Carrot Fudge…yup, Allergy Friendly :-)

A few weeks back, my son asked me why there were no allergy-friendly Indian (South Asian) desserts. Most Indian  desserts are dairy-based and are loaded with nuts so, he was right At that moment, my quest began - an attempt to create an Indian-inspired Allergy-Friendly dessert…

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines ‘fudge’ as ‘a soft creamy candy made typically of sugar, milk, butter, and flavoring’. That is exactly what the Carrot Fudge is – though we will substitute milk, butter and flavorings with allergy-friendly alternatives…

• Time: 35-40 minutes
• Yield: 16 pieces

Ingredients:

1. Carrots: 2 cups peeled and grated (approx 5 medium sized carrots
   

   I love my dainty lady grater

2. Sugar: 1/2 cup
3. Coconut milk (Check it out at Amazon.com food store – Chaokoh – Coconut Milk 13.5 Fl. Oz. ): 1 cup. Any non-dairy milk with a high fat content like Hemp Milk or Dari-Free made with less water will work well. Rice Milk and Oat Milk is too watery.  
4. Saffron: 3-4 strings (optional)
5. Cardamom Powder: 1/2 tsp (optional). Pop a 2-3 whole cardamoms and powder the seeds inside with a rolling pin. Alternatively, use pre-ground cardamom powder. Of course, as with any spice the flavor is best when fresh 
6. Raisins: 1 tbsp
7. Margarine/ dairy-free shortening: 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Grate the carrots using the largest sized shredder.
2. Heat the margarine in a heavy bottomed vessel at low to medium flame.
3. Add the freshly grated carrots and mix well.
4. Let it cook for about 5 minutes with intermittent stirring. The carrot will start changing color.
5. Add the sugar and mix well. Adding the sugar at this stage is what gives the rich orange color to the carrots.
6. As soon as you add sugar, it will melt in the heat and the mixture will become watery.
7. Continue cooking the carrots for another 5-7 minutes or till the moisture almost evaporates.
8. Meanwhile bring the coconut milk to a gentle boil in a separate heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the saffron strings and switch off the heat. The saffrom strings will give a beautiful yellowish color to the coconut milk.  
9. Add the coconut milk to the almost cooked grated carrots.
10. Cook the carrots, stirring constantly to ensure that it does not stick to the bottom of the vessel.
11. In approximately 10-15 minutes, the moisture would have almost completely evaporated. Add the raisins and stir till there is not water stagnating in the pan.
12. Meanwhile keep a 2 qt baking dish ready by greasing the bottom and sides.
13. When all the excess moisture has just evaporated from the carrot but it is still gooey, it is done!
14. Now pour it into the greased pan.
15. Let it cool down completely and then let it set in the refrigerator for an hour. Now, it is ready to be cut into bite-sized pieces and served
    

    Voila - carrot fudge!

16. If, you accidentally remove the gooey mixture a little too early from the fire and it is still a little too moist to set like a fudge…just roll it into small carrot truffles between the palms of your hands and place it in small paper cups – which kid would not like carrots served this way?!?
    

    Yes - it could be served as carrot truffle