Indian Sweet Tangy Raw Mango Preserve

An authentic, ancient Indian recipe. The natural tang of raw mangoes and sweetness of jaggery /sugar is like firecracker on the tongue! Goes well with roti /flat bread, breakfast bread or even straight out of the jar! ;-) Every summer we make jars of this and it lasts at least for 8 months! Must try this!

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Yields: 3-4 jam jars

Ingredients

• 7 -8  raw mangoes
• 12  cups sugar (solidified sugar syrup, cant be made at home, available at Indian food stores) or 8  cups  golden jaggery (solidified sugar syrup, cant be made at home, available at Indian food stores)
• 2 -3  cups water
• 3 -4  black cloves
• 1  small  piece cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Sterilize 2 or 3 bottles for the preserve. Dry them off completely and keep away for other foodstuffs.
2. Cut the mangoes with the peel on.Remove the seed. If really green and raw, they will be soft, white from inside (but firm to touch) without a hard seed in the middle. In that case do not bother to de-seed it. (That is the perfect raw mango actually).
3. Place the cut fruit in a large thick bottomed saucepan.
4. Sprinkle 8 cups of the sugar/ 6 cups of jaggery on it and give it a mixing.
5. Keep for approximately 15 minute.
6. Place the vessel on medium flame, add the water and stir.
7. Let it boil. Stir to prevent sticking at the bottom. DO NOT COVER PAN.
8. Add the spices and salt.
9. After about 15 min please check for taste.You can modify it as you prefer. Or, add the remaining sugar/ jaggery.
10. **The sourness of different varieties of mangoes is very different, so it is necessary to customize this recipe to the kind of mangoes you use. ( The proportions given here are just for reference, made using Indian raw mangoes, in India).
11. It will take about 30 to 40 min to cook off. The fruit will become soft and can be crushed under the pressure of a steel spoon. Stir properly and frequently.
12. Lower the flame and allow all the water to evaporate till a thick syrupy consistency is achieved. ( to help preserve, it is important that no excess water remains, or it will catch some fungi etc.).
13. Let it cool completely. Try not to get it in contact with any other moist surface to prevent spoiling for long time.
14. After it is at room temperature, and no more steam is left, transfer to sterilized jars and store at room temperature. (unless the weather is too hot).