Gajar ka Murabba | Carrot Murabba

Chopping carrots

1. Rinse in water a few times and then peel the carrots. Use tender juicy carrots and not hard or fibrous carrots. Also go for thin carrots as they take less time to cook.
2. With a fork prick holes on the carrots all over. Use a large fork so that the holes are slightly deeper as then the carrots will absorb more sugar syrup.
3. Cut the carrots in slightly thick sticks or batons of 2.5 to 3 inches length. 
4. Some carrots may be light yellow coloured from the centre. Remove this yellow coloured part.

Making gajar murabba

1. Take the carrots in a medium sized thick bottomed pot or pan. You can also take a heavy kadai.
2. Add sugar and water.
3. Mix and stir so that all sugar is dissolved.
4. Place the pan on a low to medium-low heat and begin to simmer this mixture.
5. Do not cover pan with any lid. in between do check occasionally when the carrots are cooking.
6. The carrots will release their juices and the mixture will look watery. However still continue to simmer.
7. After simmering for some minutes, the carrots will also be almost cooked.
8. Once the carrots are almost cooked or tender, then continue to simmer the mixture.
9. Slowly the sugar syrup will start thickening and reducing. The mixture will start to look glossy and the colour of carrots will also change.
10. When the syrup becomes sticky at this time you need to pay attention. Keep on stirring often so that the carrot murabba mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Thus its advisable to use heavy thick bottomed pan or kadai.
11. Continue to simmer till you get a half thread consistency in the syrup. meaning the thread breaks as soon as it forms.
12. If you want to preserve the murabba for a long time, then cook till 1 thread consistency. With one thread consistency, there may be formation of sugar crystals. So you can add a few drops of lemon juice in the syrup.
13. Then keep the pan down and add ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder.
14. Then add the saffron strands. You can opt to add 2 teaspoons rose water instead of saffron.
15. Mix and turn off heat. Let carrot murabba cool at room temperature.
16. Then spoon the gajar murabba in a clean glass jar. Store at room temperature if you live in a cool or cold region. But keep in the fridge if you live in a humid, warm or hot region.
17. Serve Gajar ka Murabba as a sweet or as a side condiment with your meals.