The origin of Gulab Jamun
The origin of Gulab Jamun
With a history spanning generations and transcending geographical boundaries, the gulab jamun is one of those dishes which reflects the amalgamation and ultimate universality of different cultures. Born in Greece, the dish is now a part of many cultures, each one adding to it , something unique of their own.
The very first reference to a dish which resembles Gulab Jamun is from Greece. According to the Greek poet and librarian Callimachus, the Lokmades, round, deep fried, honey soaked pastries were given to the winners of the first Olympic games as small gifts.
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Loukoumades_Greek_Doughnuts_with_Walnuts_and_Honey.jpg/1024px-Loukoumades_Greek_Doughnuts_with_Walnuts_and_Honey.jpg
As people move from one place to another, they bring with them their customs , habits and of course their food.
The next major reference to such a dish is found in the Arabic cookbooks from medieval times , during the Abbasid Caliphate. Now called the Lokma or the luqaymat - al - qadi , the deep fried pastry was soaked in rosewater (a popular regional ingredient) along with honey and then served.
Conquerors can never truly conquer culture, because there is something that is unique to that particular region which always remains with it.
And when this dish became popular within the Ottoman Empire, it soon spread to different regions that they conquered in the Middle East and the Balkans.
Each region however , produced a different variation of the dish. Some versions modified the recipe, like adding cinnamon to give the dish a spicy taste. Other versions changed the shape like using an elongated pastry instead of a round one. In some places, the pastry, soaked in honey was had with cheese , like a breakfast item.
When it comes to India, we have the gulab jamun.
While many of the versions mentioned above do not use milk, gulab jamun is made especially using milk solids. The pastry is then soaked , and remains soaked, in a syrup of rose water and cinnamon.
There is a common myth that gulab jamun was accidentally prepared by Shah Jahan's chef. However , when Ibn Batuta, the Moroccan traveler , came to India in the 14th century , way before the Mughals, he mentions eating this dish in a local diner there.
While today, there are so many versions of this dish like the 'ready to eat 'packets of gulab jamuns, gulab jamuns stuffed with ice cream, chocolate and many delicious fillings, it is a possibility that the dish was brought into India by the Islamic rulers who came here in the 11th century. Like every other region, the dish went through its own modifications here, ultimately leading to the Gulab (meaning rose) Jamun (reference to the fruit it resembles) that we know and love today.
References:
1. https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/notes-from-all-over-kunal-vijayakar-traces-the-roots-of-some-of-our-favourite-foods/story-nLBoOIDulEGLgVyOtaBROJ.html. Accessed on 17th June, 2021
2. https://www.kopiaste.org/2008/04/lokmades-loukoumades-kypriakoi-cypriot-doughnuts/. Accessed on 17th June, 2021.
3. https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/gulab-jamun-recipe-using-milk-powder/. Accessed on 16th June, 2021.
4. https://recipes.timesofindia.com/articles/features/the-untold-story-of-gulab-jamun/photostory/65841340.cms. Accessed on 15th June, 2021.
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulab_jamun#:~:text=vanilla%20ice%2Dcream.-,Origins,Shah%20Jahan's%20personal%20chef.
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