My latest favourite evening snack, believe it or not, is homemade pani puri! Yes, at long last I have succumbed to the pleasures of that crisp puri with the flavourful, spiced water. But what I actually love most about it is the sweet date and tamarind chutney! And while most people end their pani puri sessions with a dry ‘masala puri’, I enjoy a nice luscious date dipped in clarified butter. Trust me, it is pure bliss!
Dates have been a part of human diet for centuries. We all know that the Middle East is a date trove of sorts, but not many know that they were also cultivated in the Indus Valley. Gradually they spread all over the world, travelling to Italy, Spain and Mexico as well. Every part of the date palm tree, just like the banana tree, can be put to use. The Bedouin tribesmen, for instance, use various parts of the tree to build houses, roofs, boats, fishing traps, mats and even boats.
The fruit of the tree, the actual date, can again be put to various uses. The fruit can be eaten raw – fresh as well as dried. They can be transformed into syrups and jams. In India, date pickles and chutneys are very popular. Date vinegar is widely made and used in the Middle Eastern countries. Wines and champagnes can also be made. One of the most interesting things the date palm juice or sap can be processed into is the popular Bengali Nolen Gur or date palm jaggery. If you visit Bengal in the winters, you may find your usual Bengali sweets to be darker in colour. This is because they’ve probably used the seasonal nolen gur to make them.
Dates are not a new ingredient to us, per say. In the Victorian Era in England, dates were stuffed with flavoured cream or nut paste and had with coffee. These days they are all the more in demand in the form of “Diabetes-friendly mithais”. How does one take this common (though costly) ingredient a notch higher in terms of taste?
For starters, candied dates can prove to be a great option. To give it a twist, add some spices like pepper or cumin to the sugar syrup. You can also make a fresh date frangipane and use it in cakes and tarts. Or how about a dried date shortcrust? And perhaps a Crème Brulee with caramelised nolen gur? You can try making date cream cigars which is dates pureed and piped inside choux pastry cigars!
For those of you who just can’t get enough of them, the annual Liwa Date Festival of Abu Dhabi is the place to go. The only festival of its kind, it is held in the green oases of western Abu Dhabi where there literally are mountains of dates of every kind on display and sale. It’s usually held in July, so you might want to go book your tickets now!
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