Ranginak, Persian Date and Walnut Sweet
Ranginak comes from the south of Iran, around Bushehr and Shiraz, and it is the kind of sweet that gets made from what the pantry always holds: dates, walnuts, and flour. The classic method presses stuffed dates into a dish and covers them with flour that has been fried in butter or ghee until golden, then dusts the whole thing with cinnamon and ground pistachio. The fried flour is where the richness lives, and it is also where the oil and refined grain sneak in. Here the topping is almond flour toasted dry until it turns nutty and gold, a ground whole nut rather than a refined grain, and the dates' natural stickiness binds it with nothing poured over the top. The result is closer to a soft, spiced date bar than a cake, sweet only from the fruit, and it slices cleanly once it has had time to set.
Ingredients
- 16 wholes Medjool dates, pitted
- 16 wholes Walnuts, halves
- 3/4 cup Almond flour
- 1 tsp cassia cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, toasted, to finish
Method
- Open each date along the seam and tuck a walnut half inside, then close it. The date's own stickiness seals it, and the walnut cuts the sweetness so the sweet never turns flat.
- Pack the stuffed dates in a single tight layer in a shallow dish, seam side down. Setting them snug means the topping bridges date to date and holds the whole thing together when you cut it.
- Toast the almond flour in a dry pan over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, until it smells nutty and turns the color of wet sand, 5 to 7 minutes. This is the move that replaces the flour traditionally fried in butter or ghee. Almond flour browns fast and burns faster, so keep it moving and pull it the moment it colors.
- Stir the cinnamon into the warm flour off the heat, then spoon it evenly over the dates, pressing gently so the sticky fruit grips it. The warmth of the dates and the tack of their surface are what bind the loose flour into a blanket with nothing wet added.
- Scatter the toasted sesame over the top and let it set for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. It keeps for several days covered at room temperature and firms up as it sits.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 190 calories, 4 g protein, 4 g fiber, 5 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.
