Raw Almond Milk and Almond Meal recipe -- Date Almond Pooran Poli

I did mention my growing obsession with all things juicing, didn’t I? It’s become a daily ritual now — starting every morning with a fresh fruit and vegetable juice, followed by a late-morning smoothie. I even pack a mason jar of juice to take to work for that 3 p.m. “juice instead of tea” break. And it’s working.

I no longer crave that cup of chai or coffee. A green juice or pomegranate juice does the job just as well. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I bought a store-bought carton of juice, and ordering a smoothie at a café now feels almost sacrilegious. The Vitamix and Hurom juicer have earned prime real estate on my kitchen counter.

While I’m not sure I could ever commit to a 100% raw or vegan lifestyle, I’m fully convinced that increasing my intake of raw fruits and vegetables gives me a noticeable energy boost and keeps me going through the day. I suppose that makes me a 50–50 raw vegetarian.

I’ve experimented with many juice and smoothie combinations that I hope to share more regularly, but one thing I had been meaning to try with my new juicer was making raw almond milk. Inspired once again by The Rawsome Life and her Facebook posts, I finally remembered to soak a cup of almonds overnight to make fresh almond milk the next day.

The process turned out to be incredibly easy, and the Hurom juicer made it almost effortless. No peeling the almonds, no straining required. The result was creamy, fresh, raw almond milk along with dry, powdery almond meal. No mess and no fuss.

Even better, just one cup of almonds yielded nearly 3–4 cups of almond milk and over 1 1/2 cups of almond meal.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m always looking for creative ways to use juicer pulp. Amma recently made an incredible carrot and beetroot pulp halwa or barfi, which I’ll be sharing soon. With the almond milk, she had another brilliant idea — using the leftover almond meal combined with dates to make Date Almond Pooran Poli, a stuffed wheat flatbread or paratha.

Below are the recipes for both.

Raw Almond Milk

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw almonds (with skin intact)
• 2–3 cups water
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
  (raw vanilla bean is ideal, but essence works well)
• 1 tsp agave syrup or sweetener of choice (optional)

Method

1. Soak the almonds in about 2 cups of water overnight.
2. The next morning, discard the soaking water and add 2 cups of fresh water.
3. Turn on the juicer and gradually add the almonds and water. Continue until all the almonds are processed.
4. Stir in the vanilla essence and sweetener, if using. Fresh almond milk is ready to serve.

Notes:

• You may peel the almonds if you prefer. The skins come off easily after soaking overnight, or you can add warm water in the morning to help loosen them.
• You can also use a Vitamix blender to make almond milk. In that case, peeling the almonds is recommended.
• Straining the milk using a cheesecloth or nut milk bag is optional. I preferred leaving it unstrained for a thicker, creamier texture.

Almond Meal Recipe: Date Almond Pooran Poli

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup dates
• 1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/4 cup wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup water (approximately)
• 2 tsp oil

Method

1. Place the almond meal and dates in a Vitamix jar and blend on variable speed, using the tamper as needed, until the mixture forms a coarse paste. Set aside.

2. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan and add 1 tablespoon of ghee to coat the base.

3. Add the almond-date mixture and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously, until it thickens, gathers toward the center, and no longer sticks to the pan or ladle.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the wheat flour and all-purpose flour with salt. Gradually add water and oil to form a soft dough similar to chapathi dough. The dough should not stick to your fingers and should be easy to shape.

5. Pinch off portions of the dough and roll them into balls about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. This quantity should yield about 6–8 pooran polis.

6. Once the almond-date mixture has cooled slightly, form small balls (about 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter, depending on desired filling).

7. Roll each dough ball into a small disc. Place one almond-date ball in the center, wrap the dough around it, and seal the edges.

8. Lightly dust with wheat flour and gently roll each stuffed dough ball into a circle about 3–4 inches in diameter, ensuring the filling doesn’t seep out.

9. Heat a frying pan over low heat. Cook each poli for 1–2 minutes on one side, flip, and cook until lightly browned on the other side. Apply a little ghee on both sides if desired, then remove from the pan.