DATE ROLLS

 DATE ROLLS

When we were children growing up in India, good quality dates were not commonly available. Occasionally we would get from friends or relatives coming on visits to the old homeland from the Middle East and feel quite thrilled about it. Now, of course, we are spoilt for choice and there are so many types of dates easily available, including in online sites such as Amazon. 

Dates, called Khajur in Hindi and Kharjura in Kannada, are amongst the most healthy of dry fruits. They have many health benefits as detailed in this article in Health.Com. 

Elsewhere in this blog, you will find other recipes for dishes made with dates such as:-

• Dates and Dry Fruit Ladoos
• Dates and Almonds Kheer
• Green Chutney and Sweet Chutney ( Khajur-Imli Chutney) 

I have adapted this from the YouTube video for Healthy Sugar Free Date Rolls in Healthy Kadi.

It is preferable that the dates are of good quality and are soft. Use the seedless variety rather than the one that need to be de-seeded. You can use any dry fruits like almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts etc in making this.

We loved this and would highly recommend this recipe to you.

The measurements given yielded me with about 20 date rolls. This is best consumed within two weeks.  

Ingredients:-

• Seedless Dates, (Khajur),  500 gms
• Almonds, (Badam) , 1/2 cup
• Cashew Nuts, (Kaju) 1/4 cup
• Pistachios, (Pista) 1/4 cup
• Pecans, a few 
• Walnuts, a few
• Poppy Seeds (khus khus) , 4 tbsp
• Ghee,  2 tbsp

Method:-

Grind the seedless dates or de-seeded dates in pulse mode in a mixer jar, without adding any water. Keep aside. ( If you are using seedless dates, chop it roughly and keep in the mixer jar. If using dates with seeds, make sure they are properly de-seeded) 

Shell where needed and chop the nuts/dry fruits such as almonds, cashew nuts, pistachio, walnut,  etc. Keep aside. 

Dry roast the poppy seeds in a thick-bottomed kadhai on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Keep aside

Add 1 tbsp of ghee to the kadhai and on medium heat roast the chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, and walnuts), for about 3-4 minutes till they get roasted and give off a good aroma. Keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in the same kadhai and add the ground dates and sauté them on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes till they become soft

To this add the roasted nuts and mix well till they form a mass

Remove from the kadhai and allow this to cool for about 5 minutes

Once it is cool enough to handle, shape it to form a cylindrical roll

Spread the roasted poppy seeds on to a flat plate and dust these rolls in the poppy seeds till they are well-coated 

Wrap these poppyseed coated date rolls in aluminum foil and refrigerate for about 2 hours

After about 2 hours, remove the aluminum foil from the rolls and cut them to even slices of about 1/2 inch each 

Transfer to a serving plate or they can be stored in an air tight container.