The Transformation of Luqmat al-Qadi into Gulab Jamun
Part of the pool of the oldest desserts, Luqmat al-Qadi's (لقمات القاضي) origination can be found within a cooking manuscript transcribed by a scribe whose name is known as Muhammed of Baghdad. This was found in 1226 under the 10th chapter named, "On making Kushkananaj, Mutbaq, Crepes and Things mixed with flours that are analogous with those". The earliest versions of The Judge's morsels, as the English translation suggests, were nothing more than a fritter of a plain fermented flour batter, coated with sugar, honey or syrup. It was almost 100 years later in 1373 when the oldest version of the recipe closest to the present day Luqmat al-Qadi was found in an Arabic cookbook under the title, The Description of Familiar Foods in Cairo, Egypt. This batter was more sophisticated and called for a 2:1 mixture of finely pounded sugar and nuts(almonds or pistas) kneaded with rosewater, musk and/or syrup. This was supposedly then left to ferment and deep-fried later to coat with more syrup or sugar, as necessary.
The appeal of Luqmat al-Qadi
The preparation of Luqmat al-Qadis seems to have been a tedious task as the flour needed to be free of bran, low in gluten and high in starch. Notably, the dessert was considered a delicacy because it has been recorded that once the dessert was spread to the Ottomans, Luqmat al-Qadi became a regular in parties and festivities.
Luqmat al-Qadi's popularity made it to other places in the world as well. Not only did the dessert become popular in Turkey, but it also spread to Greece. The hot honey tokens were a celebratory meal offered to the winner of the Olympics. Loukma, Loukoumadas or Loukmadas is how the Luqmat-al-Qadi came to be known in areas of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.
Luqmat al-Qadi's spread to India
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammed Ghori, crowned as the Sultan of the Ghurid Empire, had his extensive network of the empire established wide across the Indian subcontinent. He retaliated aggressively to his first defeat against the Rajput king, Prithiviraj Chauhan by executing him in the 2nd battle. With no force strong enough as Rajputs in the 12th century to battle against him, Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammed Ghori expanded his reign unrestrained from Bhatinda (in the state of Punjab) all the way eastwards till Bengal, including some parts of present-day Bangladesh as well. The extent of his reign is important to know as the expertise of the infamous, beloved dessert Gulab Jamun possibly came forward during his rule.
Arabic-origin rulers; as established before; seemed to be fond of serving countless amounts of indulgent desserts for their parties. Thus it might be no offence to assume under calculated reasoning, that Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammed Ghori must have enjoyed the indulgence of Luqmat al-Qadi among many desserts to celebrate the unrestricted charge over Indian territories. This isn't to imply that the dessert has its associations with warfare alone. The assumption was stated to draw a link between the Luqmat al-Qadi and India.
Not much could be found with the keywords 'Gulab Jamun' and 'first origination in medieval India'. No attempt to link the two desserts conclusively has been made before this one. Therefore whatever follows next isn't neatly backed up with facts either.
Speculative analysis of how Luqmat al-Qadi became Gulab Jamun
All recipes available for Luqmat al-Qadi, including the oldest ones, have an important special ingredient: yeast. Instant dry yeast wasn't available in its ready-made form for use until 1973 and active dry yeast wasn't available for commercial use until 1943. This meant that any recipes that required yeast as an ingredient, typically bread, used handed-down sourdough starters. Any reader familiar with the art of baking bread would know the importance of an aged sourdough starter in contrast to a newborn starter or instant yeast.
In India, the approach of adding a leavener to bread was never the norm. No Indian flatbreads; especially the ones that are made at home; include yeast in them. However, leaving an emperor deficient of a dessert as appealing as Luqmat al-Qadi could invite a death sentence. Perhaps then, to evade a possible execution, and in a bid to find a possible alternative some cook might have swapped khoya(खोया/मावा, evaporated milk solids) for yeast. Khoya is made by evaporating milk for a long time until all liquid evaporates.
The solids that are left behind in the vessel are collected and assigned the name khoya. Khoya for its part was easily available in India and was prized for its rich nutty flavour. Khoya retains moisture when it is added to a dish. Its ability to trap moisture is so good that it spoils easily if it isn't stored well. Since yeast was added to the batter to make it soft and porous, substitute khoya worked well. While some modern-day Gulab Jamum recipes call for baking powder, it is possible to make soft Gulab Jamuns without the addition of the leavening agent.
While it is impossible to know with a lack of historical evidence when and how the names evolved and changed, it is safe to say that the change in ingredients had been noticed. The name Gulab Jamun steered far away from Loukma, Loukoumadas or Loukmadas; all of which were derivatives of the name Luqmat al-Qadi. The dessert now popularly called Gulab Jamun comes from 2 words; Gulab owing to the rosewater in the sugar syrup and Jamun because of its resemblance to the Java plum fruit (Indian Blackberry).
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