It’s a breakfast date, this Ramzan

New Delhi: Every sunset, during the holy month of Ramzan, fasts are broken with iftar, where menu traditionally comprises dates and other fruits washed down with water, milk and juice. 

Chefs are now mashing up the traditional dry fruit into easy-to-make dessert to make iftars more special for family and friends. 

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Chef Surjan Singh Jolly said he took inspiration from the Hyderabad-origin ‘Qubani ka Meetha’ — a dessert made from dried apricots to create the ‘Khajoor ka Meetha’. 

“All you need to do is blend the dates with milk till it gets mushy and garnish it with chopped almonds to get this quick-to-make dessert,” Jolly said. 

“Since dates have a sludgy kind of a texture, it blends easily to be transformed into a dish.  Dates are good for health and are also sweet, so you need not add sugar. Hence, ‘Khajoor ka Meetha’ can be a good addition to iftar parties,” the chef added. 

Another delicious way to have dates is to warm it up with water, squish it with saffron and have it with bread or mush dates with white chocolate and have it, suggests Jolly. 
Dates are known to be a good source of fibre and since the ordinary eating pattern is restricted to two big meals during Ramzan, dates ensure one doesn’t get constipation and there is clear urination. 

It also has enough calories to satiate the peak of hunger after the fast ends. 

“Dates are also good source of iron that helps maintain haemoglobin, prevents giddiness, dark circles, loss of hair and strengthens immunity. So it is advisable,” Vidhya R, a nutritionist, said. 
She said these date recipes are also convenient to prepare for those living in hostels and who miss home-cooked iftar food.