Street sweet · Crispy and juicy

Jalebi Recipe (Crispy Homemade Jalebi)

Thick batter. Hot oil. Warm syrup.

Farwa ZeeshanRecipe by Farwa ZeeshanTested in the NineFoods home kitchen

Jalebi are crisp spirals of fried batter soaked in syrup. They fail when the batter is thin and spreads, the oil is too cool and they go soft, or the syrup is too thick. The fix is a thick, flowing batter, medium-hot oil and warm one-string syrup.

Prep15m
Cook25m
Servings6
kcal / serving300
LevelMedium
Jump to the method

The 3 laws of jalebi

Why this recipe works

Thick batter

Runny batter

It must hold a spiral.

Medium-hot oil

Cool oil

Cool oil makes soft, oily jalebi.

Warm syrup

Hot or cold syrup

Warm syrup soaks in without softening.

Shopping and prep list

Ingredients

Servings
Tap items as you gather them · 0 of 0 ready

Batter

Syrup

The NineFoods oil gauge

Is the oil at the right heat?

Drop a pinch of dough or batter in the oil.

Tap a stage to see what to do.

Method · 4 stages

Step by step

1

Batter

No heat · 10 min
  1. Mix flour, cornflour, yogurt, colour and water into a thick batter.
  2. Rest 10 minutes (or ferment 8 hours with yeast).
Look for: thick, smooth, flowing batter.
10:00
2

Syrup

Medium · 6 min
  1. Boil sugar and water to one-string consistency.
  2. Add lemon, cardamom and saffron; keep warm.
Look for: one-string syrup.
06:00
3

Fry

Medium-high · 3 min per batch
  1. Pipe spirals into hot oil from a squeeze bottle.
  2. Fry until crisp and golden, turning once.
Look for: crisp, golden spirals.
03:00
4

Soak

Warm syrup · 1 min
  1. Dip hot jalebi in warm syrup for 30 to 60 seconds.
  2. Lift onto a rack.
Look for: glossy, crisp and juicy.
01:00

Chef's troubleshooter

What went wrong? Pick the symptom

Why

Batter too thin.

Fix next time

Add 1 tbsp flour to thicken.

Why

Oil not hot or soaked too long.

Fix next time

Fry in hotter oil and soak under 1 minute.

Why

No acid.

Fix next time

Add lemon juice to the syrup.

Why

Syrup too thick.

Fix next time

Use one-string syrup, not thicker.

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Ingredient roles and substitutes

IngredientJob in the dishSwap with
MaidaBasePlain flour
CornflourCrispnessRice flour
YeastFermented tangBaking powder for instant
Squeeze bottlePipingZip bag with a small hole

After the meal

Serve, store, reheat

Serve with

Warm, or with rabri or milk for breakfast.

Store

Best eaten fresh; airtight 1 day.

Reheat

Warm in an oven at 160 C for 3 minutes.

How we tested this recipe

Tested in a home kitchen, not a studio

Farwa Zeeshan

Recipe developed and tested by Farwa Zeeshan, who cooks and tests every NineFoods recipe on a regular home stove.

  • Cooked from start to finish with the exact quantities above for 6 servings, using both the metric and US cup measures.
  • Every one of the 4 stages was timed at the stove; heat levels and the 'look for' cues are what we saw in the pan.
  • The doneness check (is the oil at the right heat) and the troubleshooter come from batches that went wrong, and how we fixed them.
  • Reheating and storage advice was checked on leftovers, not guessed.

Read our full testing process

Keep cooking

Related recipes and guides

All dessert recipesSugar Syrup Stages for MithaiHow to Make KhoyaHow to Make Ghee at Home

Quick answers

Jalebi FAQ

How do I make jalebi crispy?

Use a thick batter with cornflour, fry in hot oil and soak briefly in warm syrup.

Can I make instant jalebi?

Yes, use baking powder instead of yeast and rest 10 minutes.

What syrup is used for jalebi?

One-string sugar syrup with lemon, cardamom and saffron.

How do I pipe jalebi without a cloth?

Use a squeeze bottle or a zip bag with a small hole.