Easy Carrot Jam | How to Make Persian “Morabaye Haveej”

Carrots for breakfast!? Yes, you heard that right. This wonderfully easy carrot jam is traditionally served at Persian breakfasts alongside a warm slice of bread and some butter and cheese. Morabaye Haveej is a simple recipe with only 6 ingredients and under an hour cooking time. The bursts of cardamom and rose water make the flavor of this jam super unique.

My mother-in-law suggests eating this the traditional way on a slice of bread. But she confided to me that she also loves it as a topping on vanilla ice cream. I like both these ways and I also mix it into my morning oatmeal -– although eating it straight from the jar is totally acceptable too.

This recipe will make enough jam to easily fit into a pint-sized jar.

Ingredients

5 large carrots, shredded
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
Juice and zest of 1 lemon*
5-6 cardamom pods, crushed
1-2 tablespoons rose water**

Method

1. Shred carrots by hand using a box grater or throw them into a food processor.
2. In a heavy bottom pot, pour in sugar and water. Cover and bring to a simmer (about 5 minutes).
3. Add the shredded carrots to the pot. Cover, turn up the heat and bring to a boil (about 10 min). Reduce heat and let simmer for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. With about 5 minutes left, stir in cardamom seeds and lemon juice and zest.
5. Once most of the liquid has evaporated and the carrots are soft, turn off the heat and stir in rose water.
6. Allow the carrot jam to cool completely in the pot. Then transfer to a heat-safe container or jar. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

Notes

*When my mother-in-law was teaching me this recipe, she used a dried lime steeped in water for this step. Dried limes are not always easily found, so using fresh lime or lemon juice and the zest will work just fine.
**If you’ve never tasted rose water before, it can be pretty overpowering. In my mother-in-law’s recipe, she puts in about a 1/3 cup of rose water. For the recipe above, I reduced it quite a bit.

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