Why gulab jamun is called gulab jamun?

That's a great question with a beautiful linguistic origin! The name breaks down as:Gulab = Rose (from Persian "gol" for flower + "ab" for water)Jamun = Indian blackberry fruitSo it's essentially "rose berry" - a poetic name for a sweet that looks like dark berries swimming in rose-scented syrup. What's interesting is that the dessert traveled from the Middle East to India, where the name stuck even as the recipe evolved. In some regions, it's called differently - like "Gulab Jamun" in North India versus "Kala Jamun" in some areas when made with khoya. The name perfectly captures both the appearance (jamun-like) and the primary flavor (gulab/rose).

The name "Gulab Jamun" comes from two Persian words: Gulab (گلاب) means "rose water" - referring to the rose-flavored sugar syrup Jamun (جمون) refers to the Indian blackberry (Java plum) that the sweet resembles in size and shapeSo literally, it means "rose berry" - a berry-shaped sweet soaked in rose-flavored syrup. The dessert has Persian origins and was introduced to India during the Mughal era. The name perfectly describes what it is - a berry-sized sweet dunked in rose-scented syrup. The jamun fruit comparison is quite accurate - both are dark, round, and roughly the same size, though gulab jamun is obviously much sweeter!