Ingredients
The fruit
- dates from the Borkou oases
- fresh, semi-dried or dried
Eaten with
- sweet tea
- milk or sour milk
- roasted groundnuts
Sometimes made into
- a date paste, pounded
- a soaked drink
Directions
- Keep dried dates in a sealed container.
- Keep them somewhere cool and dark. They keep a year or more that way.
- Discard any that smell fermented or sharp.
- Discard any with mould on them. Eating them needs no preparation.
- Stone the dates and pound them. It keeps well in a sealed jar.
- Soak dates in water for several hours. Crush them by hand in the water.
- Strain the liquid off afterwards. Serving them needs no ceremony at all.
Technique
- Faya-Largeau sits in the Borkou region of the Sahara, where date palms grow wherever the water table is near the surface and shade the vegetables planted beneath them.
- Dates pass through named ripening stages, from green kimri through firm khalal and soft rutab to fully dried tamr, which keeps for a year or more and is why dates travel.
- Date palms are male or female separately, and cultivated female trees are pollinated by hand every year by a grower who climbs to dust the flowers.
Substitutions
- Any good dried date can stand in, since this entry records an origin rather than a preparation.
- Sugar crystallising on the surface of stored dates is harmless and is not a sign of spoilage.
Variations
- Dates are eaten fresh, semi-dried or fully dried depending on the stage picked.
- Stoned dates are pounded into a paste for sweets and pastries.
- Soaked and strained, they make a sweet drink that ferments quickly in the heat.
History
The palm groves around Faya-Largeau in the Sahara supply Chad’s dates, carried south by caravan and truck to N’Djamena markets.
Frequently asked questions
What is Faya dates?
Faya dates is a snack from Chad: dates from the northern Borkou oases, dried and traded south. The palm groves around Faya-Largeau in the Sahara supply Chad’s dates, carried south by caravan and truck to N’Djamena markets.
How long does Faya dates take to make?
Faya dates takes varies of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes not a recipe. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Faya dates?
Yes, within limits. Any good dried date can stand in, since this entry records an origin rather than a preparation. Sugar crystallising on the surface of stored dates is harmless and is not a sign of spoilage.
