DATES AND ALMONDS KHEER

DATES AND ALMONDS KHEER

As this is the first post for 2016, let me wish you a bright, happy, and prosperous New Year. It is customary to start the year with a sweet, so today I present to you one of my favourites: a kheer made of dates and almonds.

Apart from the taste,  dates are good for more reasons than one and are available in many varieties.
Elsewhere in this blog, you will find another interesting recipe for Dates, Figs, & Dry Fruit Ladoos, a guest post by Tanushree Aich.

The amount of sugar you add to this kheer will therefore depend on the sweetness of the dates, as also on how sweet you want the dish to be.

While this kheer can be served either hot or chilled, I always prefer to serve it chilled. I hope you will enjoy the Dates and Almond Kheer as much as I did.

Ingredients:

• Pitted Dates, 15
• Milk, 500 ml ( 400 + 100) 
• Almonds, 15-20
• Sugar, 1/4 cup, or to taste
• Cashewnuts, chopped, 6-8, 
• Ghee, 2-3 tsp
• Powdered Cardamom, from 2-3 pods

Method:

Boil 400 ml of milk ( 2 cups) in a thick-bottomed vessel and keep aside

Soak the almonds in warm water for about half an hour. Keep aside

In a pan, heat 1 tsp of ghee and add the chopped cashewnuts and roast them till they turn slightly golden brown and keep aside

In the same pan, roast the raisins and keep aside

Add the remaining ghee and on low flame lightly roast the dates for a few minutes till you get a good aroma

Let them cool then grind the roasted dates along with the soaked almonds to a paste, adding 100 ml (1/2 cup) of milk, a little by little, while grinding. 

Add the ground paste and the sugar to the boiled milk, mix well and bring it again to a boil stirring continuously so that it doesn't get burnt at the bottom 

Switch off the gas, add the powdered cardamom and mix well

Garnish with roasted cashewnuts and raisins
Serve hot or chilled, as per taste

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