Dates Wine

This is an extremely tasty wine recope and I would like to name it as the queen of wines (next to grape of course) The natural flavour of dates gives the wine a delicious taste and the clear royal colour makes it all the more appealing to our senses. It became undoubtedly the star of my this years wine recipes.

Ingredients

Dates-2 kg
White Grape Juice-250 Grams
Sugar-1 kg
Water, boiled and cooled-4 liters
Yeast-1 table spoon

Method

Sterilize all equipment before use.
Chop then boil the dates gently for 1/2 hour with 2 litres of water.
When cool, strain in a bharani/ bottle and add in the grape juice concentrate. Add  yeast and top up the water to around 4.5 liters with cool water. Keep the bottle air tight.
Wait until fermentation is compete, for 21 days. Stir this mixture every day with a wooden spoon. Strain this mixture using a cheese cloth or muslin cloth, into a clean dry vessel on 21st day and leave to clear.
Rack into clean bottles when completely clear and stable. Store for up to 2 years.

Dates and Tamarind Chutney

I've always been fascinated by the dates and Tamarind chutney served in bhelpuri bakalas. So this time I made it myself with my homemade bhel puri. It tested even better than the ones i've eaten till now and we also have the assurance that no preservatives are added. It can be stored in airtight containers and kept in the refrigerator for upto 1 month.

Ingredients

Dates – ½ cup, deseeded
Tamarind – ⅓ cup, packed and seedless
Water – 3 cups
Jaggery – ⅓ cup, powdered or grated
Salt – to taste
Roasted cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
Red chili powder – ½ teaspoon
Dry ginger powder – ½ teaspoon

Method

Take seedless tamarind and dates in saucepan.
Add 3 cups of water and turn the heat on medium.
Let it come to a boil and simmer for 7-8 minutes.
Then add jaggery.
Also add salt, red chili powder, roasted cumin powder and dry ginger powder.
Mix well and let it simmer for again 7-8 minutes.
Let the mixture cool down a bit and then grind into smooth paste using blender or grinder.
Strain the chutney using strainer.
You cannot skip this step, as you can see that it may have some string of tamarind which is unpleasant to bite into. Your chutney is ready.