Mawa Stuffed Dates

What are Medjool Dates?

Medjool Dates originate from the oasis of Morocco. They are tropical fresh fruit. Unlike other varieties of dates, these are not physically or chemically dried. Medjool dates are harvested from date palms, cleaned, and packaged right away. I buy mine from Costco, from the fresh fruits and vegetables section. They are super soft, making them perfect to eat right away or add to your smoothie. They are so sweet that you just 2 Medjools in your smoothie, to have it perfectly sweetened. Stuffed dates were a thing in my mom’s kitchen during winters. She would stuff them with ghee, and nuts, and make us eat one date every day. I stumbled upon this idea 2 years back. When Inaaya was born my parents hired a sweet specialist to make customized sweets to gift to our family and friends. He brought these stuffed dates with a gujiya filling for us to taste. For me they were too sweet at that time and made in a different variety of dates, the taste didn’t seem to be as appetizing. But I absolutely loved the idea.

Ingredients to Make Mawa Stuffed Medjool Dates

Medjool Dates - These are fresh fruits, so they are supple, and usually bigger in size making it easier to stuff. You can use pitted Medjools. But they are very easy to pit on your own too. Make a small slit lengthwise, just not all the way to make sure the date is still intact. Carefully open the date, and remove the seed. There you have your pitted date. Mawa (Khoya) - Mawa or more popularly known as khoya, are reduced milk solids. You get a 350 gm bar of khoya from Nanak brand in the Indian Store. I use this khoya to make mithais and to make rich curries when hosting guests. Nuts - You can either add roughly chopped nuts or nut powders. I prefer using nut powder as I want these to have a smooth bite with a decadent mithai feeling. I am using almond powder, desiccated coconut, and pistachio powder Vanilla and Cardamom - Vanilla and cardamom perfumes these dates with their sweet aroma and sweet earthy taste. Garnish - Garnish the Stuffed dates with desiccated coconut, pistachio powder, and dried rose petals for a pop of color.

Other Ideas to Stuff the Dates

Goat Cheese, Chili Flakes, and a drizzle of honey work wonderfully. Any nut butter of your choice. My favorite is almond butter with a sprinkle of cocoa nibs. Tahini Stuffed Chocolate Covered Dates Jalapeno Cream Cheese Stuffed Dates with a Drizzle of Hot Honey

Expert Tips to Make This Recipe

Remove the seeds very carefully from your dates, if your dates are not pitted. Stuff the dates carefully, please do not overstuff the date. The dates will tear and they will be too big to eat. We will not be adding any sweetener to the Mawa filling. Since we don’t like the very sweet taste we prefer to leave the mawa filling unsweetened. The dates are sweet enough to give this perfect amount of sweetness. Using powdered nuts gives a smooth bite, the decadent kind, imagine biting into milk burfi. Store them in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator.