Carrot Halwa (Made W/Ease in Slow Cooker) - Zwt-8

This is the 1st of 3 Indian recipes found in 1 of my Grandparents.com Newsletters. Carrots & milk may not sound like ingredients for a crowd-pleasing dessert, but 1 bite of Carrot Halwa (from Anupy Singla’s The Indian Slow Cooker: 50 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes) came w/a promise to chg your mind. A traditional Punjabi dish freq sweetened w/sugar & flavored w/nuts & raisins, Halwa is a smashing end to any meal. Use a 5 qt slow cooker & then serve hot or cold. This recipe yields 7 cups, but is easily halved. In that case, a smaller slow cooker may be used. NOTE: I found 7 recipes for Carrot Halwa & didn't compare all of them w/this recipe, but I do know 1 thing - None of them use a slow cooker as their cooking method. Cooking time does not include the slow cooker time & cooling time as neither requres real attention & I estimated 20 min for the time required to grate the carrots. *Enjoy!*

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 14
• Yields: 14 1/2 Cup Servings

Ingredients

• 2  lbs carrots, peeled & washed thoroughly
• 6  cups  whole milk
• 2  cups sugar
• 1  cup  almonds, crushed (or well-chopped)
• 1⁄2 cup ghee (or butter, melted)
• 1⁄2 cup golden raisin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1  tablespoon pistachios, ground
• 1  tablespoon  almonds, ground

Directions

1. Grate the carrots by hand. (This dish is a labor of love & this is the only real labor part of it.) The carrots break down much better if they're hand grated. Alternatively, you can grate them in a food proc. Anupy Singla said the pre-grated, store-bought carrots aren't worth using as they're grated too thick & too long.) Put the carrots in the slow cooker.
2. Bring milk to a boil on the stovetop & pour over the carrots in the slow cooker.
3. Cook for 3 hrs on high. Remove the slow cooker lid & cook for another 3 hrs on high. Replace the lid (but leave slightly open) & cook on high for 3 more hours. By now, the carrots will be cooked & will look soft & watery.
4. Transfer the carrot mixture to a wide, heavy pan & cook on the stovetop on med-high for 15 minutes.
5. Add the sugar & cont cooking (stirring) for another 15 minutes. While stirring, slowly add the crushed almonds & the ghee or butter. Add the raisins + ground cardamom & cont stirring.
6. When the carrot mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan on its own & becomes thicker, it’s done. Take the pan off the heat & let the mixture cool for about 15 minutes. Garnish w/grd pistachio & almonds to serve.