Jalebi recipe

Ingredients

• Maida / All purpose flour : 1 cup
• Corn flour : 2 tbsp
• Thick curd : 3/4 cup (approximately)
• Cooking soda : 1 pinch
• Ghee : 2 tbsp
• Orange food color : 1/2 pinch
• Oil + Ghee : for deep frying

For sugar syrup

• Sugar : 1 cup
• Water : 1 cup
• Lemon juice : 1 tsp
• Orange food color : 1/4 pinch
• Rose essence / elaichi powder :  a little ( optional )

Method

• Mix maida, corn flour, cooking soda, ghee and food color in a bowl. Add curd and make a thick batter by adding more water. Consistency should be like vada batter. Keep it in a warm place for overnight or until it ferments well. Next day mix well with a ladle. it should be a sticky thick batter of dropping consistency.In another stove, boil sugar with water, food color, until sring consistency.  Then add lemon juice, essence / elaichi, and keep in lowest heat possible.

• In a flat bottomed pan, heat oil + ghee. Level should be very low as shown in the pic. Take a durable ziploc bag with hole, fill with the batter and draw circles in a medium heated oil. Oil should never fume. Also it should be enough to fry the jalebis porous and crisp. So adjust the heat accordingly. Make 3-4 circles per piece and end the circle by overlapping the tip when you end, otherwise the shape wont be good.
• Fry on both sides till crisp and drain it and add immediately to the hot sugar syrup. Let it be dunked in the syrup for 2 minutes at least. After some time, drain it and arrange in a plate.

Notes

•  The batter consistency is very important, it should be thick like vada batter. If its runny, then jalebi will become flat.
• While cooking jalebi, keep flame medium to make it crisp.
• lemon juice prevents sugar from crystallizing.