Ismaili Recipes - This blog contains our family recipes; mainly it is Ismaili (Khoja) cuisine, our family lived in Uganda for 3 generations so we have a marked East African(Swahili, Lugandi) Influence in our cooking AND in our language!! (Kutchi / Cutchi / Gujarati. In recent years with new additions to the family our cooking includes, English, Pakistani, Italian and Irish influences.

Sunday, 18 November 2007

Date Halva

Dates are the A fruit a Month. This event is hosted by Chandrika of AkshayaPatra. This is a very quick and easy recipe, great instead of petit fours after dinner



Ingredients

250 gms Dates; seedless weight; chopped fine

1/2 cup whipping cream 125 mls

1 cups mixed nuts; almonds, pistachios and walnut; chopped into chunks

2 tblspn desiccated coconut

Method

  1. mix the dates and cream, micro wave on high for 3 minutes
  2. remove mix and microwave for a further 2 minutes
  3. remove stir the nuts and microwave for a further 3 minutes.

Times may vary depending on the microwave.

  1. stir, let it cool and make a large sausage or salami on a piece of foil, roll in desiccated coconut and freeze until hard (2-3 hours)
  2. Cut into ½ to ¾ inch slices. Serve with Coffee.
To make them healthier you can replace the cream with water.
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22 comments:

Sunny28 said...

Well, this is an amazing recipe, what an unusual mix - I can't wait to try out dates with cream! Good one, as always

Saju said...

Thanks Sunny28, it is not unusual amongst the ismailis in London. I have to admit it was the first time I made it (because I love it) and it turned out amazing. I am going to make some more with water instead of cream for health reasons!! Buy a chopped seedless dates block to make things easier.

sunita said...

Saju, I'm really going to try this...looks gorgeous.

Saju said...

Thank Sunita! I was just thinking of you, am writing my Ginger recipe!!

musical said...

Saju, i love this halwa, because its naturally sweet :). Totally my kind of dessert. Can't wait to try it!

Latha said...

iron packed recipe! just one question... the dates are microwaved until they're mashed thoroughly? i shd try them with milk...

Saju said...

Latha, I chopped the dates and microwaved with cream for 3 minutes, the cream was boiling at that point and the dates were mashed. I am sure you can use milk or water instead.

Ashwini said...

This is a new recipe for me... great coz I love dates!

Nags said...

lovely recipe. i love the way that roll looks :)

Sia said...

i am surely gonna try this one saju for 2 main reasons. one coz i love dates and second its cooked using MW. thank u:)

Happy cook said...

Never had them. But it looks so good that i would love to have them :-)

James said...

Wow - I can't believe this sounds so easy, as so yummy. My Mum didn't was a little sad on the cream front - not good for the diet - so I suggested using soya cream (creem) instead which is OK. Without the coconut, maybe fine chopped wanuts instead it would go well with cheese and biscuits.
www.thecotswoldfoodyear.com

naveed said...

i tried the recipe with cream. every one liked it. it was even simpler to make than it sounds. now i am trying it with water and almond combination.thanks

Saju said...

James and Naveed,
Glad you like it the recipe. I took am making it with water next time, and coating it with walnuts! What a super idea.

Anonymous said...

how many servings does this recipe make?

Saju said...

not sure about servings, it makes enough to fill a medium dinner plate, usually one or two pieces are enough because they are very rich.

Anonymous said...

Hello, I tried this halwa and it came out quite good. I used double the quantity of dates, so I increased the cooking time also. The halwa that i made doesn't have the glossy look that your halwa has. Do you think its because it needed more cooking? Also, I want to know how to store this halwa. Should it be in the freezer until it is served or can I keep it out or in the fridge once I'm done cutting it into pieces? I'd appreciate if you could please clarify my doubts. Thanks:)

Anonymous said...

Saju,

I just tried your Methi machi recipe.
I also make a date halva, but I take a lot of short cuts.
I microwave whole seedless Dates for about 2 mins. and then put them in a food processor with whole nuts, combination of pistachios, almonds and cashews. Blend them and then with slightly greasy hands, roll into a sausage shape and freeze like you do. It stays well, because there is no milk.

Saju said...

anon 1 - fridge is fine
anon 2 - thank you very much for the tip. I will defo try it.

Anonymous said...

omg thins was soo good...
i made it right when i saw this
love it

Anonymous said...

sanju wat a dumb name
lol

Rumela said...

Thanks for the Date halva recipe. Last summer I ate halva at a party and has been looking for an authentic recipe ever since. Now I will be able to make this date halva myself.Thanks again.