The holy month of Ramadan is here and so I’d like to shed light on a Muslim tradition, serving dates on our iftar table, and breaking our fast with them. It’s an Islamic tradition taken from The Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) to break our fast with dates, and that is because of their high nutritional value.
Dates are rich in various sugars, fiber, potassium, and vitamins. The combination of sucrose, glucose, and fructose help with increasing blood sugar levels and stabilizing them. That is great if you have diabetes because dates do not increase your glycemic index. Dates are also cholesterol-free and are easily digested, making them a quick source of energy.
We will serve them fresh, dried, or stuffed with a delicious blend of nuts. You can also find dates sold with a variety of nuts in most of the stores now. My favorite dates are from Bateel because they have high-quality dates, and they fill them with caramelized nuts and orange peel which is a dangerously delicious combination with dates.
I’d like to share with you a different way you can serve dates with nuts, kind of like energy balls but rolled into a long log and cut into discs for bite-sized pieces. This recipe is gluten-free, has no sugar, and is a fun way to serve dates during Ramadan.
Tips to make delicious Ramadan date bites.
- Choose chewy, soft dates for this recipe, such as Medjool dates.
- You can enhance the taste with cardamom or cinnamon
- You can switch up any of the nuts to your liking.
Ramadan Date Bites
Ingredients
- ¼ cup almonds peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons pistachio chopped
- 2 tablespoons walnuts chopped
- 2 cups pitted dates approx. 30, roughly chopped
- ½ tablespoon butter or ghee
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
Instructions
- Place the chopped nuts in a pan and dry roast for 30 seconds on medium heat until lightly toasted. Then remove nuts to a plate and set them aside.
- In the same pan, add butter and chopped dates. Cook on low heat for 2 minutes until soft keep mixing with a spatula.
- Add the roasted nuts and cardamom powder and cook further for another minute. Remove from heat.
- Let the mixture cool enough to handle and knead lightly by hand.
- Remove it on cling wrap and roll it into a log.
- Keep the log in the fridge and cut slices of date as required. Serve cold.
- Store the date log in the fridge for 2 – 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.