Why you should incorporate dry fruits into your kitchen and your daily diet

As a kid, I can fondly remember how I used to look forward to a preparation of a traditional sweet dish at home. Not only did it follow a traditional recipe, but also did employ the use of rich ingredients like dry fruits. And I loved to polish off the doodhpak or sheera and leave the best for last – the dry fruits.

Dry fruits are incorporated into not only sweet dishes, but in savoury items as well. Don’t we love our biryani with the aromatic seasoning of raisins and cashew nuts? Who doesn’t love to pick a pack of masala peanuts to munch on?

And who doesn’t love to be gifted a stunningly decorated box of assorted dry fruits? And any Eid feast is incomplete without a pack or two of seedless dates (khajur) or stuffed variety of dates. Dry fruits are undoubtedly the centre of attraction for gifting at Indian festivals.

With the confluence of various international cuisines, we’ve also incorporated a lot of nuts from the overseas into our diet. Take hazelnuts for instance; kids no longer load their sandwiches with jam or preserves, but instead liberally apply some delicious hazelnut chocolate spread. An authentic pesto pasta is incomplete without a handful of pine nuts (chilgoze) and our salads miss the nutty crunch without their addition.

Aiming to bring the finest dry fruits to your table is the website called Placeoforigin.in. It’s India`s first marketplace for specialty Indian foods, ethnic foods, regional specialities, where all food products are sourced directly from the producer and delivered direct to the end-consumer.

Shop for your choice of delicious dry fruits, keeping in mind goodness they are packed with:

Cashew nuts (kaju) contain trace nutrients like Manganese, Magnesium and Copper to help maintain your bones, nerves and muscles in ship shape. Pick your bag of cashews native to the Goa, Maharashtra and Kerala coast.

By consuming walnuts (akhrot) you add copper, a vital trace nutrient which primarily helps our body utilize and process the iron from our diet. Bake a mean walnut chocolate brownie to satisfy your cravings and daily nutrient requirements.

Dates are one of the good sources of iron. Pine nuts are loaded with Vitamin K and Zinc to help develop immunity. How about a date and pine nut laddoo?

Packed with protein, Riboflavin, Calcium, Manganese, Magnesium and Vitamin E for developing a sound body and mind, no wonder our intelligent mothers used to pester us to munch on soaked Almonds (badam). Gorge on some lip-smacking kheer with the finest mamra almonds, with origins of Iran and Afghanistan.

So incorporate your daily diet with a handful of dry fruits as is or in a yummier version of your choice.


Disclaimer: This article has been written for a brand incorporating my honest opinion/review.