Place the carrots in a saucepan, cover with water.
Season and add the sugar.
Bring to a boil and cook with the lid on until ¾ cooked (should offer some resistance when pierced with a knife).
In a smaller pan, heat the butter until very hot, toss in cumin seeds, and after about 10 seconds add this to the carrots and return the lid.
Remove the lid and continue cooking the carrots until the water evaporates and the carrots are coated with the butter and cumin.
Re-season and serve.