Tara Sawhney experiences meaningful moments by cooking gulab jamun, North Indian delicacy

Sometimes, a food is so delicious or regularly eaten that it becomes more than just a food — it’s a comforting tradition that brings everyone who eats it together closer. For junior Tara Sawhney, the doughnut-like Northern Indian dessert gulab jamun is just that food. 

Making gulab jamun from scratch is a laborious process. Its main ingredient is milk solids, which are derived from constantly stirring milk over a low flame, sometimes for hours, until almost all of the water has evaporated. These milk solids are kneaded along with flour and ghee (clarified butter) until everything incorporates stiff, smooth dough. The dough is then formed into small balls about the size of a doughnut hole, which are quickly deep fried in butter. The final product is drained of fat, and immediately put into warm sugar syrup to soak for a few hours.

“Typically my grandmother will make it, Tara said, “and we’ll have it with my parents and my brother. It’s pretty involved — boiling condensed milk, baking it, so on and so on. It takes a while, and is a bit of a process but definitely worth it, though.” 

For Tara, preparing and eating gulab jamun is a special part of the multi-day festival of Diwali, which she and her close family celebrate every year. 

“My family always celebrates Diwali,” Tara Sawhney said. “It’s usually a couple days of celebration, and every year we make sure to have gulab jamun. It’s always fun to relax and sit down with family after dinner and have some more food.”

To Tara, gulab jamun is also a reminder of family she can’t always eat with. Every so often, Tara visits her extended family in northern India, sometimes to celebrate Diwali. There, the holiday is a much longer, and much more involved, tradition. 

“Diwali there is pretty different. It’s the entire city celebrating,” Tara said. “All of the parks are very crowded and very loud. I was there with my parents and brother of course, but we are with my other grandparents, and all my aunts and cousins. I remember in the evening, we had just lit fireworks, and then we just sat down somewhere and had gulab jamun. It was really nice.”

Tara doesn’t go to India every year to celebrate Diwali. However, no matter where she is or who she is with, eating gulab jamun allows her to slow down and take a moment to appreciate the flavor of family.