Recipe: Carrot Jam (Morabbe-ye Haveej)

Recipe Source: Shaida, Margaret.  The Legendary Cuisine of Persia.  Interlink Books, Brooklyn, 2002 p. 227.

I'll be the first to tell you that I don't like carrots.  They are really far too sweet for me.  I'm a rare bird in that respect, though.  A lot of people that I know absolutely adore carrots, so when I saw this recipe for a traditional Persian carrot jam I thought it would be perfect for my big Christmas project.  It wasn't exactly hard to make, but it was a little "fiddly." 

The original recipe wanted the carrots to be slivered, with the woody core of the carrot removed.  I did the best I could, but I soon found that this took a LOT of time.  This was a lot of time standing, and I just can't do that these days.  Eventually I gave up and turned to my trusty food processor, which rendered me some carrot slivers in no time at all.  I also decided not to bother slivering the pistachios and almonds.  I had some almond slices that worked just fine. 

Morabba-ye Haveej (makes 7 8-oz jars and 4 4-oz jars; approx. cost per serving not available)

3 orange peels

4 lb carrots, peeled and slivered

6 cups sugar

5 teaspoons rosewater

3 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 cup sliced almonds

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Small saucepan
• Strainer
• Large stockpot
• 7 8-oz mason jars, with lids and bands
• 4 4-oz mason jars, with lids and bands
• Tongs
• Boiling water canner

1. Cut the orange peels into very thin slivers and put them into the small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then drain.  Repeat two more times.  This apparently removes bitterness.
2. Bring the sugar and 2 1/2 cups water to a boil, then boil gently for 5 minutes.
3. Add the carrots and orange slivers.  Boil until the carrots are tender and the syrup thickens. 
4. Add the lemon juice, cardamom and nuts.  Boil until the mixture reaches 225 degrees. 
5. In the meantime, prepare your canning equipment.  Put your jars, lids and bands into the stock pot.  Fill with water and bring that water to 180 degrees.  Fill your boiling water canner and bring the water to 180 degrees. 
6. When the carrot mixture reaches 225 degrees, remove from heat and add the rosewater. 
7. Ladle the mixture into the prepared jars and lower into the boiling water canner.  (It may be necessary to do this in batches depending on the size of your equipment.)  Bring the water to a rolling boil, then cover and process 30 minutes. 
8. Label and store.