Ingredients:-

White Urad- 1 cup

Rice- 1 Tbs

Sugar- 1 1/2 cup

Water- 1/2 cup

Saffron -little

Rose Water- 2 Tsp

color – a few drops of red and yellow

Method:-

• Soak Urad and rice together in water for 15 minutes at least (I soaked overnight )
• Grind for 40-45 minutes into a smooth thick frothy paste with very little water using a wet grinder (mixie does not give good results)
• Add color just before taking out of wet grinder
• Do not let the batter sour, should be fried immediately after grinding.
• Prepare syrup using sugar and water in a heavy pan on a medium heat till 1/2 string consistency ( sticky syrup should be tested by rubbing in between thumb and index and when pulled apart should form a thin string which should break before 1/2 inch gap) add rose water , few drops of color and crushed saffron to this and keep warm
• Heat oil in a medium kadai/pan to 1& 1/2 to 2  inch depth
• Take little dough in a piping bag fitted with tube / round tip or use a  ziploc plastic bag fill making a cone shape tie the open end and cut the tip
• Applying gentle pressure drop and make circles/ jalebis into the hot oil ( the oil should not be too hot otherwise it will over crisp, jangri color should not change) cook on both sides
• Drain excess oil on a paper towel before dropping in hot syrup
• Let soak in syrup coating both sides for atleast a minute, remove promptly and let drain by arranging on a flat plate
• Tastes better after letting cool . Enjoy

Store in an air tight container, it is normal that they will soften more the next day, to retain the crispness you can refrigerate. I kind of like it soft.

As I do not like the syrup to be overly sweet I add juice of 1/2  a lemon to the syrup giving  it a slight tang, it also stops the syrup from crystallizing.

Thanking Mrs. Mallika Badrinath for this recipe from her book – Traditional Sweets.