India has a whole genre of sweet desserts which were once made in the home, but are now mostly made by specialized halvaies – Indian pâtissiers. Gulab jamun are one of India’s favourites: little syrupy doughnuts made from thickened milk instead of flour and soaked in sugar syrup rather than stuffed with jam or sweetened in the batter. I use dry milk powder which I rehydrate, not the traditional thickened, solidified milk, as that takes too long and needs too much attention to make. There are only two tricks to getting these doughnuts right: the right consistency of dough (not too soft, not too hard); and frying them over a very low heat so they cook all the way to the centre, stirring the oil almost continuously so they brown evenly. I like them warm as they will be softer, and you can reheat them in their syrup, but you can equally eat them cold. Serve as they are, or with a little ice cream.