Ingredients:
Khoya & Syrup
3 cupswhole milk
1 cupheavy cream
1 1/2 cupswater
3/4 cupsugar
5 cardamom pods, crushed
1 tablespoonplus 1 teaspoon rosewater
1 pinchsaffron threads (or powder)
2 to 3 tablespoonsfresh lemon juice (optional)
Dough & Assembly
4 ouncespaneer
3 tablespoonsall-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoonfinely grated lemon zest (optional)
1/4 teaspoonbaking powder
1/4 teaspoonground cardamom
1/4 teaspoonkosher salt
3 cupsghee or vegetable oil, for frying
Slivered almonds or chopped pistachios, for garnish
Directions:
Make the khoya: Pour the milk and cream into a heavy-bottomed, wide enamel or nonstick pot. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Once the milk mixture is boiling, start stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pot with a wooden spoon or stiff rubber spatula every 2 minutes for about 30 minutes total. It’s important that the milk doesn’t brown on the sides or scorch on the bottom, so don’t stay away from the pot for too long. Every time the milk seems like it might boil over, stir and scrape to bring the level back down. As the milk reduces, your intervals between stirring will get shorter until your last 5 minutes, when you should be constantly stirring and scraping. Once it has thickened past looking like hot cereal and closer to a dough, and you can push the milk solids to one side of the pot and they stay there, remove the pot from the heat and quickly transfer the milk mixture to a plate to cool in a thin layer.
Make the syrup: While the khoya is cooling, in a medium skillet, combine the water and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the cardamom, rosewater, saffron, and lemon juice, if using. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and cook for 3 minutes, until warmed through. Remove from the heat; set aside.
Make the dough: Finely grate the paneer into a sturdy metal or glass pie dish. Using the heel of your palm or the fleshy part of your palm and thumb, press the paneer to smooth it out and break down any leftover lumps.
Add the khoya and repeat the process, pressing it against the pie dish until smooth and incorporated into the mashed paneer.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, lemon zest, if using, baking powder, ground cardamom, and salt. Add to the paneer/khoya mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula or knead by hand for about 2 to 3 minutes, until fully incorporated and the dough is smooth. Wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
In the same pot you made the khoya (make sure it’s clean!), heat 2 to 3 inches of the ghee over medium heat. Reheat the syrup over low heat.
While waiting for the oil to heat up, pinch off small portions of the dough and roll in the palm of your hands (coating your hands lightly in oil if sticking) into small spheres (aim for a consistent size between ¾ to 1½ inches; you should have about 40 total). Remember that they will double in size with a full soak and burn before cooking all the way through if they are too large.
Fry the galub jamun: When the oil is hot and shimmering (a deep-fry thermometer should register about 350°F), reduce the heat to low and wait for 1 minute. While constantly and gently stirring the oil with a spoon and working in 2 to 3 batches to not overcrowd the pan, add the dough balls one at a time. Continue stirring the oil and the gulab jamun will cook evenly as they spin around for 1 to 2 minutes, until evenly browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the gulab jamun immediately to the warm sugar syrup. Let soak over low heat for up to 15 minutes before serving, or toss in the syrup if you want a slightly less sweet version.
Serve warm or at room temperature in a bowl with a sprinkle of slivered almonds or chopped pistachios and a drizzling of the syrup.
Note: If you’d rather try a milk powder version instead of cooking down milk, try substituting 8 ounces of khoya for 3 ounces room temperature yogurt, 3 ounces ghee, and 3 ounces milk powder. Follow all the other directions as written, but reduce the salt to just a pinch.