Gajar Ka Murabba (Carrot Murabba)

Gajar Ka Murabba (Carrot Murabba)

I have grown up eating this murabba since childhood,┬ámy mom use to prepare it for me and my brother when we were kids. I never knew then that┬áit requires so much of patience to make such a traditional sweet dish.┬áI love eating this┬ábut have never prepared it on my own ever (though remember getting ready-made mixed murabba boxes as Diwali gifts after marriage when we were in Delhi), this is the first time that┬áI made it all by my self and notttt┬ábaddddd is what I am feeling now …..though I had to call my mom a number of times in between to recheck if I am going fine with the way she explained me over the phone.

Murraba is a sweet fruit pickle that originated in Gurjistan, the present day Republic of Georgia. It is traditionally sweet and it can be made from many fruits or vegetables like Amla (Indian Gooseberries), Raw Mangoes, Carrots, Pineapple, Apple etc.

It is said that murraba is too healthy specially the one made from Carrots or Amla (Indian Gooseberries) and if taken one piece early in the morning with a glass of milk is really good for the eye sight.

If you are not┬áweight┬áconscious then I recommend please do try this recipe and store it in your fridge for a week and keep having it one piece a day, you will love it!! Best is if you wish to have it as a dessert then top it┬áwith some rabri (if you don’t have rabri handy with you┬áthen┬ámilkmaid┬áwill also do wonders along with lots of nuts)….hmmmm!!!!

So here I go……

Ingredients -

• Carrot - 1 kg
• Sugar - 3 Cups
• Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
• Nuts chopped (Almonds, Pistachios, Cashews) - 1/2 cup
• Water - 1 small┬ábowl
• Saffron┬ástrands - a few

Eyeing(Just Carrots)!!

Method -

Wash the carrots in running water nicely, peel them and break the stems. Now wash them again.

Take a soft muslin cloth and pat dry the carrots, when the carrots are dried, cut the carrots into 1 1/2 inch pieces. If you see the inside yellow portion, cut the carrots into parts and remove the yellow hard portion from them.

Washing, Peeling, Drying and Chopping!!

Now prick all the chopped carrots with the help of the fork (we do this to ensure the carrots get cooked nicely in the sugar syrup and it also well absorbs the sugar syrup while cooking).

Pricking, Adding (Sugar)!!

Let them dry for about an hour. After an hour, take a big bowl and mix sugar and carrots nicely. Ensure the sugar is mixed well from top to bottom of the entire chopped carrots. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep overnight. There are various ways to prepare this murabba┬á(Please note the other method of preparing the Murabba is by boiling the carrots in water for 3 -5 minutes, drying for sometime and directly cooking in sugar syrup, I have never tried that one) but I follow the method I learnt from┬á my mom and it worked really well for me. So let’s keep these carrots overnight in sugar bowl and wait for the next morning….

Soaking(overnight),Boiling, Boiling and Boiling :)…..!!!!

Next morning you will see the sugar is now converted into water like consistency and the carrots are nicely resting inside them. The juice will come out of the carrots and collect into the bowl.

Next step is to pour the entire mixture into a heavy bottom pan and keep it on low flame for cooking. Add about 1 small bowl of water inside the pan. We need to now cook the carrots in sugar syrup and water for about 40 - 45 minutes on low to medium flame (please keep a watch on the flame and keep stirring in between) till the sugar syrup reaches the one string consistency. The sugar syrup should get thick( not too thick also) and should not be too thin in its consistency. I feel reaching to the right kind of sugar syrup consistency is the key to this recipe. If the sugar consistency gets too thick the sugar with freeze in the bowl itself after few hours, hence please keep checking while the sugar is boiling. The sugar syrup should reach to the same consistency as we see in any other Indian Sweet dishes like Gulab Jamun or Jalebi.By now the carrots also will be well cooked and red in color.

Simply Eating ….Enjoying!!

Once the carrots cool down, add saffron strands and the lemon juice to it and your Gajar Ka Murabba is ready. I keep this Murabba in my fridge and take out a few pieces of it as and when require. You can store it for a week in any air tight container.

Enjoy this yummy traditional dessert with your loved ones!!

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