POMEGRANATE JAM

1 8oz jar of jam, 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups pomegranate juice (use this juice recipe BUT use an extra pomegranate so it is the seed of TWO pomegranates blended with 2 cups of water instead of 1)

• ½ cup raw cane sugar

• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

• 5 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder 

• 2 tbsp chia seeds

• 1/2 tsp lemon zest

• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder

• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 pinch salt

• 1 tsp ghee 

• 1 tsp rose water (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the pomegranate juice, sugar and grated ginger in a small pot over medium heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. In a separate small bowl, mix the arrowroot powder with 2 tbsp cool water (or 2 tbsp of cool pomegranate juice) to make a slurry. Whisk in the arrowroot slurry and the chia seeds to the simmering pot.

3. Stir frequently on medium-low until volume reduces by about half and bubbles become slow and thick~25–30 min. When you slide the spatula across the bottom of the pan, the jam should stay apart for 0.5-1 second before coming back together. It should look glossy and coat the spoon. If you are having trouble getting it to thicken, let it simmer longer or add more chia seeds.

4. Finish off-heat. Turn off heat; stir in cardamom, lemon juice, salt, ghee, and rose water.

5. Pour into a clean glass jar once cooled. Store in the fridge for 5-7 days.

#breakfast #kidfriendly #fall #winter #vata #pitta #kapha

Notes

• There are many herbal jams in Ayurveda that act as rejuvenative substances - chyvanprash (for heart, blood, immunity) and bhrama rasyana (for the mind) as examples. I designed this recipe to be a rejuvenating jam for the lymphatic tissue, blood-tissue, and reproductive tissue.

• You want the pomegranate juice to be a bit more concentrated than the original pomegranate juice recipe, hence why we use 2 pomegranates as opposed to 1 pomegranate per 2 cups of water.

• There is usually A LOT of sugar in jam because it reacts with the thickening agent to create a jam-like consistency. We do not demonize raw unrefined cane sugar in Ayurveda because it can actually be very nourishing for vatas, pittas, and the lymphatic tissue. BUT too much of anything isn't good, hence, we cut it down to 1/2 cup as opposed to 1 cup in most jam recipes.