Vanilla panna cotta with gulab jamuns

FOR PANNACOTTA:

Take ½ cup of milk and add the instant custard powder to it. Mix it well
Heat the milk
Lower the flame and add the custard powder mix to the milk.
Stir well till the custard gets cooked (about 2 minutes)
Remove from the heat and let it cool
Stir in the gelatin in warm water and mix it well
Add the gelatin to the custard and put the custard in the mould in which you intend to serve it or you can remove them from the mould and then serve
Keep the individual moulds in the refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours or till the custard sets. (I let them sit overnight)
Serve with gulab jamuns!

FOR GULAB JAMUNS:

Mix the sugar, water, lemon juice (to get rid of the impurities) and bring to a boil. Remove the scum and add saffron. Remove from heat and add cardamom powder.
Keep the syrup in a casserole to keep it warm.

Mix all ingredients for the jamun and make dough. Rest it for half an hour (I kept the dough covered with moist cloth to prevent it from becoming dry).

Divide the dough into small sections using your palm; shape them into small round balls (when the dough started to harden or dry out, I added a little milk to bring it to the required consistency).

Heat the ghee until hot, then reduce the flame, deep fry on very low flame till they are golden brown in colour. (For perfectly turned out gulab jamuns it is important that they are NOT cooked on high or medium heat as this will result in uncooked interior)

Drain them and add to the syrup. Then jamuns should be immersed for at least 20 minutes or till them soften and absorb the syrup. You can serve with their syrup or drained. Serve hot garnished with nuts (optional).

This proportion will yield nearly 42 gulab jamuns.

Note: You can make this recipe to 1/3rd proportion

Note: The changes that I made were that I made them much smaller in size , which was actually for presentation purpose, and fried them till they acquired a darker shade of brown. You can choose the size/colour for yourself. Also, I warmed the gulab jamuns in the micro-oven and served them with the chilled custard pannacotta. The contrasting temperatures and textures were ultimate palate teasers!