Oats Khajur Rolls
- 15 min prep
- 95 min
- Cook
- Serves 8
- 205 kcal
- 4.5 g protein
Soft dates cooked down in a spoon of ghee, packed with toasted oats and nuts, rolled into a log and sliced. Sweet from the dates alone, no sugar added.
Ingredients
- About 1½ cups (250 g) soft seedless dates, packed
- ½ cup (45 g) rolled oats
- ¼ cup (30 g) almonds, chopped
- ¼ cup (30 g) cashews, chopped
- 2 tbsp (15 g) pistachios, chopped, plus 1 tbsp (8 g) for coating
- 2 tbsp (15 g) pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp (16 g) white sesame seeds, for coating
- 1 tbsp (14 g) ghee, plus a little for greasing
- ¼ tsp green cardamom powder
Method
- 1Dry-roast the rolled oats in a heavy pan on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes until golden and crisp. Tip them onto a plate.
- 2In the same pan, toast the almonds, cashews, pistachios and pumpkin seeds on low heat for 3 minutes until fragrant. Add them to the oats. Toast the sesame seeds for 1 minute until they just colour, and keep them separate for coating.
- 3Pulse the dates in a mixer jar 4 or 5 times until they form a coarse, sticky paste. If they are dry, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes first and pat them dry.
- 4Heat the ghee in the pan on low heat, add the date paste and press and stir it for 3 to 4 minutes. It is ready when it softens, turns glossy and gathers into a single lump.
- 5Turn off the heat. Mix in the oats, nuts, seeds and cardamom until evenly spread through the dates.
- 6Let it cool for 5 minutes, until you can handle it. Grease your palms, divide the mixture in two and roll each half into a log about 3 cm thick.
- 7Spread the sesame and the remaining pistachios on a plate and roll each log over them, pressing so they stick.
- 8Wrap each log tightly in butter paper or foil and chill for 1 hour. Slice into 1 cm rounds with a sharp knife.
Notes from the Department
- Shape the logs while the mix is still warm. Once fully cold, dates stiffen and crack.
- Wipe the knife between slices for neat rounds.
- Medjool or Kimia dates give the softest roll. Harder dates need a short soak first.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 205 kcal
- Protein
- 4.5 g
- Carbohydrate
- 31 g
- Fat
- 9.1 g
- Fibre
- 4.3 g
- Sugars
- 21 g
Why this works
A khajur roll needs no sugar and no binder. Dates are already sticky and sweet, and a few minutes in ghee turns them from paste to something closer to a soft toffee that holds everything in place. Toasted rolled oats bring a crunch and a cereal flavour that cuts through the sweetness, and they stretch the dates further, so the roll eats less like pure fruit paste.
Toasting is not optional. Raw oats and nuts go soft inside a roll; toasted ones stay crisp for days. The sesame coat is there for the look, and also stops the slices sticking to each other in the box. Expect about 24 slices from this batch.
Swaps
Use poppy seeds (khus khus) or desiccated coconut for the coating instead of sesame. Walnuts, figs or a few raisins can replace some of the nuts. For a vegan roll, use coconut oil in place of ghee. Pick certified gluten-free oats if you are cooking for someone who avoids gluten, since regular oats can carry traces of wheat.
Storage
Keep the slices in an airtight box in the fridge for up to three weeks, or at cool room temperature for about a week. They make a sensible mid-morning bite with black coffee, and a good box to carry on long drives. Two slices with a glass of milk also make a quick after-school snack that needs no cooking on the day.
Questions people ask
- Do I need to add sugar to khajur rolls?
- No. Good soft dates are sweet enough on their own. If yours taste bland, swap a few for softer, sweeter Medjool or Kimia dates and add a pinch more cardamom; that keeps the rolls free of added sugar.
- My dates mixture is too dry to roll. What do I do?
- Return it to the pan with 1 tsp ghee and 1 tbsp water and press it on low heat for a minute. Dry dates can also be soaked in warm water for 15 minutes before blending.
- Can I use quick oats?
- Yes. Toast them the same way, for 3 to 4 minutes on low heat. They give a finer texture with less crunch.
- Can I make these without ghee?
- Yes. Use coconut oil, or cook the date paste dry in a non-stick pan with a splash of water. The roll will be slightly less glossy.
Inspired by Dine Delicious. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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