Slow cooker Gajar Halwa (Carrot Pudding)

This is a sweet carrot pudding associated mainly with the state of Punjab in India & Pakistan but is practically made everywhere in India on special occasions.
Yes, this the same gajar ka halwa that every Bollywood film mother croons about how her daughter- in- law should make it because it’s her son’s favourite dish. This filmi gajar ka halwa had me enthralled.




The one thing that I don’t like about gajar ka halwa is that there’s always a mound of carrots to be grated and I have grated many a finger in the process. I have seen my mother toiling away peeling mounds of carrots for years. 
So now I just prefer baby carrots, they are easier to grind and cook and are more sweeter than bigger carrots . Baby carrots may also lessen the cooking time.


Also along the years I have figured out to eliminate the standing time while cooking by usng my slow cooker. Believe me if you have a baby as bright eyed and bushy-tailed as mine you will not mind the extended time of cooking while it get cooked unattented and you can relish a warm bowl of carrot pudding in the morning.....Yum!!!

HISTORY 
The Gajar ka Halwa was first introduced by the Sikh traders of the Punjab during the Mughal period and the name originates from an Arabic word "Halwa", which means "sweet" and it is made from carrot ( Gajar in Hindi) so the name Gajar ka Halwa (meaning pudding of carrot or Halwa of carrot). Gajar ka Halwa originally contained carrots, milk and ghee but nowadays includes many other ingredients like mava (Khoya). This age old traditional recipe remained in Punjabi cook books for many years. Being a combination of milk and carrots it is known as Milk Flavored Gajar Ka Halwa but in the other case, the combination of cream or mava (Khoya) and carrot is described as Mava flavored Gajar ka Halwa.

RECIPE Ingredients:
2 pounds carrots, peeled and washed thoroughly
2 cans of evaporated milk or 6 cups of milk
2 cups sugar or 5 cups stevia or splenda (artificial sweetener)
1 cup raw almonds, crushed or chopped
1/2 cup melted ghee or butter
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon ground pistachios
1 tablespoon ground almonds


Directions:

 Grate the carrots  in a food processor. (I've found that the pre-grated, store-bought carrots are not worth using because they are grated too thick and too long.) Put the carrots in the slow cooker.
Bring the milk to a boil on the stove top and pour it over the carrots in the slow cooker. If you are using evaporated milk just pour it on the carrot.
Cook for 3 hours on high. Remove the slow cooker lid and cook for another 3 hours on high. Replace the lid, but leave it slightly open and cook on slow for 6 hrs or high for 3 more hours.
( I generally start at 6 pm and by 12 pm before going to bed set it for 6 hrs on low. Do the rest in the morning.)
The carrots will be cooked and will look soft and watery. Add the sugar and continue cooking in high for 15 minutes. 
(If you are using milk instead of evaporated milk, you have to cook in a skillet for 15 minutes at this stage and not in the slow cooker because the milk is much watery than evaporated milk.)
Add the crushed almonds and the ghee or butter. Add the raisins and ground cardamom and  stir
Add the sugar and continue cooking, stirring, for another 5 minutes in the slow cooker. 
Garnish with the ground pistachio and almonds.