HAPPY DIWALI! May this DIWALI bring lots of light and happiness into your lives!
Phew! This post made it on Diwali day! And what a droolicious recipe too! So lately I have been thinking of getting my act together and plan recipe development ideas ahead well in advance so I can timely post recipes appropriate for holidays etc. Well in the little bit of planning that I did a couple months ago, Jalebi (for Diwali) was top of my list of potential recipe ideas! Why? Well, for one, I did miss Jalebi a lot and would love to have it back in my life! Second, I know that most of my followers on AIP would also love some sweetness and love for Diwali and what better way than Jalebi!
However, what I had not planned for was this unexpected trip that I just took last week to India! I decided last minute to attend a family wedding in Kerala, India as I would have the opportunity to not only attend my cousin’s daughter’s wedding but also meet many of my cousins who also live abroad like myself and hence it’s been challenging to meet up with all of them. I am so glad that I decided to go since I had a ball there meeting up with everyone and reliving childhood memories! The only sad part was that I came back one day before Diwali and also had severe jet lag! Needless to say my Jalebi recipe development had taken a back seat. However, I was determined to give it a try and so I did end up spending 4 hours in the kitchen to try and make some AIP Jalebis! Happy to share that my efforts were successful!
Before attempting this recipe, I strongly recommend that you read this post on Jalebi making. This blogger had done such a fine job of giving detailed instructions and tips on Jalebi making! Here’s a summary of what I learned from this blogger:
- The consistency of the batter is an important aspect – the batter should neither be too loose nor too thick in order to get the perfect jalebis.
- The oil in which you fry the jalebis should be medium hot (not too hot)
- Using a squeeze bottle for the batter is better than a ziplock bag ( I didn’t have a squeeze bottle so I use a ziplock bag!)
What is Jalebi?
Jalebi is a spiral shaped Indian sweet made out of all purpose flour in which the batter is deep fried (kinda like funnel cakes) and the crispy fried jalebis are then dunked in sugar syrup. So jalebis have a crisp exterior and a juicy interior! yum! Saffron and / cardamom are normally used to flavor the sugar syrup.
What are the ingredients in this AIP Jalebi recipe?
- Instead of all purpose flour, this recipe uses a mix of tapioca flour(starch), cassava flour and arrowroot starch. Instead of yogurt, coconut milk is used to make the batter.
- For the syrup, this recipe uses maple syrup flavored with lemon juice and saffron.
Troubleshooting:
- If your batter turns out thin, add a little bit of cassava flour and mix until it is the right consistency
- If your batter is too thick, add a little more water (1 tbsp at a time) until you get the right consistency.
Since it’s a bit tricky to get the batter right, I have recorded a video of this recipe too. Please watch it before trying the recipe!:
- ½ cup maple syrup
- a generous pinch of saffron threads (about 12-16)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup Tapioca starch
- ¼ cup Cassava flour
- 2 Tbsp Arrowroot starch
- pinch sea salt
- ⅛ tsp turmeric
- ½ cup coconut milk (I used Native Forest Simple)
- Approximately ½ cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp baking soda
- First make the syrup. In a sauce pan add all the syrup ingredients and het on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn heat off and keep aside.
- In a mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients and the coconut milk. Then slowly add half the water and stir using a spoon or a whisk. (It will be initially hard to mix this batter because arrowroot and tapioca starch behave like corn starch and get all hardened at the bottom of the bowl. But continue to whisk and slowly you will have a slurry). You may not need the whole amount of water. Add only until you get a thick flowing batter.
- Next add the lemon juice and stir. Just before frying the jalebis, add the baking soda and stir.
- Heat a deep frying pan with avocado oil on medium heat until the oil is hot.
- Next transfer the batter to a squeeze bottle or a ziplock bag. Squeeze the ziplock bag(or squeeze bottle) to make jalebis in the oil. If using ziplock bag, make a small cut (about 5 mm long) from one of the tips of the bag. Use this tip to squeeze the batter into the oil to make jalebis. ) You can watch my video above to see how to do this.
- Deep fry the jalebis for about 2 mins on one side and then flip them and fry for 1 more minute. Transfer to a plate with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Dip the warm jalebis in the prepared syrup to coat with syrup on both sides. Then transfer them to a different serving plate.
- Repeat the same process until all the batter is used up.
- Serve jalebis warm or cold.
If your batter is too thick, add a little more water (1 tbsp at a time) until you get the right consistency.
Other Indian Diwali sweets that I have shared before:
Chocolate Burfi / Fudge (Paleo, AIP, Vegan)
Grain free Gujiyas (Paleo, AIP, Vegan)
