A couple of months ago I picked up some (read, a lot) dates just because it was on sale! Normally this is okay, our fridge is usually empty save for a bunch of fruits, some dried out vegetables and some take-out food containers, usually way past the expiration dates. So cleaning out the fridge used to be pretty much about throwing stuff out. But these days it is a different story. The real-estate inside the refrigerator is prime- the crispers are full of veggies, the meat/seafood tray is always packed, the doors are filled with different types of pickles, juices, water bottles etc. And the rest of the fridge is occupied with left overs, different varieties none more than two days old. It is a lived-in kitchen now, with all the mom’s cooking that’s been going on. So these dates which I planted in the fridge, just because that is the only place where I could find stuff a month ago, were taking up some coveted real estate. We have been trying to eat as much as we could, but the last two cups had to come out this Sunday after another farmer’s market run. I had to get rid of these, and the only way I could think of was to make a dessert out of it.
So here is a simple date pudding recipe, the simplest it can get. No, this is not even closely related to the traditional Date Pudding- the Sticky Date Pudding. This is totally my own experiment that turned out great, and I couldn’t think of another name for it!
Ingredients
(Makes about 6 servings)
- 2 cups pitted dates (Medjool, other varieties should work too)
- 1 cup pecans (whole or pieces)
- 4 cups non-fat milk
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- a pinch cardamom powder
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp unflavored gelatin powder
Method
- Sprinkle gelatin over 3 tbsp orange juice and let it stand for a few minutes without stirring. This will soften the gelatin.
- In a large saucepan, mix the milk, sugar, dates and pecans and bring to a boil. Cook on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes till the dates and pecans are soft. Add the cardamom powder and stir well.
- Remove from heat, and use a hand blender to process the ingredients till smooth.
- Add the softened gelatin and mix well till the gelatin is completely absorbed.
- Transfer to pudding cups and chill for at least three hours till set.
- Garnish with chopped dates and nuts.
Isn’t that simple? With non-fat milk and just 2 tbsp sugar, it is a relatively guilt free dessert too. There is a lot of fiber in this as well, this was purely by accident though. I didn’t bother to skin the dates beforehand (I am not even sure if I could, since it will be a pretty cumbersome process to sit and skin all these dates!). I was hoping I would just strain the mixture afterwards, but of course Science got in the way and that didn’t work out quite the way I expected. But that was no big deal, it had a rustic texture due to the ground date skins, but still smooth enough and quite pudding-y.
Comments
44 Responses to “Date and Pecan Pudding”
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Great recipe Sig. Have a question: what can I substitute the pecans with?
Thanks Raaga… I think most dried nuts should work, I only had pecans in hand, hence the use of pecans here
. I think walnuts, cashew nuts or unsalted pistachios would work nicely..
Nice colour, Sig, and easy to make too!
wow thats a easy and delicious dessert. I too have 2 packs of dates yet to be used. thks dear sometimes our own creations turn into delicious recipes right.
What a fantastic easy to make dessert. My mum normally sends me dates from Dubai and I love them. I normally eat them plain, but this dessert is to good!
Thanks fr the visit, the lychee yoghurt was an old one, didn’t think anyone would read that now…:) I’ve yet to read the pudding recipe…See ya again!
Read thru now… nice and easy recipe. Can I pressure cook the milk+date mixture and then sieve and puree it? It would take much less than 30 mins then…
Sra, isn’t it easy? Most my recipes are easy, but I think this is the easiest dessert so far
Roopa, at least the ones that we blog about :D, many a creation of mine had travelled directly from the stove to the trashcan
Meeta, this might be a little too simple for you, the queen of desserts
Jyo,
I was just over at your place and somehow ended up at the lychee post, it sounded fabulous and had to leave a comment. :). Great idean on pressure cooking, you are right, that will really cut down the cooking time…
Cool dessert!! And what a lovely colour is gives.
A lovely dessert Sig. Quite interesting recipe. Viji
Thanks Sig… I have some 3-4 kilos of cashews sitting in my pantry… will use them in this
and oh yeah, I totally agree about us blogging only about the successful experiments
Just last night my hubby was saying that in our 9 months of marriage, I have only made a terrible dish once… and believe me, it was a lunchbox disaster. I took pictures before I tasted it and trashed the pictures the same time I trashed the contents of the cooker.
and served like that it is a stunner too…
If you still have some left - try this: remove stone, add a few drops of ghee (should be more but who can afford to do that today?!), insert the pecan/walnut. Eat/Serve.
Thatz a healthy, heavenly dessert..:)..I am falling for it,Sig!!!
hey sig, that looks AWESOME! at any point of time i’ve 3 kinds of dates with me, one kind to make chutney, mejdool to snack on and coco/date rolls
will make this soon. BTW never knew dates are to be skinned, first time hearing that!! did i mention i like dates 
I do have Dates in the fridge,will try making this Pudding.Love the color.I might add Walnuts there!:))
It’s Wednesday Sig,one more to catch up!:D
Sig,i think your dream of a television show will get materialised soon…see u re whipping up your own inventions
Pudding looks good
Shn
I have been trying to make this from long, have seen it (similar one) in a cookbook of mine. This looks so great and awesome, I feel like trying this right away.
My refrigerator always overflows…but as you said, mine also has half expired items which go straight into trash(mom gasped with horror when I threw a big pack of carrots because they were expired..haha)
This pudding looks very good. So far I have been just making data cake. I will have to try this pudding sometime.
Love that dessert! easy breezy!
my fridge is usually packed up (and at times few things go bad without using!) i know, feels bad!!
but i love dates, so will make this :).
so fabulous. this will also work with dried figs, methinks.
I love dates and pista combo. Lemme try that.
I usually have an internal conversation with myself - is this a want or a need
Puddling looks filling hon.
The only thing substantial from your list that I have is dates… now i have to go buy nuts, juice, nonfat milk, gelatin!! Its the old adage buying a horse cause you have a saddle? That would be me!!
So, i want to make it but some other day!? OK! Thanks for the share.
Hi Sig, great and healthy recipe. Looks lovely. Thanks for sharing.
Oooh! Cool Pudding. Sure have all the ingredients to try this one right away.
that is a very beautiful recipe. looks so delicious. you use gelatin very often right?
Hi Sig,
Delicious, awesome pudding…healthy dessert too..Liked your recipe verymuch…Thanks for sharing.
Your pudding looks smooth like a mousse. Date & Pecan, what a delicious combination!
That’s a unique dessert,infact a droolworthy picture to go with it,Lovely recipe:)
Dates and pecans, what a combo! I’m definitely making this soon. Yum!
great combination Sig!!!
Looks like you and siv had a nice time relishing it!!!
Thats really a fat free, low in sugar and high in fiber, Dieter’s dream recipe which is very fast and easy, Have to try this for sure. I guess we can play with those nutty flavors too! as am not big fan of pecans. Well I am a new blogger and when time permits do visit me at
http://padmaskitchen.blogspot.com
Lovely recipe Sig. I liked the color of the pudding.
Dates are always yummy! This one looks great too…
hw abt little bit of figs???? mmm…i can almost taste it:) long time no see(i know it applies to me also:) hw r u girl? enjoying with ur folks?
Ur pudding has nice colour….. Lovely photos….Love it…
awesome sig …you rock lady dessert is too good …i wish i could have the glass in the pic …sorry if i am late on commenting …..
Great recipe Sig. Thanks for sharing.
Great recipe, the color looks so pleasant… The dessert is too good!!!
That looks easys as long as I don’t spray the kitchen while using the hand mixer, or my pudding refuses to set
i love the picture, not a big date fan
Coffee, Viji, thanks
Raaga, cashew nuts will go great with this. Let me know how it goes… and yeah, we all have our kitchen disaster stories..
Anita, thanks for that recipe… that is simple enough, and will be trying as soon as I get some more dates… which will be a while now, since I’ve had an overdose
Bharathy, thanks
Richa, lol you are a date fan, aren’t you?
.. And skinning the dates, you know I don’t know if its possible, but the skins sure changed the texture of the dish.. I was thinking that if there is a way to remove the skin, that would really make it a more smoother creamier dessert.
Asha, been so busy lately, but I will drop by to catch up with your 101st post.
Shn… , lol… that will be the day :D. Just read in Forbes that Rachael Ray made about 8 mil last year… sigh….
Lata, hey, so the cookbook stole my idea….? :D:D … let me know if they had a way of improving the texture…
Shilpa, lol my mom is like that too… thats why I cleaned up the pantry before she came, she will get a heart attach if she saw how much stuff I waste
Musie… yeah when we grocery shop, there is a plan for each and every ingredient… but once these get into the fridge, most are forgotten till they turn into unidentifiable smelly organisms..
Bee,yeah, figs should work too… I will try that next time, since I don’t want to buy dates for a looong time now
Suganya, I think pista will be better than pecans, but pecans were what I had at hand…
Cyn, want or need… that is the question…
for me everything I buy are Must Have items
Archana, lol… thats exactly how I operate too…thats how I end up with so much junk in my fridge and pantry… You made the right decision to postpone it to another day…
Jyothi, Indo thanks
Sharmi, thanks.. Yes I do use a lot of gelatin
always have it in stock, for easy breezy desserts… I tried agar, but didn’t like the taste much.
Usha, Karin, Lera, Amy, thanks
Padmaja, yep Siv and I and my parents too… it is good to make desserts now, with four people in the house…we don’t tend to over indulge…
Padma, thanks, and you have a great blog…Nice work!
TOM, Shantanu, thanks
Sup, hey good to see you girl, yep life’s been too busy lately… deadlines at work…
Will be coming by soon for a visit .
Sukanya, thanks
Deepa, better late than never right? I have been missing too many posts from all my blogger friends lately
Priyanka, Cinnamon thanks
Sandeepa,
Lol spraying the kitchen, or your clothes is a real possiblity… but gelatin has never failed me so far
Dumela, ahem… I mean Rachna
so you don’t like dates? try figs instead then 
Wow, that pudding looks so good and so simple to make.