Pickle & Preserve

Aamer Morobba (Indian Mango Preserve)

by:
May  2, 2012
4.7
3 Ratings
Aamer Morobba (Indian Mango Preserve)
  • Serves 6-8
Author Notes

My maternal grandmother would make this morobba for us every single summer when she would visit us over the vacations. Mangoes are abundantly available in India over the summer months and growing up, this morobba was absolutely one of my favorite ways of having this delicious fruit. I loved the sticky, syrupy mango chunks that were both sweet and tart but at the same time packed quite a bit of heat from the ginger and the chilies. It tasted so good!
Although my favorite kind of Indian mangoes are not available in the US, the Ataulfos are a pretty good substitute! You can have these preserves as a dessert by itself, or try them in the traditional style with papads/poppadoms! Enjoy! —Madhuja

Test Kitchen Notes

Madhuja's Mango preserve is versatile and delicious. I can imagine eating this over some yogurt, or as a condiment alongside a savory meal or, as we ate it, with a spoon right out of the jar. I cut back on the peppers a little to my family's taste, and we found the result was the perfect balance of all the tastes, with the ginger and pepper, sugar, vinegar and spices. The mango really shines! Perhaps the best part of this dish is how easy it is to make. Many thanks to Madhuja for sharing her grandmother's dish! —healthierkitchen

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 8 mangoes (I prefer Ataulfo), cut into 1" long slices
  • 1 tablespoon very finely minced ginger
  • 4 Serrano peppers, seeded and finely minced
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups white sugar (use less if mangoes are very sweet)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
Directions
  1. Heat the sugar and water together on medium heat. Add the ginger, Serrano peppers, lemon juice, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir frequently until the liquid has reached the consistency of a thick syrup. Now fish out the cinnamon sticks and the cardamom pods.
  2. Add the mangoes. Stir gently making sure that the mangoes do not disintegrate in the syrup. If the mangoes are a little unripe, you need to cook them a little longer, but if your mangoes are ripe, then it only needs to cook for a couple of minutes. They should be soft and cooked through, but definitely not falling apart. Keep an eye on them!
  3. Add a pinch of salt and the vinegar and mix everything gently. You can serve this on the side to a variety of Indian flat breads, or papads or eat it straight up as dessert!
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  • Shalini
    Shalini
  • gingerroot
    gingerroot
  • healthierkitchen
    healthierkitchen
  • Ruthlessmess
    Ruthlessmess

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17 Reviews

Ruthlessmess
Ruthlessmess May 6, 2013
I made this recipe about a week or so ago. I have kept most of it in the fridge and we are still enjoying it. And put one small jar in the cupboard as a test. Unfortunately it doesn't keep as I discovered today. But the refrigerated batch does. Thanks again.
 
Madhuja
Madhuja May 6, 2013
My grandma's morobba never made it past a few days, as it was devoured by my family, so I wasn't sure at all if it would keep or not. Thank you so much for letting me know!
 
Ruthlessmess
Ruthlessmess April 26, 2013
How long does this keep? I want to jar and store this and I was wondering if that's suitable or would it need refrigerating?
 
Madhuja
Madhuja April 26, 2013
Hi Ruthlessmess! I have never tried canning it - I store mine in the fridge and use it up within a couple of weeks. If you do try canning it, please let me know how well it stored! :)
 
Ruthlessmess
Ruthlessmess April 26, 2013
Thanks for getting back to me. I will try a batch, and just make one jar to store in the cupboard, just in case it doesn't keep I won't waste it all. I'll let you know how it goes, this looks lovely.
 
Madhuja
Madhuja April 26, 2013
That sounds like a perfect plan! I am so jealous you have access to Ataulfo mangoes now! Yes, please let me know if it stores well! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! :)
 
Ruthlessmess
Ruthlessmess April 26, 2013
Thanks for sharing it. I have no idea what the variety of the mangoes I have are, I am in the caribbean and they are local, and remind me of alphonso mangoes, though I have never tried Ataulfo mangoes. I'll let you know.
 
Madhuja
Madhuja April 27, 2013
I am sure the mangoes are going be fine! Please let me know how the morobba turned out! :)
 
Ruthlessmess
Ruthlessmess April 28, 2013
It came out really nicely, a lovely balance of flavours that really work well together. I've put a small jar away so we'll see how that keeps and in the mean time enjoy the rest of it. Thank you
 
Madhuja
Madhuja April 28, 2013
I am so, so glad you liked it! Yay! :)
 
rhett
rhett March 19, 2013
I am looking for a apricot chilli preserve recipe
 
Shalini
Shalini May 17, 2012
Hi Madhuja, this is made with ripe mangoes, right? Looks very good!
 
Madhuja
Madhuja May 17, 2012
Thank you, Shalini! Yes, it is made with ripe mangoes, but not super mushy ripe mangoes, the kind that is just going to fall apart in the syrup!
 
gingerroot
gingerroot May 10, 2012
This sounds wonderful. I look forward to trying it!
 
Madhuja
Madhuja May 10, 2012
Thank you so much! Please let me know how it turns out!
 
healthierkitchen
healthierkitchen May 5, 2012
I love the sound of these flavors together!
 
Madhuja
Madhuja May 5, 2012
They really do go well together! Try it sometime! :)