You are going to love these Indian apple fritters! I’m sharing the most delicious recipe for apple jalebi! These apple donuts are served in a warm cardamom spiced syrup and garnished with crushed pistachios.
These apple jalebis are so decadent! They’re also a “healthier” dessert. They are paleo-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan too!
Indian desserts are known to be fairly unhealthy. I believe my paleo adaptations are a better option than going with store-bought and I’ll tell ya why.
It’s because you know exactly what you’re putting into it. I always choose to use high quality ingredients. For example, while these apple fritters are fried – I fry them at home in a good quality neutral oil like avocado oil. When you buy them at the store, who knows what’s in them.
Traditionally, jalebis are made with a fermented batter, which is what makes them nice and bubbly. Most of the time, yogurt is used as a leavening agent but I ferment the batter a different way! I use these probiotic capsules. You just empty the probiotic powder into the batter and then discard the capsule’s casing. Allow the batter to ferment – then dip the apple slices into the batter!
The probiotic powder helps to ferment the batter and so you end up with a crust that’s just as nice and bubbly when deep-fried in hot oil. I use the probiotic powder to keep this recipe dairy-free/vegan so that those with food allergies/certain lifestyles can also enjoy this dessert. I myself am gluten-free which is why I try to create delicious recipes that the majority of people can enjoy.
This apple jalebi recipe along with some of my other paleo Indian desserts (like my other jalebi recipe or my gulab jamun recipe) are from my eBook, South Asian Persuasion: 100+ Paleo Indian Recipes. All of the recipes in my eBook are gluten-free, grain-free and lactose-free (ghee is the only dairy I use in the book). If you follow a paleo diet or are gluten-free, you will most definitely want my paleo Indian ecookbook!
I hope you make and love these apple jalebis! This might just be my favorite Indian dessert! Okay okay, I think it’s a tie between this and gulab jamun 😉
Ingredients
- Avocado oil or fat of choice enough to fry
Jalebi batter:
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup arrowroot flour
- ½ cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- Probiotic capsules totaling 40 to 50 billion cultures*
Before frying:
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup arrowroot flour
- 2 apples peeled, cored and sliced
Syrup:
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- Crushed pistachios garnish
Instructions
- To make the Jalebi batter, combine almond flour, arrowroot, and coconut milk together in a bowl. Empty the contents of the probiotic capsules into the bowl and mix well.
- Loosely cover the bowl with a lid and put it in an oven with the oven light on for at least 10 hours. The oven should not be on, just the oven light.
- Once the batter has fermented, add ¼ cup water to the bowl and mix well.
- Heat oil in a wok or a deep, wide bottomed pot to 360°F or until a small drop of the batter sizzles and floats to the top.
- While the oil is heating, add ¼ cup arrowroot flour to a plate, dip the apple slices on both sides.
- Dip the apple into the fermented batter, then place into the hot oil until both sides are light golden brown. Cook 2-3 apple slices at a time. Then set aside on a paper-towel lined plate.
- Dip into cooled syrup, garnish with crushed pistachios and serve.
To make the syrup:
- Add coconut sugar, water and cardamom to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Remove the sauce from heat, allow to cool.
Notes
- Depending on the brand of priobiotics you use, the number of capsules may vary. Look at the back of the box to see the number of cultures are in one capsule. If you use this brand, you’ll want to use two capsules since each capsule has 25 billion cultures. With other brands, you may need to use four or five in order to reach 40-50 billion. This is super easy to find at your local drugstore (CVS carries them!) but you can buy them on amazon as well.
Sri says
Hello,
Can I use the yogurt directly instead of using coconut milk with probiotic capsules? If yes, then how much yogurt should I use?
Thanks,
Sri
Amanda Butler says
Hello!
I can’t wait to make this. I recently made your 3-ingredient naan and loved it! I am wondering about the purpose of the probiotic capsules. Is this a necessary ingredient? I’ve read several posts on how heat destroys the probiotic, so I am just wondering if there is another purpose.
Thank you!
Shruthi says
Hi, could I know if I could prepare these apple jalebi s one day prior and serve the guests next day ? Will it become mushy and soft ? How it keep it fresh and crisp for more than a day. ?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Shruthi, I think this tastes best right when it’s done – I’d suggest making these close to when you plan to serve.
Louise Gagne says
I know you will likely have a bunch of requests about subbing the almond flour, but thought I would let you know that I will try this with tiger nut flour instead and almond flour is a no-no for me. My daughter-in-law is East Indian and she has tried my AIP Gulab Jamun and loved it, so hope this works out as well! Thank you for the recipe.
My Heart Beets says
That’s awesome! I’ve never used tiger nut flour – please let me know how it turns out!