I am in love! I am in love!
With Orange Blossom Water or Orange Flower Water.
Let me not get ahead of myself but start at the beginning. Last year, I was looking up recipes from Africa and the Middle-East when I found that several dessert recipes called for Orange Blossom Water or Orange Flower Water. Some friends told me I could use Kewra instead but I was loathe to do that. Luckily, I had a friend, Aparna, who was coming down from Dubai and so I made a call to her. The sweetheart that she is, Aparna got me a large bottle of Orange Blossom Water and it remained unopened for over 6 months till this past Friday, when I finally made these almond paste stuffed dates.
The moment I broke open the seal and had the first whiff of the wonderful aroma of Orange Blossom Water, I knew I was done for. It is mild, floral and not at all citrusy as I had expected. When added to the food, it lent a beautiful taste that is instantly identifiable as middle-eastern.
These Dates Stuffed with Almond Paste were so-so easy to make and an absolute delight to taste. Very different from the Indian desserts that I am used to.
While the original recipe calls for medjool dates, I had the regular Indian dates at home and used those as a base for this recipe. Given that the Indian dates are much smaller in size and also softer in texture, pitting them while retaining the shape and then stuffing them was a bit of a challenge. However, the end result was delicious.
The next time around I will try this with Medjool dates and update the post! 🙂
How to Make Dates Stuffed with Almond Paste
Makes: 18-20 Small Stuffed Dates or 12 Medjool Dates
Time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients
- Indian Dates with Seed – 18 or 20
or
Medjool Dates – 12 - Almonds – 1/3 Cup
- Sugar – 1/4 Cup
- Butter – 1/4 tsp
- Orange Blossom Water – 1 tsp
- Cinnamon – 1/2″ piece
To Garnish (Optional)
- Crushed Pistachios – 4 or 5
- Crushed Almonds – 3
Method to Make the Almond Paste
- Boil about 2 cups water.
- Turn off the heat.
- Add the almonds to the boiling water.
- Cover and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Drain the water.
- While the almonds are still warm, peel them by just pinching them.
- Grind together the sugar and cinnamon to a fine powder.
- Add the almonds grind to a smooth paste. Do not add water.
- Add butter and orange blossom water.
- Grind to smooth paste.
Method to Make the Almond Paste Stuffed Dates
- Pit or deseed the dates.
- Set aside.
- If using garnish, mix together the crushed pistachios and almonds.
- Set aside.
- Take a small portion of the almond paste and stuff each date.
- Just dip the almond paste portion of the date in the crushed pistachio and almond garnish.
- Repeat till all dates are stuffed.
- Enjoy!
Scuh a refreshing new dessert!
I need to get me some orange blossom water- by hook or by crook 😉
I have a big bottle. Will be happy to share.
You are a sweetheart ??
And I meant ‘ such’ of course! Grrr
Thank you for the wonderful post Aruna..I remember eating something similar at a friend’s place during Ramzan several years ago..I have been wondering all these years how I could replicate this..Now thanks to you, I will try it soon 🙂
Do let me know how it turns, Nita. You can use Kewra instead of Orange Blossom Water.
Love orange blossom water, and your recipe sounds lovely 🙂
Gorgeous recipe!
Thank you, Dimple!
Maybe we could start an orange blossom water fan club? I love it too! :). Lovely recipe. Thank you Aruna! 🙂
Absolutely; let us start a fan club! 🙂
Yay! 🙂
Aruna,this looks so yummy…..
This is totally new to me, love the last picture 🙂
oh, I am very much in that fan club. Now, this is another wonderful recipe to use orange blossom water! This is a delightful, date treat!
I should search for Orange blossom water.. First time hearing about that.. With dates flavour looks super delicious
Please do, Vidya. You will love it!
Oh wow this is crazy good Aruna…I can finish off the entire plate in one go…..
I did…:-)
sounds very interesting.. Time to call up my friend who lives in Dubai.. 😉
🙂 🙂 🙂
Reblogged this on MAXIMUSOPTIMUSDOMINUS.
Oh I am a huge fan of stuffed dates and am therefore delighted to see this recipe. I can almost get a whiff of the Orange blossom looking at your beautiful clicks. Thanks to your friend from Dubai and the aromatic bottle of Orange Blossom that such a delectable recipe found its way into your awesome Blog.
I really like orange blossom water as well, and love the way you used it here! These dates are so dainty and prettily decorated! We do have some medjool dates, but they are so dry and hard I can’t even cut them…maybe I’ll try soaking them in water.
What a lovely share Aruna! Perfect for Iftari during Ramadan days! ??
Looks Yummy..