Figs, Date & Nut Bars (Anjeer-Khajoor Burfi)

Belated Diwali wishes to all of you. It was a very quite festival for us this year and the weather didn't cooperate either. It was gloomy and raining the whole day. I'm glad that my husband was home for Diwali, first time in the past 2~3 years. Even after seeing all the yummy Diwali snacks on Facebook and Instagram, I wasn't motivated enough to make anything.

But then I felt bad for the family and decided to make something less guilty yet satisfying. After leafing through the cookbooks, I found this fig, date & nuts burfi in Sanjeev Kapoor's Sweet temptations. It has no added sugar and the sweetness comes from dried figs and dates.

I was skeptical if the mixture would come together without sugar, but it did thicken quite a bit though not as much as a regular burfi. It tasted great, a nutritious dessert that can be whipped up in a jiffy.

Figs, Date & Nut Bars

Ingredients:

• 1cup (about 15) Dry Figs, chopped
• 1cup (about 18) Dates, pitted and chopped
• 3tbsp Almonds, finely chopped
• 2tbsp Cashews, finely chopped
• 2tbsp Pistachios, finely chopped
• 3~4tbsp Ghee

Method:

1. Soak the dry figs and dates, separately, in hot water for 15~20 minutes (or in regular water for 3~4 hours). Drain the water and grind them to a smooth paste adding little water.
2. Melt ghee in a nonstick pan, add the figs and date puree and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture dries out about 10~15 minutes.
3. Stir in the nuts and mix well to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for another 10~15 minutes or until the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan.
4. Remove the mixture into a greased plate or tin and sprinkle with more chopped nuts, if desired. Set aside to cool. Cut into squares or diamonds when completely cooled. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: November -- Week 2'.