5 Date-licious Recipes To Try This Ramadan

Ramadan season is here along with teeming stocks of fresh dates and kurma in supermarkets and retail stores. There’s nothing quite like biting into the succulent, creamy texture of a nutrient-rich date, a fruit so complete it can be enjoyed as a meal substitute. It is quite common to bukapuasa (break fast) with simply a date and a glass of water, however there are many other ways to appreciate their unique taste – here are five mouth-watering recipes for you to try during Ramadan:

1. Cashew Date Shake

Cool down with the natural sweetness of this scrumptious cashew date shake! We’ve used the almighty Medjool dates in this recipe, but you can use any other variety of dates you have on hand.

 

Yield: 2 pax

Prep Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

QUANTITY

Cashew, soaked in warm water for 2 hours  

1 cup

Medjool dates, de-seeded and soaked in warm water until softened

1 cup

Frozen banana

1 no

Almond milk

1 cup

Cinnamon

A pinch

Salt

A pinch

Maple syrup

As needed

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you have a thick and smooth consistency. You may add ice to your shake according to preference.

2. Coconut Date Ice Cream

Image source from: http://www.healingandeating.com/2015/01/coconut-date-ice-cream.html

 

Perfect as a dessert to enjoy after Iftar, we hope you’ll have as much fun making this satisfyingly simple recipe as we did!

Yield: 6 pax

Prep Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

QUANTITY

Whipping cream  

2 cups

Condensed milk

250 ml

Coconut milk

1 ½ cup

Dates, de-seeded and coarsely chopped

1 cup

Salt

1/8 teaspoon

 

Method:

1. Using mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream until it the peaks have a stiff consistency.Add in condensed milk, coconut milk and salt to the cream.

2. Continue to mix it until well integrated. 

3. Fold in dates and transfer to a freezer-safe bowl, and let freeze for 4 hours before serving.

3. Banana Ginger Medjool Dates Loaf

It may be hard to resist popping a few Medjool dates into your mouth while making this recipe, but remember to leave enough for your delicious loaf! For those unfamiliar with streusel, it is simply the crumbly topping you often find on muffins, breads, and certain cakes.

 

Yield: 6 pax

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Baking Time: 8 minutes

INGREDIENTS

QUANTITY

Unsalted butter, melted  

43g

Brown sugar

1 cup

Ripe banana, mashed

3 nos

Egg

1 no

Ginger, grated

½ teaspoon

Vanilla extract

1 teaspoon

All-purpose flour

1 ½ cups

Baking soda, sifted

1 teaspoon

Salt

A pinch

Medjool dates, de-seeded and chopped into smaller pieces

 
  

Streusel

 

Castor sugar

1/3 cup

Cinnamon powder

½ teaspoon

Unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup

All-purpose flour

½ cup

 

Method:

1. For the streusel: In a bowl, place all the ingredients together. Using your fingertips, mix it well until its consistency resembles wet sand. Cover and place it in the fridge.

2. Preheat oven to 180°C and line loaf pan with parchment paper.

3. Using mixer with a whisk attachment, beat melted butter with brown sugar for 3 minutes.

4. Add in mashed banana, egg, grated ginger, and vanilla extract. Continue mixing until it all ingredients are incorporated well.

5. Fold in dry ingredients and medjool dates into the batter.

6. Transfer mixture to a loaf pan and top with the streusel mix. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, and use a toothpick to test when ready – insert a toothpick into the center of the bread and it should come out clean. Let the loaf cool before slicing to serve.

4. Pistachio & Date Cookies

The pistachios in this recipe tastefully complement the flavour of the dates, yielding a batch of delicious cookie balls that will keep you reaching for the next one – do stop yourself from finishing them all because your family will be pist-at-chio.

 

Yield: 6 pax

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Baking Time: 8 minutes

INGREDIENTS

QUANTITY

Unsalted butter, softened  

113g

Castor sugar

2/4 cup

Brown sugar

¼ cup

Egg

1 no

Baking soda, sifted

½ teaspoon

All-purpose flour

1 cup

Coco powder, sifted

1/3 cup

Dates, deseed and chop into small pieces

¼ cup

Toasted pistachio, ground

1 cup

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. In a mixer, beat unsalted butter with sugar using the paddle attachment until it turns fluffy and pale yellow in colour.

3. Add in egg and continue mixing for another minute.

4. Fold in dry ingredients and dates into the batter using a spatula.

5. Using a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, scoop some of the dough and roll it into round balls.  Coat the ball with ground pistachio and place it onto baking tray.

6. Bake for 7 – 8 minutes and remove from oven. The cookies will be quite soft at the moment but once it has cooled down, it will harden.

 

4. Pistachio & Date Cookies

Biryani rice is normally decorated with raisins and dried fruits, but we’re excited about this version using luscious chopped dates – truly a Ramadan special!

Yield: 6 pax

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS

QUANTITY

Lamb Leg

 

Lamb leg

3 kg

Onion, sliced thinly

2 nos

Garlic, chopped

3 cloves

Ginger, julienne

2 inches

Cinnamon stick

1 stick

Cloves

¼ teaspoon

Cardamom pods

¼ teaspoon

Star anise

1 no

Coriander powder

2 tablespoons

Cumin, whole

1 tablespoon

Salt

As needed

Sugar

As needed

Cooking oil

1 cup

  

Biryani Date Rice

 

Basmati rice, washed and drained

4 cups

Ghee

¼ cup

Onion, sliced thinly

4 nos

Garlic, chopped

4 cloves

Ginger, julienne

3 inches

Cinnamon stick

2 sticks

Clove

¼ teaspoon

Cardamom pods

¼ teaspoon

Star anise

3 nos

Coriander powder

3 tablespoons

Evaporated milk

3 cups

Water

5 cups

Salt

As needed

Dates, de-seeded and cut into smaller pieces

2 cups

Mint leaves, chopped

½ cup

Coriander leaf, chopped

½ cup

Fried onion

1 cup

Cashew nut, fried

1 cup

Kurma Gravy

 

Cooking oil

3 tablespoons

Onion, thinly sliced

1 no

Garlic, julienne  

2 cloves

Ginger, thinly sliced

½ inch

Cinnamon stick

1 stick

Cardamom pods

¼ teaspoon

Cloves

¼ teaspoon

Star anise

1 no

Biryani powder

1 tablespoon

Coriander powder

1 teaspoon

Evaporated milk

½ cup

Water

1 cup

Salt

As needed

Method:

Lamb Leg:

1. Heat up cooking oil in a pan. Sauté sliced onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add incinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods, and star anise, and stir for a few minutes.

2. Once the onion has turned light golden brown, add in cumin and coriander powder. Stir until the oil floats on the surface, which will be roughly around 3 minutes. Season with salt and sugar and leave the paste aside to cool.

3. Place lamb leg in a baking tray and rub the cooled paste all over it. Cover with cling wrap and let it marinade in the fridge overnight.

4. Allow the lamb leg drop to room temperature before roasting it. Preheat oven to 130°C and loosely cover the lamb leg with aluminium foil. Put to roast for 2 hours while covered, and roast it uncovered for another hour. Once done, remove from oven and set aside.

Biryani Date Rice:

1. Melt ghee in a pot. Sauté sliced onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant.

2. Add in cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods and star anise, and stir for another minute.

3. Add coriander powder and salt into the pot and continue stirring, until the paste has released oil.

4. Transfer the paste into rice cooker pot and add in washed basmati rice. Pour in water and evaporated milk. Cook the rice following the instructions according to your rice cooker.

5. Once cooked, transfer the rice into big bowl and leave to cool for a short while. Toss in coriander and mint leaves, chopped dates, fried onion and cashew nuts.

Kurma Gravy:

1. Heat up oil in a pot and sauté sliced onion, garlic, and ginger for a few minutes. Add incinnamon stick, cardamom pods, star anise and cloves and sauté for a minute.

2. Add in biryani and coriander powder. Once the oil has floated to the surface, stir in water and evaporated milk. Let it boil for a few minutes until the gravy thickens and season with salt to taste.

We hope you’ll relish in preparing and sharing these recipes with your friends & family this Ramadan (For more fun & easy recipes, head to http://bit.ly/BIGRecipes. Find everything you need for the above at Ben’s Independent Grocer, and do join us from 15th May to 24th June for our Raya ‘Ramadan Dihayati, Syawal Dirai’ Fair! We’ve got duit Raya packets, Raya hampers and so much more! Click here [link here] for more info on what’s happening in-store.

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