Tag Archives: Dates

Recipes: Date and Mint Raita

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Sometime back, I saw a video by Rujuta Divekar about date raita with very minimal ingredients. I was intrigued and decided to make my version of this recipe recently. It has been very hot in Singapore the last few months and this was made for lunch on one of those hot, summery days. This is perfect for the summer and can be made in 10 minutes, from start to finish. This sweet and savoury yoghurt-based dish goes with anything and is very good on its own too.

Date Raita

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup plain yoghurt
  • 12–15 Dates, pitted
  • ½ tsp. cumin powder
  • ½ tsp. black salt, or to taste
  • 1 inch of ginger
  • 2-3 green chillies, chopped
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves or 1 tsp dried mint powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • In a mixing bowl, whisk the yoghurt until smooth. If the yoghurt is too thick, you can add a little water or milk to achieve the desired consistency.
  • In a small blender, add the pitted dates, ginger, green chillies, and mint (or mint powder) and coarsely grind them using some yoghurt or water.
  • Add this to the whisked yoghurt.
  • Season with salt, black salt, and cumin powder. Mix well to combine all the ingredients evenly.
  • Taste the raita and adjust the seasoning if necessary, adding more salt or black salt according to your preference.
  • Refrigerate the Dates Raita for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavours to meld together and for the raita to chill.
  • Before serving, give the raita a final stir. Optionally, sprinkle a pinch of roasted cumin powder on top for extra flavour.

Recipes: Tamarind Date Chutney

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img_2125I realised when I shared my recipe for chole that I have not yet shared this easy, piquant yet sweet Chutney. This is great when paired with fried food and also makes a great spread for sandwiches. It does take a while to make but is totally worth the effort.

I made this chutney along with my Green Coriander Chutney and Dried Red Chilli & Raisin Chutney when we hosted S’ colleagues for a Diwali open house.

Tamarind Dates Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup tamarind
  • 1 cup dates
  • 2 tsp rock salt
  • 1 tbsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Deseed the dates and the tamarind. Make sure there is no fibre also in the tamarind.
  • Soak the dates and tamarind either separately or together in hot water for an hour or so.
  • When the dates and tamarind have cooled off, blend them, along with the water they were strained into a fine paste.
  • Strain this paste through a strainer into a large pot which you can put on the gas. You may need to blend and strain a few times so that you get all the paste in.
  • When everything has been strained, put the pot on the gas and add the salt, rock salt, red chilli powder and cumin powder and let it come to a rolling boil. You can also check spices at this point and add more if needed.
  • Once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce the flame and let it boil for around 5-10 mins. It will start thickening and once it is almost as thick as you require, switch off the flame. It will become thicker as it cools.
  • When cool, remove to a clean container and refrigerate. It should stay well in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Notes:

  • If you don’t have access to dates, you can substitute them with raisins. Or you can even do a combination of both dates and raisins. Just use the same quantity as above.