Loquat Murabba

I am sure if you have read my earlier posts you would know that we have a big loquat tree in our backyard. We will be completing one year in this house, and this is the first fruiting season we encountered. We had no idea of what this fruit would be. We were not sure of the taste of the fruit, size of the fruit, size of the flesh...no idea at all. When we saw the entire tree covered with flowers late winter, it just looked beautiful and when fruits were formed early spring, we tried to taste the raw one. The raw fruit was tart and to us seemed similar to Indian Amla/gooseberries. The ripe fruit tastes sweet and sour with a soft flesh and thin skin. Love the way the fruit looks on the tree in bunches and clusters.

Murabba is a Indian pickle or a jam with a delicious sweet and sour taste. Mango Murabba is very popular in India and I make it too, but thought of trying Loquat Murabba. Loquat is perfect for making jams and murabbas. The natural pectin in loquat gives it a perfect consistency.

Ingredients
1 cup loquat, de-seeded and chopped
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Pinch of saffron
2-3 whole cloves
Seeds of 2 cardamom

• Wash loquat well and dry them flat on a towel. De-seed and cut into pieces.
• In a pan, mix sugar and water and bring it to boil.
• Add chopped loquat and simmer till the mixture turns color and thickens and becomes syrupy.
• Add saffron, whole cloves, cardamom seeds and simmer for few minutes.
• Turn off the heat. Let Loquat murabba cool and then fill in a sterilized jar. Well cooked murabba need not be refrigerated. It will stay good in a cool, dry place.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe: