Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Iraqi Tahini and Date Syrup Dipping Sauce

Monday, October 10, 2011

[MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Iraqi Tahini and Date Syrup Dipping Sauce

* Exported from MasterCook *

Iraqi Tahini and Date Syrup Dipping Sauce

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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1/2 cup date syrup -- [found in Middle Eastern, or ethnic, markets] see below
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Blend all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve as an accompaniment to bread.

Makes 1/2 cup dipping sauce

AuthorNote: this dip combines Date Syrup with tahini, the sesame paste so often used in Middle Eastern cooking. Dibis w'rashi is delicious scooped up with fresh flatbreads - perfect with bread fro lunch or for a quick afternoon snack for our children to tide them over until supper.

ChupaNote: if you don't find date molasses at your favorite Middle Eastern grocery, try pomegranate molasses. I like to add 1/4 teaspoon ground Aleppo red pepper to the recipe for a hot and sweet kick.

Iraqi Date Syrup - Dibis
5 pounds pitted dates
8 cups boiling water

Wash the dates. Place the dates and boiling water in a large saucepan, stir well, and let stand to soak, for 1 hour.

Place the pan of dates over medium heat, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Working with about 2 cups of the date mixture at a time, spoon the cooked dates into a large sieve or fine-mesh strainer placed over a large bowl, and gently mash and press them against the mesh with a wooden spoon. Once most of the syrup has drained through from each batch, empty the colander, and set aside the date residue.

Makes about 5 cups syrup.

A friend whose father was from the Basra region, in the heart of Iraq's date-growing area, remembers hearing stories about her grandmother's entire village engaged in making date syrup at the height of date season. The syrup is delicious as a dip for bread, either on its own or mixed with plain yogurt, as jam on bread, and as a sweetener, just as it is used in Iraq. The residue left after the cooked dates have been pressed to make syrup is prized in our household as an essential ingredient in [baked goods].
Yield: "5 cups" [20 one-quarter cup servings]
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 312 Calories; trace Fat (1.1% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 83g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 6mg Sodium. Exchanges: 5 1/2 Fruit.

Source:
"Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker's Atlas by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, William Morrow, 1995"
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"Oct 2011"
Yield:
"1/2 cup"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 253 Calories; 4g Fat (14.3% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 55g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 16mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 3 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 866 0 0