Date Rolls

Dates are one of the most popular tropical fruit which is packed with essential nutrients required for good health. Many varieties are cultivated with few popular ones like 'Medjool'. It is rich in iron, potassium and a  dietary fiber, so works as a laxative too (sorry, I guess too much info). Personally, I feel ladies don't get too much iron from their daily diets and it is good to eat a handful of them whenever you get a chance. The better option would be to have some date smoothie or end up making date rolls like me.

I am not sure if it even qualifies as a sweet. But looks very festive with the dates and nuts and mildly sweet which is perfect for the occasion.  In the spirit of diwali, here's another sweet that is easy to make and healthy too. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups dates, pitted & chopped (I used california dates but you can use any variety)
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped (reduce to 1/4 cup, if you don't want too much nuts)
1/4 cup cashew nuts, chopped
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
1 tsp vegan butter (like earth balance)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (optional)

For coating:

1 tbsp poppy seeds, roasted for 5 mins OR
1 tbsp shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) OR
2 tbsp almond meal

Note: You can pick any coating of your choice, I used 3 different coatings to try out  - each one of them covers one log,

Method:

Dry roast the poppy seeds for 5 mins and set aside.

In a food processor or blender, coarsely dry grind the chopped dates and keep aside.

In a pan, add the vegan butter and chopped nuts (almonds, cashews & pistachios - chop the nuts into small pieces unlike me....I am a bit lazy!!!). Roast the nuts until they are slightly golden brown. Add the date paste and mix well with the nuts. Add the cardamom powder (you can also try adding nutmeg powder or skip it) and mix again. If you like your rolls little sweeter, you can add agave/maple syrup or any sweetener of your choice.

While the date and nut mix is still warm, knead the mix for a minute or so. Separate the mix into 3 or 4 partitions depending on what size you want your rolls to be. Make each partition into a roll (like a log). 

Pick a coating of your choice - poppy seeds or almond meal or coconut (my favorite was the poppy seeds and almond meal coating) and spread them on a plate or wax paper. Roll each log on the coating with slight pressure so that it sticks well. Repeat for the remaining logs.

So, when all the logs are coated, they will look similar to:

Okay, I agree that they are not the prettiest looking pics but I tried...

Now, cover each log tightly with aluminum foil or cling wrap and freeze it for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (just make sure you remember to take it out on time, it would get really hard otherwise).

Remove the foil or cling wrap and cut each log into slices. Enjoy!!

Makes 40 pieces.