Plant Curd with Date Treacle
Curd and treacle is how a Sri Lankan meal traditionally ends: a bowl of set buffalo-milk curd under a thick pour of kithul, the treacle tapped from the flower of the fishtail palm. Both the tang and the darkness are the pleasure. A thick soy yogurt gives the same sour body as the curd while adding protein, and a syrup of blended dates stands in for the palm treacle, keeping the fruit's fiber where refined sugar would have stripped it out. Cinnamon, cardamom, and a scatter of cashews finish it.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Plain plant yogurt
- 6 wholes Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon, ground
- 1/8 tsp Green cardamom, ground
- 2 tbsp Raw cashews, toasted and chopped
Method
- Soak the pitted dates in 0.33 cup (80 ml) just-boiled water for 5 minutes to soften, then blend them with the soaking water, the cinnamon, and the cardamom into a smooth, pourable syrup. Add a little more hot water until it ribbons off the spoon. This is the stand-in for kithul treacle, the dark palm syrup that traditionally goes over the curd, made instead from whole dates so the sweetness keeps its fiber.
- Spoon the yogurt into four bowls. A thick, tangy soy yogurt is the closest thing to the set buffalo curd this dish is built on, and it brings the same sour edge plus more protein. If yours is loose, drain it in a cloth for an hour first.
- Pour the warm date treacle generously over the cold yogurt so it pools and streaks. The contrast of sour curd and dark sweet syrup is the entire point, and it is why the dish needs nothing else.
- Top with the toasted cashews for crunch and serve at once, while the treacle is still glossy. Any extra treacle keeps in the fridge for two weeks.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 165 calories, 6 g protein, 3 g fiber, 40 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
