Paneer Jalebi | Indian Sweets | Video

Paneer jalebi. Jalebis are one of the best Indian sweets – melt in your mouth and utterly delicious. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these cute desserts are a fancier version of decadent jalebis made with Indian cottage cheese or paneer and interlaced with the irresistible flavors of saffron and cardamom. These are hands down the best jalebis I’ve ever had!

Fact: Making Indian sweets from scratch can be overwhelming. It’s easy to lose hours on experimenting different recipes to get the best result. But if you have the right recipe with the best tips, nothing is impossible. And I’m here to help you recreate one of my favorite sweets.

Paneer jalebi – the cute decadent cousin of classic jalebi. Don’t you love those gorgeous swirls of sweetness adorned with the flavors of saffron and cardamom? These jalebis are all about the melt in your mouth texture of paneer or Indian cottage cheese interwoven with the beautiful piping technique and simple sugar syrup.

How To Make Paneer Jalebi

Where to start? Paneer, of course. Homemade or store bought. Instead of buying the store bought cheese, why not make it at home this time? Don’t forget to check out the elaborate recipe about how to make paneer jalebi. If you have whole milk in the fridge, let me tell you, it’s super easy to make. Boil milk, add a dash of vinegar or lemon juice and wait for it to curdle. Drain it with a muslin cloth and squeeze out all the extra liquid. And done! Gorgeous crumbled paneer made in minutes.

Next comes pureeing paneer in the food processor and then mixing it with all purpose flour, corn flour and a little baking powder. Add in milk little by little so you’ll get the right piping consistency. If you love making churros, apply the same technique here.

Now, onto deep frying paneer jalebi. The two processes of frying jalebis and making sugar syrup should go hand in hand so the piping hot jalebis go straight into the warm sugar syrup.

While the oil is heating up, you can make the sugar syrup. Simply boil sugar and water together for about 5 minutes, and keep it warm over a low heat. You will also need to add in a few cardamom pods and saffron.

Now pipe the paneer mixture into hot oil forming beautiful swirls. You can use a knife or scissors to cut the dough. Deep fry, and then soak in the sweet sugar syrup.

Trust me, this paneer jalebi is out-of-this-world. Absolutely divine!

More Traditional Indian Sweets Recipes:

• Instant Jalebi 
• Boondi Ladoo 
• Moong Dal Ladoo 
• Coconut Ladoo -with Condensed Milk
• Healthy Gajar Halwa | Indian Carrot Pudding 
• 2 Ingredient Gulab Jamun | Rava Gulab Jamun 
• Mysore Pak | Chickpea Fudge 
• Malpua 
• Easy Layered Coconut Burfi 
• Malai Kulfi | Indian Ice Cream 
• Beetroot Halwa 
• Two Tone Chocolate Milk Peda | Milk Fudge 

Yield: 25 jalebis

Paneer Jalebi | Indian Sweets | Video

Print

There’s nothing like sweet, melt in your mouth, piping hot jalebis soaked in saffron and cardamom flavored sugar syrup. Made with paneer or Indian cottage cheese,
these are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Always a favorite!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

Paneer jalebi:

• 2 cups crumbled paneer (Indian cottage cheese) – Homemade or store bought
• 3 tablespoons all purpose (plain) flour
• 2 tablespoons corn flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup milk
• A few drops of orange color (optional)
• Oil for deep frying

Sugar syrup:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cardamom pods, crushed
• 3 saffron strands

To decorate: (optional)

• Saffron strands
• Chopped nuts (pistachios, almonds, peanuts)
• Dried rose petals

Instructions

1. Place crumbled paneer in a food processor. Process to a smooth paste. Transfer the paneer paste to a large bowl.
2. Add all purpose (plain flour, corn flour and baking powder. Add milk little by little and mix to achieve the right consistency.
3. Combine all the ingredients to make a smooth batter that can be easily piped into hot oil.
4. Transfer mixture to a 16-inch piping bag fitted with a ½-inch star nozzle or 1M nozzle (for cute rosettes in the pictures). Set aside.
5. Place 2 saucepans on the stovetop – one for frying jalebis and one for sugar syrup.
6. Heat 2 inches oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat to 180 C or 360 F. While oil is heating, prepare sugar syrup in the other saucepan.
7. To make sugar syrup, place sugar and water in the saucepan over high heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add cardamom pods and saffron. Once sugar has dissolved, simmer the syrup over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, reduce the heat to low, and keep the syrup warm.
8. Once the oil for deep frying is hot, carefully pipe mixture into the oil in swirls, and cut the ends with clean scissors or knife.
9. Let it fry until crisp on the outside, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to the warm sugar syrup and roll to coat.
10. Repeat with the remaining paneer mixture (without overcrowding the pan). Soak all the jalebis in sugar syrup.
11. Decorate with saffron strands, chopped nuts and rose petals if you like.
12. Serve with rabri if you like.

Make this in oven:

Preheat oven to 200C / 400F. Pipe jalebis on lined baking trays. Leave 2-3 cm between each jalebi. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Soak in sugar syrup.

Make this in air fryer:

Preheat air fryer to 180C / 360 F. Pipe jalebis onto baking sheet. Place in air fryer basket and air fry for 13-14 minutes. Soak in sugar syrup.

Notes

1. Use your fingers to crumble the paneer block into crumbs
2. Add more or less milk to get the right consistency
3. The consistency of the paneer mixture is key in this recipe. If too thin, add more flour to thicken it.
4. The hot jalebis should be soaked in warm sugar syrup so make sure you have the sugar syrup ready for the piping hot jalebis coming out of oil
5. Frying over low heat will make the jalebis oily and soft while high heat may create burned jalebis.
6. Deep frying is the best way to make these jalebis, however baking and air frying gives you the healthier version

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 176Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 15mgSodium 171mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 1gSugar 19gProtein 5g

This nutritional data is for information purposes only

 Like this paneer jalebi recipe? Then join Nish Kitchen on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Watch exclusive recipe videos on YouTube.