The following recipe is courtesy of my dear friend Britta. As a yoga instructor and healthy-eating advocate, she is the healthiest person I know! She gave me this recipe last x’mas, along with all of the fresh, organic spices to make Ganges Spiceballs.

Recipe makes 20-some spicy and delectable entertainments.

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp. (90 ml) Tahini
10 Tbsp. (150 ml) Finely chopped raisins
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) Cocoa or carob powder
1/2 – 1 tsp. (2-5 ml) Ground cardamom*
1/2 – 1 tsp. (2-5 ml) Ground ginger*
1/4 tsp. (1ml) Ground cloves
1/2 tsp. Lemon juice
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) Honey
fat pinch of nutmeg
slim pinch of salt

Directions:

Dig down to the bottom of your container of tahini to find the stiffest, least-oily part, and measure it out into a medium-size bowl. Lightly pack the raisins into the tahini. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients over them.

Using a strong spoon, combine everything to form a stiff mixture, even throughout.
Taking small lumps, shape the mixture with your fingertips into 1 inch balls.
Chill them for an hour or so to help firm them up.

*Use more, or less of the cardamom and ginger according to how spicy you would like them.

This recipe is very accepting of variations: You can substitute peanut butter, or almond butter for tahini. I have used hemp butter with much success. You can omit the carob and use 2 Tbsp. of ground filberts instead. Kids really like them with cinnamon instead of cardamom. You could roll the balls in grated coconut, toasted ground almonds, or sesame seeds…there are several possibilities!

These spiceballs have sufficient flavour to make them a good vehicle for anything else less palatable that you, or a child, might want or need to eat, such as strong-tasting herbs, remedies, or medicine, etc.

Enjoy!

Su Morin
Ecology Action Centre – Community Food Coordinator (Cumberland County, NS)