DATE WITH "DATES" AT SIAFA, MUMBAI

An invitation by Food bloggers association of India aka FBAI turned out into a memorable and learning experience at SIAFA, Mumbai. Amazing date with “DATES”. Never thought the subject of dates could be so vast, deep and interesting. Thanks to the MD of Siafa Mr. Salman Fareed Memoni who explained us everything from start till the end. And each Date product seemed to be like a suspense thriller movie which left us surprised and thinking if products like this are ever existed.


 DATES: 

Dates have been staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. Dates are a good source of vitamins and minerals. Leading producers are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Oman and Iraq. Following are the confirmed benefits of consuming dates:- 

1.  Prevents cancer. 
2. Excellent remedy for weak heart.
3. Treatment for obesity.
4.  It eases pain of childbirth. 
5.  They contribute to healthy bones.
6. Improves eye sight.
7.  Cure constipation.
8.  Remedy for liver inflammation. 


Now coming back to Siafa which was earlier known as AL Alwani Dates, they have rebranded their name in India to siafa. It’s their first outlet in Mumbai as well as in India. On asking Mr. Salman about their Target segment, he mentioned they are mostly targeting Weddings and Ramadan Festival (that’s the time when maximum consumption of date takes place) so what’s the difference between dates they serve and what’s already available in the market & why the rate of dates is higher as compared to the dates available in Indian market. Salman laughs and says that’s what problem is, dates what we get normally in Indian market are Iranian dates which are cheaper and they serve dates which are grown in Saudi Arabia which are more better and expensive as compared to what we get in India.





ABOUT THE OUTLET:-  

It is located exactly opposite to Crawford market which seems to be the best location for sale of dates firstly due to prime location for shopping and secondly Muslim area nearby. Its 2 floored outlet, where ground floor is used for the sale of Date products and another one is used as a lounge to organize events. Outlet is being stuffed with loads and loads of products which are displayed & stacked beautifully so that people can look and make their own choice.







The Managing Director started with introduction about the company and about what their product is all about. This was followed by the introduction of different varieties of dates and it's tasting.

TYPES OF DATES:-

This are available in 3 Pack size - 800gms, 400gms & 200gms.
1. SUKKARY:- 

This dates are soft, sweet and heavy. You may call them Melt-in-mouth dates. This dates are undoubtedly the favorite date for breaking the fast during Ramadan festival.They were available in 2 forms - Fresh & Dried. Fresh one are stored at -25 degree Celsius. They normally have an expiry of 1 year if preserved and refrigerated at proper temperature & conditions. Every fresh Sukkary date had a different colour ranging from golden brown to dark brown as you can see in the picture below.

 FRESH:-




DRIED:-


2. AJWA AL MADINAH:-
It is soft & dry variety of date which is produced in Medina in Saudi Arabia. This are like Parmesan cheese which can only be produced in Parma Region, similarly Ajwa can only be grown and produced in Medina. That's the reason this dates are expensive.  It was delightfully soft and fruity date with soft texture. Ajwa has many medicinal properties.

It is said "whoever has seven Ajwa dates every morning, he/she will not be harmed on that day by poison or magic".

3. SAGAI:-



They usually range from golden brown at base to brown till the top in colour. Sagai dates were little sweet and little chewy as compared to other dates.

4. SAFAWI:



It is Dark Brown in colour. The sweetness and the flavor of dates was more prominent and intense. It was tough to chew. Safawi dates are considered to be the mines for vitamins.

5.MABROOM:-


 Mabroom is dry variety of date which is grown in Medina in Saudi Arabia. A date with long and slender body. It is dark brown in colour & deliciously sweet but very chewy.

DATES WITH NUTS:-


 DIfferent types of dates were stuffed with nuts like Sagai with almond, Khudri with almond, Safawi with almond,etc. The nuts added crunch to dates while eating them.This were available in pack size - 300gms & 115gms.


CHOCOLATE COATED FLAVORED DATES:-

This was something new for me. I mean i never thought dates could taste so delicious after being stuffed with different flavors and then coated with chocolate. They have 6 flavors in this product category. This are available in 2 Pack sizes - 500gms & 200gms.




1. ROSE PETALS:-

As soon as you have the first bit , you could clearly feel the sweetness & flavor of rose. It tasted similar to GULKAND


2. ARABIC COFFEE:-

Never thought Dates and Coffee would go so well with each other, but trust me the flavor was bang on . The flavor of coffee did stand out as it should have.


3. LEMON & MINT:-

Who doesn't enjoy the flavor of lemon with mint. Same classical combination was being used in this product. And the response for this product is going to be bang on. All the flavors were balanced beautifully so that the end product tasted how it should.


4. COCONUT:-

Date stuffed with coconut and coated with white chocolate. This one was quite refreshing and nourishing as compared to others. This was somewhat similar to Bounty Cadbury.

5. ORANGE:-

Another classical combination of Orange and chocolate where you can never go wrong. It was my favorite of all because it had that dominant flavor of orange which helped to balance the sweetness of date and chocolate. So it was perfectly balanced in terms of flavor and i just couldn't stop myself from having more and more.

6. HAZELNUT:-

Another classical combination of hazelnut and chocolate. It was not bad but yes was not exceptional either.


 TAMARIA :-

Tamaria, another amazing product by SIAFA. Tamaria are basically assorted date balls made up of Date paste & Cardamon coated with almonds, white sesame, chocolate vermicelli, assorted vermicelli and coconut. Must try if you are likely to visit this place, tamaria are treat to palate. This are available in 2 pack size - 300gms & 115 gms.




GALAXY OF DATES:-
They call this as Dates with honey, nuts, Cardamon and saffron and i call it "Galaxy of dates", the most expensive product of the outlet. The reason behind this is because the dates are stuffed with nuts and cardamon, soaked in honey and topped up with Irani saffron. You can literally see the honey at the bottom of the pack followed by stuffed dates and finally the topping of saffron. It's treat to watch and delicious in taste. Never seen anything rich and divine like this before. This is available in pack size of 1kg.

 
 ARABIC COFFEE WITH SAFFRON & CARDAMON:-

The flavor of coffee was not like regular coffee. It was quite a different and had strong aroma of  cardamon. They served us the same as welcome drink. For consumption it has to be mixed with hot water only ( no sugar no milk). It is available in pack size of - 600gms& 200gms. You can replace Green Tea with this.
 AS SOMEONE QUOTED NUTS FOR "NUTS"

 They have a good collection of nuts directly imported from Saudi Arabia.




HAMPERS WORTH GIFTS:-

This is collection of different types of stuffed, coated and flavored dates on same platter. They have different rate for such hampers which start from 2000 Rs and go on till 10,000 Rs and above. Such kind of collection can be gifted during festivals, rituals or during wedding functions.





 FINALLY GROUP CLICK OF THE DAY:-


Bloggers of the day.



- I was invited for this event by FBAI i.e Food Bloggers Association of India

- All the pictures without the tag are my clicks 

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