling/紫薯冰皮月饼
- Mom’s Chinese Sweet Barley Soup/薏米糖水
- Chinese Pumpkin Cakes/南瓜饼 (Vegan + Gluten-Free)
- Onde-Onde/Klepon (Pandan Glutinous Rice Balls with Coconut Palm Sugar)
If you made this recipe, do leave a comment and rating below because I love hearing your feedback. Make sure to tag me on Instagram @eatwkriss so that I can see your recreations!
Gulab Jamun (V | GF)
Ingredients
Dough
- 120 g sweet potato*
- 40 g almond flour
- 40 g tapioca starch
- 20 g rice flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 40 g non-dairy milk
- oil for deep frying
Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3 cardamom pods crushed
Instructions
- Peel the sweet potato, cut into small pieces and boil for 10 minutes or until soft. Mash well and set aside to cool.
- Sift and mix all the dry ingredients together. Incorporate in the mashed sweet potatoes and milk with a fork, then switch to your hands. Make sure there are no lumps of flour throughout the dough. The dough will stick to your hands slightly. Cover and set aside.
- In a small pot, add water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat then add in crushed cardamom pods. Cook for 4-5 minutes then remove from the heat.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces, 18-20g each. Roll them between your palms to make smooth and round balls.
- In a large pan/pot, heat the oil over medium-low. When you add in the dough balls, they should float on the surface and start to sizzle gently.** Constantly move a slotted ladle up and down in the oil without touching the balls to make sure they are evenly frying. Once they have expanded and have browned slighlty, 4-5 minutes, increase the heat and fry until they are golden brown, 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from the oil and place on some paper towels. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Gently place the fried dough in the warm sugar syrup. Soak for 1 hour, turning them halfway to ensure they soak the syrup evenly.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
This looks amazing! I was just wondering if you need regular rice flour or glutinous rice flour for these?
Hi, thank you Christine! Use regular rice flour, as glutinous rice flour has different properties 🙂