Traditional Food of India
1.4 Jilebi
Jilebi is a popular ready-to-eat Indian traditional sweet, and is also available in the neighbouring countries; it is also consumed in West Asia and Africa. The other names of jilebi are jalebi, jelabee, zelepi and jilipi (Figure 1.4.1). The attractive features of the product are the crispy texture of the strands while offering a sweet juicy mouth feel. The product is prepared at a small scale in the confectionery-selling shops. The jilebi mix, available on the shelf, is a convenient powdery mix that can be used directly for making the batter by avoiding the fermentation process. The steps of preparation like shaping the jilebi strands, frying, and soaking in sugar syrup are similar to the traditional process.
The number of strands in jilebi varies from 1 to 8 though the frequently sold jilebis in India has 2 or 3 concentric strands. In some places, jilebis are called 2½ or 3½-strand products to indicate the cross-tie strand to join the concentric strands. Spiral-shaped jilebis are also produced in some places. During social and religious festivals, multi-strand jilebis are prepared with enough skills that may contain 5 or more knots compared to conventional samples with 2 or 3 rings. A connecting crosstie strand structure in a jilebi can help join all the strands to offer the desired rigidity to the product. Preparing and serving such jilebis in warm conditions during weddings and other social functions are practiced; often the diameter of the product is between 50 and 100 mm. The product has a shelf-life of just a few days though the crispness and juicy mouth feel decrease markedly with storage.
Freshly prepared warm jilebi is preferred over jilebi prepared a few hours before. Dipping jilebi in warm milk or rabri (a milk-based Indian traditional sweet) is a delicacy. Some people even like to take jilebis along with cold curd (dahi). A combination of jilebi and kachuri (another traditional Indian fried snack) is often described as the best breakfast menu.
Raw materials
Refined wheat flour (maida), sugar, frying oil or ghee, and dahi (equivalent to yogurt) are the major ingredients required for the preparation of jilebi. Optional ingredients are corn flour, rice flour, baking powder, khoa (concentrated semi-solid milk), and permitted food colour and flavour.
Method of preparation
Initially, a thick batter of wheat flour (maida) is made and allowed to ferment by adding a small quantity of curd or dahi (Figure 1.4.2). Later, the batter is mixed and poured through a pore in a skilled manner to obtain continuous circular cross-section strands (3-8 mm in diameter) into the hot oil. The white batter changes its colour to light brown to indicate the end of the frying process. Turning the partially-fried jilebi strands is also useful. The fried jilebi strands are immediately put into warm concentrated sugar syrup for 2-5 min. The use of warm sugar syrup helps in the quick entrance of syrup into the fried strands. The sugar syrup enters the hollow strands of fried jilebi to offer a crisp texture of strands and a sweet juicy taste. The flow of batter from the pores should be uninterrupted to obtain continuous strands. It helps in shaping into the typical shape of jilebi having mainly two or three concentric rings that are also tied by a perpendicular strand (Figure 1.4.1). The shape may be termed as ‘jilebi loops’ and ‘jilebi knots’. Thus, the shape of jilebi is an attraction to consumers, particularly among children.
Technical data
- The flowchart for the preparation of jilebi is shown in Figure 1.4.2. The moisture content of prepared batter is between 57 and 61% which makes it suitable for the appropriate shaping of jilebi strands while 2-4% curd (dahi) may be added for aiding fermentation and obtaining a mild sour taste. However, the addition of curd is not practiced in some of the preparation methods. The fermentation time may be between 1 and 4 hours though some preparation process continues up to 12 hours. The samples can be fried at 160°C for 180-240 seconds. The sugar concentration in the soaking solution may be about 50-55% while the temperature of sugar syrup is maintained between 55 and 600C.
- The product has a shelf-life of 2-5 days though the main attraction like crispness starts decreasing even after 4 hours of preparation; the sample shifts to a soggy texture and sugar crystallisation are visible as white patches on the outer surfaces of the product.
- If the unabsorbed sugar solution is present on the outer surface of the snack, sugar crystallisation occurs over time when temperature decreases and water evaporates. The formation of white patches is considered undesirable for jilebi as glossiness decreases to appear like a stale product. The problem may be avoided by partial replacement of sucrose with 5-10% glucose. Alternatively, a small amount of a mild acid such as lime or lemon juice can be added that hydrolyses sucrose into glucose and fructose to help in retarding sugar crystallisation.
- The rheological behaviour of batter indicating shear-thinning characteristics with yield stress has been reported. The flowability, pH, and pourability data of the batter are available. The flow behaviour index (n) values are well below 1. Sometimes, corn flour is added to the batter to obtain a bright yellow-coloured product. The over-fried jilebi approaches a light brown colour but made the product crispier, a feature preferred by some consumers. The microstructure of the fried jilebi strands indicates a partially porous structure. Sensory assessment of jilebi shows that a glossy appearance, crisp texture and juicy mouth feel are critical attributes for the acceptance of jilebi.
Machinery
A planetary dough/batter mixer, facility for shaping jilebi strands, batch or continuous frying machine, and packaging machinery are needed for the preparation of jiebis.
Requirements
- The product has a short shelf-life, and thus, an increase in the shelf-life of the product and maintaining crispness for a longer duration through research are needed.
- Jilebi contains a good level of fat and sugar, which may be decreased markedly to make the product healthy.
- Development of diabetic jilebi having similar consumer acceptance to the product made with sugar syrup is required.
- Mechanisation of jilebi strand formation and development of a complete jilebi processing line will help industrial production and export.
Further reading
Bhattacharya, S. (2022). Snack foods: Processing and Technology. Academic Press (Elsevier), London, UK.
Chakkaravarthi, A., Nagaprabha, P., Punil Kumar, H.N., Baby Latha, R. and Bhattacharya, S. (2014). Jilebi 3: Effect of frying conditions on physical characteristics. Journal Food Science and Technology, 51, 865–874.
Chakkaravarthi A., Punil Kumar, H.N. and Bhattacharya, S. (2009a). Jilebi-An Indian traditional sweet: attributes, manufacturing practices and scope for large scale production. Indian Food Industries 28(2), 30–36.
Chakkaravarthi A., Punil Kumar, H.N. and Bhattacharya, S. (2009b). Jilebi 1. Effect of moisture content, curd addition and fermentation time on the rheological properties of dispersions. Journal of Food Science and Technology 46, 543–548.
Chakkaravarthi, A., Punil Kumar, H.N. and Bhattacharya, S. (2013). Jilebi 2: Flowability, pourability and pH of batter as affected by fermentation. Journal of Food Science and Technology 50, 293–300.
Prakash, M., Ravi, R., Dattatreya, A. and Bhat, K. K. (2004). Sensory profiling and positioning of jilebi samples by multivariate analysis. Journal of Food Quality 27, 418 – 427.
Websites