Cook With Dry Fruits: 5 Recipes That We Are Totally In Love With!

Dry fruits are filled with antioxidants, nutrients, vitamins and minerals. There is no denying that but it is also fun to cook with them as they can be used to make a wide range of dishes and are often used in multiple cuisines. From desserts to curries & from soups to granolas, there are just too many options available. Plus they are healthy and fill you up in the most nourishing way, so that you don’t crave any unhealthy binge! Check out our round of five recipes we love that involve dry fruits.

Classic Fudge Walnut Brownies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped, divided
• 1/3 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts divided

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
• Place half of the bittersweet chocolate and the milk in a small saucepan and place over low heat. Cook and stir for a minute or two and then add the butter. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter and chocolate have completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the flour mixture in the mixing bowl and stir until slightly combined. Add the eggs, remaining bittersweet chocolate, and 1/4 cup of the walnuts (reserve remaining nuts for later) to the flour mixture; stir to combine.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts.
• Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging, approximately 20 to 22 minutes for a 9-inch baking dish or 22 to 26 minutes for an 8-inch baking dish. The edges should seem solid but the center will appear somewhat soft and will continue to set up as the brownies cool. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the baking dish before cutting and serving.

Stuffed Medjool Dates

Ingredients:

• 24 Medjool dates
• 4 ounces soft goat cheese or nut butter for vegan
• 3 tablespoons pistachios
• Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• Smoked paprika
• Optional: honey

Directions:

• Use a knife to make a lengthwise slit into the dates, then remove the pits. Use a spoon to fill them with goat cheese.
• Crush the pistachios with a rolling pin.
• Top each with a tiny sprinkle of black pepper, sea salt and the tiniest bit of smoked paprika (just a tiny sprinkle has a big flavor impact). Sprinkle on pistachio dust. If desired, add the tiniest drizzle of honey (again, use a small amount to heighten the flavor; too much and it overwhelms).

Moroccan Cauliflower and Almond Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted and divided
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 to 3 teaspoons harissa chili paste or hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Additional harissa chili paste, optional

Directions:

• In a 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker, combine cauliflower, vegetable stock, 1/2 cup almonds, 1/2 cup cilantro and the next 7 ingredients. Cook, covered, on low until cauliflower is tender, 6-8 hours.
• Puree soup using an immersion blender. Or cool slightly and puree soup in batches in a blender; return to slow cooker and heat through. Serve with remaining almonds and cilantro and, if desired, additional harissa.

Honey Almond Granola

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• ½ cup slivered almonds
• 1 ½ cups raisins

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 300°F.
• In a large bowl, mix ¼ cup vegetable oil, ¾ cup honey, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
• Add 6 cups oats, 1 cup sliced almonds, and ½ cup slivered almonds. Stir with a wooden spoon to evenly coat.
• Spread onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake around 45 minutes until golden, removing the pan to stir every 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely, then add 1 ½ cup raisins to the cooled mixture. Store in an air-tight container.

Pistachio Rose Semolina Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 1 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature, cubed (plus a little more for greasing cake pan with)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cup plus 4 tablespoons shelled, unsalted pistachios
• 1 cup 250 ml almond meal
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp, 225 ml fine semolina flour
• 1 1/4 tsp 6 ml baking powder
• 1/4 tsp 1 ml Himalayan salt
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp rosewater, not rose syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the rose syrup:

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup rosewater
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp rose water
• pinch of cardamom

Directions:

For the cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
• Grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan/or round cake pan with butter. Line bottom and sides with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Place 1 cup pistachios and cardamom powder in a high speed blender/food processor and blitz until finely ground. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add ground almonds, semolina, baking powder and salt. Mix together and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, in another bowl. Slowly add eggs 1 at a time and continue to mix until smooth and fully incorporated.
• Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, being careful not to over mix. Fold in lemon zest, lemon juice, rosewater and vanilla extract. Scrape batter into a greased pan and level with spatula.
• Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean but oily. Let rest for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
• To serve, drizzle warm rose syrup all over the cake. Drizzle cake with glaze. Chop remaining pistachios and sprinkle all over the cake along with dried rose petals.
• Cake can be refrigerated for upto a week. Before serving, simply warm up the cake, or let it stand at room temperature for a bit.

For the rose syrup:

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Syrup should be slightly thinner than maple syrup and drizzled over the cake when still warm.

For the glaze:

1. Add the lemon juice and rose water and cardamom to the powdered sugar and mix well.
2. Drizzle on cake when cooled.