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Hininy
Hininy (حنيني): warm Najdi date and bread crumble kneaded with ghee and cardamom
When the first cold nights reach Najd and Qassim, Saudi families make hininy, a warm sweet of soft dates melted into crumbled brown bread with plenty of ghee and cardamom. It is eaten from a shared plate in the evening or at breakfast with tiny cups of saffron-tinted Arabic coffee, and it is said to keep you warm on desert nights. The texture is soft and fudgy with a little crumb, the flavour like sticky toffee and toasted bread. The mistake to avoid is using hard, dry dates, which never melt; choose soft, moist ones or soak them first. Serve it warm, pressed into a mound. Chef's tip: toast the bread crumbs in a dry pan for two minutes before mixing; it gives a nutty depth that plain crumbs lack.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 7 oz wholemeal flatbread or brown breada day old
- 9 oz soft datespitted
- 2 ⅞ oz ghee
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 pinch saffron threads (optional)soaked in 1 tbsp hot water
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Tear 7 oz wholemeal flatbread or brown bread into pieces and blitz to fine crumbs in a food processor, or rub them through your fingers.
Step 2: Toast the crumbs in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2–3 minutes. Tip into a bowl.
3 minStep 3: Melt 2 ⅞ oz ghee in the same pan over a low heat. Add 9 oz soft dates and cook, pressing with the back of a spoon, until they collapse into a soft paste, 5–6 minutes.
6 minStep 4: Add the crumbs, 1 tsp ground cardamom and 1 pinch saffron threads and mix and press with the spoon until it all comes together into a soft, glossy dough, 2–3 minutes.
3 minStep 5: Pile onto a plate and shape into a mound or press into small balls. Serve warm.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hininy take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
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