Crispy Jalebi Is Your New Favorite Funnel Cake
During Divali, everyone is busy shopping for new clothes, decorating their homes, buying fire crackers and making sweets. Jalebi is eaten year-round but it’s also in high-demand whenever special events roll around. No puja, wedding or Eid and Festival of Lights celebration is complete without this quintessential Indian dessert.
Jalebi is very popular on the streets of India, sold in bulk from many road-side carts. The classic sweet is reminiscent of an American funnel cake and gets its famous bright orange color from saffron. Because that’s not so easily accessible, we used red and yellow food dye instead. Jalebi is fried and soaked generously in a ginger-kicked syrup that’ll have you begging for more.
JALEBI
PREP TIME: 12 hrs
COOK TIME: 30 mins
TOTAL TIME: 12 hrs 30 mins
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Jinca Foods cassava flour
- 1 tablespoon Chief ground split peas
- ¼ teaspoon Chief baking powder
- 3 tablespoons yoghurt
- ¼ teaspoon Chief ground cardamom
- Orange food colouring, optional
- ½ cup water Nariel coconut oil, for frying
- For the syrup:
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon
- Chief ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon Chief ground cinnamon
- ½ lime, juiced
DIRECTIONS
- In a large bowl, mix Jinca Foods cassava flour, all-purpose flour, Chief ground split peas, Chief baking powder and baking soda together.
- Mix in the yoghurt and Chief ground cardamom.
- Add food colouring and water until the mixture becomes a paste that’s not too thick and not too runny.
- Cover with plastic wrap and leave to ferment for 12 hours. When small bubbles appear on surface of batter, it’s ready.
- Whisk the batter a few times, adding water ½ tablespoon at a time to adjust consistency, if needed.
- To make the syrup, bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan.
- Once boiling, add Chief ground cardamom, Chief ground cinnamon and lime juice. Reduce heat to simmer and allow the syrup to thicken. Keep warm while the jalebis are frying.
- Place Nariel coconut oil in a large pan over on medium heat. Drop a bit of batter into the pot and see if rises to the top quickly. If so, then your oil is ready.
- Transfer the batter to a squeeze bottle, or piping bag. If you use a piping bag, snip one corner to make a small hole.
- Hold the bottle or bag over the hot oil and squeeze out the batter, moving your hands in circles, to form spirals.
- Flip the spiral and fry until crispy on both sides.
- Remove the jalebis from the oil and immediately dip into the syrup. Leave them to soak for a few seconds.
- Place warm the jalebis on a plate and garnish with nuts, if you please.
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