Dates and Nuts Ladoos

It's December and the temperatures are already too low that the space heaters are turned on the whole day. Winters is my favorite time of the year. I love to get cozy in plush coats and blankets. And have the kitchen and pantry stocked up with warm and comforting foods and spices. I can not really list but the favorites would be cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Old cultures like Indian and Chinese focus a lot on types of food specific to the season. I too believe in that quite strongly. A simple argument would be that if we change our wardrobe for every season then the food that goes inside our body should change too. That said, there is a lot of emphasis on eating foods that provide energy and warmth to keep the metabolism high and keep the body warm during low temperatures.

These dates and nuts ladoos are great energy food to keep the body warm from inside. Other than the health benefits, they taste amazing. The deep dark taste from the dates is satisfying beyond words without making these ladoos overly sweet. These are made exclusively with dates which is a natural source of sugar and low in glycemic index. So it does not cause blood sugar spikes. Unlike most Indian sweets, these require no skills either and dates do most of the work needed. So let's dive into the recipe :)

Recipe
2 cups raw almonds
2 cup raw cashews
or 4 cups of your choice of mixed raw nuts
3-4 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 cup charoli/chinronji (optional)  ** can be found in any indian grocery store
4 cup seedless dates
1/4 cup ghee/clarified butter

• Dry roast all the nuts and poppy seeds for 2-3 min on medium. Set aside.
• In a food processor, grind seedless dates until they crumble into tiny pieces and start to stick together as if forming a dough. Set aside.
• In the food processor, pulse the dry roasted nuts mixtures to blend them well but maintain the coarse texture.
• Heat a large saute pan on medium. Add the ghee and dates paste. Heat for 3-4 min until dates become soft. Add the nuts mixture and heat for minutes, stirring continuously. 
• Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 mins.
• With your hands, start mixing in so the dates get spread evenly. 
• While the mixture is still warm, start making balls. This would be fairly easy as dates are sticky.

You can use any combination of nuts like almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios. Though I will suggest to stay away from walnuts due to their strong taste. You can also use dry shredded coconut. The key is to have close to 1:1 ratio of dates and nuts.

Enjoy! Stay warm and cozy this winter :)