Jalebi recipe – A quick and easy sweet recipe under 30 mins. Learn how to make Jalebi that are crispy, juicy & delicious. Jalebi is one of the most popular desserts from Indian subcontinent. Similar to Gulab jamun, jalebi too makes its appearance during weddings, celebrations & festivals. They are much popular as a street food and is also sold in Sweet shops or mithai shops.
Jalebi can be made for any festivals like Diwali, Holi & Eid.
I make jalebi twice a year during my kids’ holidays as they love them a lot. This time I made it during dussehra & took the pictures to share with you all.
Making jalebi at home is easy and can also be made by a beginner. If you are new to Indian cuisine these faqs may help you:
What is jalebi?
Jalebi is a spiral shaped crisp & juicy sweet that is made of all purpose flour, gram flour and sugar syrup.
How to make Jalebi?
To make jalebi, firstly a batter is prepared using flour. Then it is fermented for several hours to acquire a unique fermented flavor.
Then the batter is poured to spirals or concentric circles in the hot oil. They are fried until crisp and then immersed in sugar syrup.
There are 2 ways to make Jalebi:
1. Traditional method made by fermenting the batter.
2. Instant version without fermentation.
I have shared tips to make both the methods in this post.
How to make best jalebi
The key to making crisp juicy & light jalebis is the consistency of batter. You can make amazing jalebi at home if your batter is prepared correctly. The consistency of the batter must be free flowing yet thick.
I have this image to help you understand and fix the consistency if you have trouble making it right.
1. Shrunk jalebi – over fried or fried on low heat.
2. Flat jalebis – oil not hot enough, made on low heat.
3. Thin & flat – runny batter
4. Thick & soft jalebi – Too thick batter
I have shared how to fix the batter consistency in the recipe below.
How is Jalebi served?
Jalebi is eaten alone across India. But in some regions it is also eaten with milk, rabri, curd or fafda.
More Diwali Sweets recipes
Rasgulla
Gulab jamun
Kaju katli
Rasamalai
Jalebi recipe
Jalebi recipe | How to make jalebi
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
For jalebi
- 1 cup all-purpose flour or organic maida
- 2 tablespoons corn flour (or besan if fermenting batter)
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric or use natural food color
- ½ cup curd (or water if fermenting batter)
- ½ cup water (more if needed)
- ½ teaspoon soda (or 1 large pinch for fermented batter)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- oil or ghee as needed
For sugar syrup
- 1 cup sugar (use organic)
- ½ to ¾ cup water (I used ½ + 2 tbsps)
- 1 pinch saffron or kesar optional
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder or elaichi powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Equipment needed
- 1 sauce bottle or Zip lock bag or cloth bag
How to make the recipe
Making sugar syrup for jalebi
- Add sugar and water to a pot.
- Boil on a medium heat until it reaches a 1 string consistency.
- Take a small portion of the syrup in a spoon. Cool it slightly.
- Take it in between your thumb and fore finger.
- Gently move the fingers away from each other, you must see a single string.
- Pour lemon juice, cardamom powder and saffron. Remove from heat. Stir and set aside.
- If your syrup goes beyond this stage, then sprinkle some water and mix. Recheck for the 1 string consistency.
Make batter for jalebi – follow A or B
- A. Method 1: For Instant jalebi : Add maida, cornflour and turmeric to a mixing bowl. Mix everything well until uniform. Next add curd. Pour water & make a thick lump free batter. The batter has to be thick but of flowing consistency. If needed add more water. Beat the batter well with a whisk in one direction in a circular motion for 4 mins. The batter will turn smooth.
OR
- B. Method 2: For fermentation : Mix together maida, besan & turmeric in a bowl. Pour water & make a thick batter of pouring consistency. Cover and ferment for 12 to 24 hours until the batter gets a very mild sour flavor. The batter will not rise, but will have tiny bubbles on top.
How to make jalebi
- Heat ghee or oil on a medium heat to fry jalebis.
- If using oil, then add 1 to 2 tbsp ghee to the oil. This enhances the flavor.
- Pour 1 tsp lemon juice to the batter & mix. Skip the lemon juice if you have fermented the batter.
- Add soda and mix gently just until combined.
- Check batter consistency: The prepared batter must be smooth free flowing and thick. Spoon just 2 to 3 tbsp of batter to the sauce bottle to check if the consistency is right.
- Next check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small portion of the batter. It has to come up immediately without browning.
- Now squeeze the bottle gently and move in circular motion to get spiral. If you are getting very thick jalebi, then the batter is thick. Next if you are getting very thin flat jalebis the batter is thin.
- To fix thick batter, add a tbsp or more water. Next to fix thin batter, add a tbsp of maida (all purpose flour). Take a look at the pic in the FAQ section to fix the batter.
- Mix the batter well. Spoon it to the bottle.
Frying jalebi
- Ensure oil is hot and the flame set to medium high heat.
- Squeeze in the batter gently in circular motions starting from the center moving outside.
- You can also do it the other way. You will get properly shaped ones after making a few.
- While the jalebi is getting fried, check the syrup. It must be slightly hot to warm when the jalebi is dipped into it. If not heat up a bit.
- The last 1 minute, turn the flame to low and fry the jalebi. This helps to make them extra crisp.
- When the jalebi is done it turns crisp. Remove it with a skewer and add to the warm sugar syrup directly.
- Allow to rest for 2 mins. Remove to a plate. Continue to make more jalebis.
- Serve jalebi hot.
NUTRITION (estimation only)
Notes
Turmeric doesn’t affect the flavour. It is just for color.
I added 1 tsp water to the sugar syrup and heated a bit when ever it turned cold & crystallized. I did it thrice for the entire recipe.
If you are a beginner or new to Indian cooking, I highly suggest you to check the supporting step by step photos for best results. Step by step photos with description available below after the recipe card.
Preparation
1. You will need a squeezable sauce bottle or oil dispenser or zip lock bags. A dispenser with a sharp tip works better. For readers in Singapore: I bought it in mustafa 2 yrs ago. You can find similar ones there.
Before proceeding further decide on which method to follow. Fermented or instant. I made a few times following the fermented method the results were good but it is hard for me to follow the schedules like planning and keeping the kids waiting.
So I love the instant method. I felt there is no difference in flavor due to the addition of curd.
If you prefer to go by the fermented method, then make the batter the previous night. Make the sugar syrup just before frying the jalebis. If following the instant method just follow the steps as is in the same order mentioned below.
Making sugar syrup for jalebi recipe
2. Add sugar to a pot. Avoid cast iron pans like the one I used as it quickly crystallizes the syrup.
3. Pour water.
4. Boil the syrup until it reaches a 1 string consistency.
5. To check take a small portion of sugar syrup in between your thumb & fore finger. Gently move the fingers apart, you must see a single string. I took it off a bit early as it continues to cook in cast iron pans.
6. Pour 1 tsp lemon juice. Add in saffron (optional) and cardamoms. Mix & Set this aside.
Making batter for jalebi recipe
7. Add maida, corn flour & turmeric. If fermenting then add besan instead of cornflour.
8. Mix well and add curd. You can skip the curd and ferment the batter for 12 to 24 hours until a slightly sour flavor develops.
9. Start by adding 1/4 cup water. Use more as needed.
10. Make a thick smooth batter by mixing. Use more water as needed.
11. Beat the batter well with a whisk for 4 to 5 mins in circular motion. The batter will turn smooth.
12. You may get a thick batter like this with a ribbon consistency. This is not the consistency we want, So sprinkle more water as needed. The batter has to be free flowing & moderately thick but not too thick.
13. Add lemon juice and mix. If fermenting, skip lemon juice.
Frying jalebi
14. Heat ghee or oil for frying. If using oil, then add 1 to 2 tbsp of ghee to the oil. This enhances the flavor.
15. When the oil is heating up, add soda to the batter. Give a gentle mix.
16. Spoon few tbsps of batter to sauce bottle. The oil has to be hot enough and the flame medium high. Check if the oil is hot by dropping a small portion of batter in the oil. It has to rise immediately without browning.
17. Make one jalebi and check the consistency. If it turns out thick then, sprinkle some water and thin down the batter a bit. If it is thin and flat, then add 1 tbsp maida and mix. For more details check the pic in the FAQ. Fry them on a medium high flame until crisp.
18. The last 1 minute I fry them on a low heat as this helps them to keep crisp for a little longer. Remove with a skewer.
19. Add to the slightly hot to warm sugar syrup. If the syrup has crystallized or turned cold. Then add 1 tsp water and heat up. Soak the jalebis for 2 to 3 mins.
Please note that adding jalebis to very hot syrup will turn them soft. Ensure the syrup is not warm.
20. Remove to a plate and spread them. Pour the entire batter to the sauce bottle and make more jalebi.
Serve jalebi hot or warm.
Sandhya says
I would like to try this recipe for the first time. Could you tell me approximately how many jilebis this recipe makes? i want atleast 21 for prasadam. Thanks!
swasthi says
Hi Sandhya,
Yes the recipe makes much more than 21. It should make around 30. Hope you enjoy making them.
Fathima.H says
Hi there! I’m about to try your recipe. Can i use yoghurt instead of curd here?
swasthi says
Hi Fathima,
Both are same. You can use plain yogurt.
AL says
I cannot believe how perfect they came out to be. Thrilled and honestly shocked. The recipe is fool proof, the instructions precise. Just a tad too sweet, I need to work on that. But perfect. Thank you so much for sharing!
swasthi says
Hi AL,
You are welcome. So glad your jalebis turned out good. Thanks much for the comment!
🙂
Vishalini says
Hi Swathi,
I’ve seen you have written in a few recipes. I was hoping if you could tell me if it was baking soda please. Thank you. I’ve made a few of your recipes and they were amazing. Thank you so much for sharing
swasthi says
Hi Vishalini,
Thanks for trying the recipes. Glad you like them! I guess you are asking if you can skip corn flour as soda may be good enough to make them crisp. I am not sure as I think both serve different purpose. Soda makes them light and corn flour makes them crisp. Actually making these is super easy. It is not so complex like it looks here in my post. So go ahead and make little batter and fry them to check. You can tweak it by reducing the flour or soda etc. Hope this helps.
Apss40 says
I appreciate how detailed and open you are in not just sharing a recipe but your experience and learnings behind a successful execution of the recipe. Many Thanks!
swasthi says
You are welcome.
Thank you!
Vaishali says
Hi Swasthi, I really enjoy trying your recipes, I wanted to ask, is it necessary to add corn flour to instant jalebi, what is the purpose?
Thanks in Advance
swasthi says
Hi Vaishali,
Thank you! Glad you enjoy them! Corn flour gives a delicate crisp texture to the jalebi. Hope you enjoy making the jalebi!
🙂
Vaishali says
Thank you
Grishma says
Can I use Sev maker machine / sancha instead of squeezable bottle?
swasthi says
Hi Grishma,
For sev the flour is mixed to dough and not batter. Here for jalebi, the flour is mixed to batter, meaning it is runny. So it will not hold in the sev maker. If you do not have a bottle then just use a plastic bag.
Preety says
You have told many minute things which are. Very important in making jalebis here.,I am very impressed and like you for that, thanks
swasthi says
Welcome Preety,
Thank you!
🙂
swasthi says
Welcome Preety,
Thank you!
🙂
Umaima says
Mam can u give me milk powder rasmalai recipe
swasthi says
Hi Umaima
I do not have the recipe for milk powder rasmalai. I make rasmalai with paneer or chenna.
Umaima says
Maam … it was crsipy for 2 hrs after frying but later it turned chewy. What could be the reason for it?
I actually want to start a business.. so any tips to keep it crispy for long?
swasthi says
Hi Umaima,
Okay got it. The last time I made jalebis, I had preserved a box full for a guest travelling from India. The jalebis were so crisp even for a week. The last 1 to 2 minutes of frying the jalebi should happen on a very low flame. Let the syrup just go beyond 1 string consistency. I just achieved that stage as I made the syrup in a cast iron kadai. I guess both these will help you to make the best. You need some practice to get them correctly. When I learnt jalebi I made them for 3 days continuously and understood my mistakes. Then now I can them very good. So please practice them with just 1/4 cup flour everyday for a few days. I am sure you will get them right. Good luck for your new business.
🙂
Umaima says
For how long I can keep jalebi crispy…
swasthi says
Hi Umaima,
These jalebis will be crisp for a day. Cool them completely and store in a closed shelf. If you refrigerate they will remain crisp for 1 week.
Harsha says
Hi. I tried this recipe today. When I added jalebis to sugar syrup they turn soggy. Help please.
swasthi says
Hi Harsha,
You either went wrong with the sugar syrup consistency or not fried the jalebis enough. The sugar syrup has to reach a one string consistency otherwise the jalebis will turn soft immediately. You can just simmer the syrup for a little longer now and fry the jalebis a bit more. This will fix the problem. Hope this helps.
Shameem says
Hey Swasthi,
Love this jalebi recipe. Inshallah .. I am going to try this jalebi for sure during Ramadan. I have made a list of dishes to cook. Mutton korma, kebabs, gulab jamun, rasmalai and now jalebi. Jazakallah kairun.
swasthi says
Hi Shameem
Thank you so much for the wishes. Yes do try them and enjoy. Hope you love the recipes.Thanks again.
Taruna says
Hey swasthi! How are you? This recipe sounded so promising so tried it with a small quantity and they came out excellent. I am planning on making jalebi for holi for 20 people. Please suggest if I can make the batter all at one time. Any tips will be helpful.TIA
swasthi says
Hi Taruna
I am good. Hope the same from you. Thanks for trying. It is good to make the batter in small batches as the leavening agent will not work well if rested for long. For best results use up the batter with in 30 mins. Hope this helps
Ruchi says
My jalebi batter is spreading too much in oil. I am getting very wide jalebi. spirals not together . Pls help I followed the recipe as mentioned
swasthi says
Hi Ruchi,
The batter will spread if the oil is very hot. Add little ghee to the oil if you have not. Reduce the heat slightly and make.
Chaitali says
I made jalebi for danetras. They turned out too good. Thank you 🙏 happy Diwali
swasthi says
Hi Chaitali
Happy diwali to you all as well. Thanks for the comment.
Minu says
Hi swasthi
I tried the jalebi instantly today with just 1/4 cup flour and a pinch of soda. They turned out awesome though out of shape. Tasted awesome. Thanks and keep inspiring us.
swasthi says
Hi Minu
You are welcome. That’s a very quick try. Thank you very much.
🙂