Instant Jalebi!

realize this is a day after Diwali but festivity is still in the air, right! Hope all you guys had a very prosperous and fun filled Diwali!
Diwali or Deepawali is the Festival of Lights. It is a time that is much awaited all year round by children and adults alike. A time of celebration, prayers, holidays, family, fun, fireworks and of course food - lots of it. It is one of the most important religious and cultural festivals in India bringing family and friends together. Diwali is one of the biggest and most celebrated Hindu festivals. In my Chandrakala post on Dussehera a few weeks ago I spoke about Lord Rama and his victory over evil. After vanquishing the evil Ravana, Lord Rama along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana come back home after 14 years of banishment. Since then, that day is celebrated by Hindus all over the world as Diwali!

Us Indians know our festivals. Just to give you an idea, if you were to just add the major national and regional festivals, you will at least have a list of couple of dozen. Festivals are always celebrated with much zeal, pomp and show in India. Among these, Diwali is arguably the biggest.
The word Deepawali literally translates into “row of lamps”. The symbolism being for the light that illuminate our hearts and homes, the lights that shuns evil, gives us hope and prosperity.It is considered to be a new beginning, and hope in many ways. Many financial/business calendars begin on this day.
During Diwali, millions of lights illuminate every corner of India. Homes and streets are decorated with deep/diyas (little clay tea lights) and the air is filled with festivities, rising fragrance of the incense, the sounds of fire-crackers, happiness, laughter, love and sharing and of course all the mouthwatering sweets and loads of food.

Biggest or not, it is definitely my favorite. We clean our home, decorate the entire house with flowers, rangolis, electric lights and the more traditional diyas. On diwali night kids and adults alike light firecrackers. We basically kept at it into the night till mom yelled out of the window demanding us to return. Yes of course and how can you forget the food! During Diwali you can smell, shakarpala, namkeen, ladoo, mathri, nankhatai etc from every kitchen when you walk around the block. All these goodies also make for a wonderful homemade gift. I remember when I was a little girl, mom making loads of these and then packing individually in gift boxes and she would arrange them in a basket and give to me distribute in the neighborhood. I dressed in my brand new diwali dress would go door to door to deliver this goodies and always come home with basket full of goodies as return gifts. I used to love it :) 
This Jalebi recipe is my way to cater to the sweet tooth for Diwali this year. I have blogged about Jalebi before but this recipe is the instant version of it that can be prepared in little over an hours instead of the overnight fermentation process. The result is just fabulous. To quote hubs, this was better than any halwai would ever make. As you pick up a spiral, it draws automatically towards your mouth. While you wonder what it would be like, your teeth bite into the crispy outside with a crunch followed by the sweet and juicy inside that creates an explosion of texture and flavor, festivity for your taste buds. Before you know it, you reach for another one. As you finish up, it leaves you wondering, how the heck did all the juices get inside a crispy spiral!

Ingredients:

All purpose flour ............................... 1 cup

Yogurt ........................................... 4 tbsp
Warm Water ................................... 3/4 cup

Melted ghee .................................... 2 tsp
Corn flour ....................................... 2 tbsp

Rapid rise yeast ................................ 1 tsp
Orange food color ............................. 2 pinches optional

For syrup -

Sugar ............................................. 2 cup
Water ............................................ 2 cup
Saffron ........................................... 4 - 5 strands
Green cardamom powder ..................... 1/8 tsp
Rose essence .................................... few drops (optional)
Lemon juice ..................................... 1/2 tsp

Oil ................................................ for deep frying + 2 tbsp ghee

Method:

1. In a  medium mixing bowl, mix yeast in warm water and let it rest for 4-5 mins or till it gets frothy. Add all-purpose flour and corn starch. Mix thoroughly. Add ghee, yogurt and mix well until there are no lumps.

2. Keep the mixture in a warm place for an hour (say, in an switched off oven with its light on). Mix it again, and make it into a pouring consistency. Mix with a spoon in circular motion for a minute.

3. For syrup- In a heavy bottom pan, add water and sugar. Cook for 15 - 17 minutes on medium heat. Reduce flame to a very low simmer and add cardamom powder, lemon juice and saffron. Mix. Leave the syrup on this low heat while you make the jalebis. 

4. Heat ghee and oil in a flat kadai or frying pan. To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in the oil, the batter should sizzle and come up without changing in color right away.
5. Pour batter into a ziploc bag/piping bag/mustard ketchup bottle. Make a small hole at the bottom of the bag. Then squeeze the bag to pour the batter into medium hot ghee giving it a jalebi shape. Deep fry till golden and crisp on both sides.

6. Take out of oil and drop into the syrup. Allow jalebi to remain in the syrup for just a minute (flipping to coat both sides), shake off excess sugar syrup and place onto a plate.

7. For serving, place a hot jalebi on a plate, pour a couple of tbsp of chilled rabri or yogurt over it. ENJOY!

Notes:

1. It is a  little tricky dessert. Here are the few things I have learned.
- The fermentation of the batter is extremely important. It helps with the crispy texture and the jalebi's ability to absorb the syrup. So it needs to be fermented till it gets a little sour smell

2. The temperature of the oil is extremely critical to get the texture right. The oil must be at medium to medium low heat. If too hot, the jalebi will fall apart and if not hot enough, the jalebis will be flat and mushy.

3. Getting the perfect spiral jalebi shape is a little tricky. So if you cannot get it right, don't worry about it too much as long as you get the above points right :) They will taste just the same.
4.Keep the leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator. It can be easily reheated in the microwave but it is best eaten hot and crispy right Instant out of the fryer.

5. Jalebi and rabri are a classic combo, for the recipe of rabdi go here.

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