Carrot Halwa Ice Cream

Dry roast the shelled pistachios at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (or used roasted, unsalted pistachios).

Heat 2 tbsp unsalted butter or ghee and add shredded carrots. Cook 5-7 minutes, till carrots are softer and tender.

Add milk, sugar, condensed milk, cardamom and saffron and reduce to medium heat, stirring frequently so milk does not burn. Cook till most of the moisture has evaporated and consistency of a thick pudding, stirring frequently, ~20 minutes. Allow to cool while preparing ice cream base.

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.

Whisk the cream cheese, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl until smooth and set aside.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside.

Combine remaining milk, the cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon zipper freezer bag, seal and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until mixture is cold, about 30 minutes.

Combine the ice cream mixture with carrot mixture and add to ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding in the roasted pistachios during the last 5 minutes of churning.

Freeze at least four hours. Ice cream based on Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.