Moraba-ye Haveej - Persian Carrot Jam

Has it ever happened to you that you have all the necessary ingredients to make a delicious meal but instead you don't know what to cook and are not inspired enough to cook up something new! These are the times you call your mom, sister, friend, or even a neighbor and ask for their opinion. We need suggestions and helpful comments as to how to do our hair, what to wear to a wedding, what color purse matches our outfits and so on. In my case, several days ago I was looking at a 5 pound bag of organic carrots and wondered about the possibilities.

In our home we almost have a set menu that everyone is more or less OK with. There are things that I may make several times a month and then there are those dishes that I rarely make for no special reason and dishes that include carrots are among them. When it comes to carrots, we prefer to eat them raw. There's usually a plate of sliced fruits and vegetables such as carrots, celery, broccoli, apples and oranges on our kitchen table at all times. I needed some inspiration to make something different and new with them. So, I decided to put the question to the fans of Turmeric and Saffron's Facebook Page. That's a community that I'm so grateful for and appreciate to be a part of. There were wonderful responses but the idea of making a مربای هویج Persian carrot preserve with cardamom as suggested by one of the fans had me so excited that  I decided to give it a try!

You can either cook carrots, water and sugar together from the start, or first cook the carrots lightly to soften them a little. However, for me, softening the carrots is not an issue since we are used to eating them raw. 

Moraba-ye Haveej - Persian Carrot Jam

Ingredients:

2 pounds carrots, peeled and grated

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

5 cardamom pods (remember to remove the pods)

2 tablespoons rosewater

Method:

1. Place carrots and two cups of water in a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes. 
2. Add sugar all at once and bring mixture back to full rolling boil, stirring constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. 
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, add cardamom and lime juice, cover and continue to cook for about 30 minutes or until it has thickened and looks syrupy. 
4. In the last 5 minutes of cooking add rosewater, stir and cover the pot. 
5. Ladle jam into sterilized and dry glass jars, allow to cool completely and close the lids tightly, refrigerate.