Jalebi
जलेबी
Fermented flour and yoghurt batter piped in spirals into hot oil or ghee, fried crisp, then dunked in warm saffron syrup. Crunchy outside, syrupy inside.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: जलेबी.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 12 hr
- Total
- 12 hr 45 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Jalebi are spirals of fermented batter fried until crisp and soaked briefly in syrup, so the hollow tubes fill with it. The batter is plain flour, a little cornflour and yoghurt, left overnight in a warm place until it is sour and bubbly, which gives jalebi their tang and their crunch. It is piped straight into hot ghee or oil from a cloth with a hole in it, a squeeze bottle, or a zip bag with the corner snipped. The syrup should be warm and of one-string thickness, and the jalebi go in hot and come out a minute later. The shapes take practice. The taste does not.
What you'll need
10 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Batter
- Syrup
- To fry
Ingredients
Batter
- Wheat flour, plain (maida)125 g
- Yoghurt, full-fat, slightly sour60 g
- Water, lukewarm, more as needed100 ml
Syrup
- Sugar250 g
- Water150 ml
- Saffron1 pinch
- Cardamom, green pods, cracked3
- Lemon juice4.9 ml
To fry
- Neutral oil, or ghee, for frying750 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Whisk the flour, cornflour, yoghurt and water into a smooth, thick batter that falls from the whisk in a heavy ribbon. Cover and leave somewhere warm for 12 to 24 hours, until bubbly and sour-smelling.
5 min
Step 2
Beat the fermented batter for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth again. It should fall in a thick, unbroken ribbon; add water a spoon at a time if it is stiffer than that. Pour it into a squeeze bottle or a zip bag with a 3 mm corner snipped off.
5 min
Tip: If the batter spreads flat in the oil, it is too thin; stir in a spoon of flour. If it breaks as you pipe, it is too thick.
Step 3
Simmer the sugar, water, cardamom and saffron for 6 to 7 minutes, until a cooled drop pressed between finger and thumb pulls into a single thread. Add the lemon juice and keep the syrup warm on the lowest heat.
8 min
Step 4
Heat 1.5 to 2 cm of oil or ghee in a wide frying pan to 170°C. Pipe spirals straight into the oil, starting in the centre and working out for two or three rings, finishing with a short line across to hold them. Fry about 1 minute a side until crisp and pale gold.
15 min170°C
Step 5
Lift the jalebi out, drain a few seconds, and drop them into the warm syrup for 30 to 60 seconds, turning once. Lift onto a plate and serve hot, with rabri or on their own.
5 min
Watch: Hot sugar syrup burns badly and sticks. Use a spider or tongs, not fingers.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 208 kcal
- Protein
- 0.8 g
- Carbs
- 17.9 g
- Fat
- 15.2 g
- Saturated fat
- 1.6 g
- Fibre
- 0.2 g
- Sugar
- 12.7 g
- Sodium
- 27 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Vegetarian
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Overnight ferment → 1/2 tsp instant yeast and a 1-hour rest
Mix the yeast into the batter with a pinch of sugar and leave it somewhere warm. Less tang, still crisp.
Vegetable oil → Ghee
The sweet-shop choice. Richer, and the jalebi taste of it.
Tips
- Jalebi that go soft after soaking were left in too long, or the syrup was too thin.
- Make them just before eating. They lose their crunch within a couple of hours.
History & culture
Jalebi is eaten hot from the sweet-shop pan, often for breakfast. In Indore it comes with poha; in Delhi and Punjab with rabri, thickened sweet milk; in Gujarat with fafda on Dussehra morning. It is at every fair and festival, made in front of you in huge flat pans, and handed out by the kilo for good news.
Jalebi descends from zalabiya, a fried batter sweet soaked in syrup, described in a 10th-century Baghdad cookbook and still made across the Middle East and North Africa. It reached India with Persian-speaking traders and courts, and a 15th-century Jain text mentions it by name. Wherever it travelled it kept versions of the name, from zlabia in Algeria to jilapi in Bangladesh.
Traditional — Sweet shops pipe from a cloth bag or a coconut shell with a hole in it and fry in ghee in a wide, shallow pan. A squeeze bottle is easier for a first go. Instant jalebi recipes add yeast or baking powder to skip the ferment; the overnight batter tastes better and stays crisp longer. Bright orange jalebi are coloured with dye; saffron gives a paler gold.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Jalebi take?
12 hr 45 min all in — 15 min prep, 30 min cook, 12 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 20 pieces. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Nut-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Saucepan, Frying pan, Spider or strainer.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
How much sugar?
250 g of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Overnight ferment → 1/2 tsp instant yeast and a 1-hour rest. Mix the yeast into the batter with a pinch of sugar and leave it somewhere warm. Less tang, still crisp. Vegetable oil → Ghee. The sweet-shop choice. Richer, and the jalebi taste of it.
What should I watch for?
Hot sugar syrup burns badly and sticks. Use a spider or tongs, not fingers.
Any tips from this recipe?
Jalebi that go soft after soaking were left in too long, or the syrup was too thin. Make them just before eating. They lose their crunch within a couple of hours.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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