Dried Figs, a wonder dry fruit for health and skin

Fig is one amazing fruit god has ever created on this earth. Human body is so benefited by this dry fruit; it not only tastes like heaven it also helps in the well being of the body.

I cannot speak enough about this wonder fruit. I have tasted both in both the forms; dried and non-dried figs. The dried figs are tastier than the ripe non-dried fruit, at least for me. :-)

In short, I would just summarize it with the below pointers:

- High in fiber.

- Rich source of vitamins, minerals, iron and calcium.

- Helps in the general wellness of the body.

- Boosts the hemoglobin percent in the body.

There could be lots to discuss about this wonder dry fruit. But, I am no expert. I make sure that me and my family consumes soaked dried figs at least 3 – 4 times a week (at least 2 pieces at a time).

Figs in diet:

Soaked Figs: Soak one piece of dried fig in about half cup of hot milk. Let it soak for about 2 hours. The figs will become super soft and can be chewed easily. The milk too gets the flavor of figs.

Fig flavored milk:To get the essence of dried figs flavor in milk, as in the above point, add about 10-12 dried fig pieces in about 2 glass of hot milk. When the milk cools, remove the figs out, squeeze them a little so that more flavor gets added into the milk. Refrigerate the milk and serve the cold fig flavored milk. And the figs can be chewed and consumed like a soft candy.

Fig smoothie: As usual, I go for soaked figs in hot milk. After figs have become soft, make a fine paste of the figs. Add chilled milk to the fig paste to bring it to the right consistency. Top it with some more dried pieces of figs, almonds and saffron. This smoothie requires no sweetening agent, since the figs provide enough sweet.

Fig pieces as toppings: Kashmiri Pulav, Coconut Milk Rice, Fruit Pulav, Fruit Salad, even the usual Veg Pulav can be topped with small pieces of figs. To be used as topping, I usually fry the fig pieces with some ghee. This adds more taste.

Figs in skin care routine:

Whenever figs are soaked in milk for our diet, I make sure I use them for my skin too. I hand crush the soft figs (after softening) in the milk and use about 2 spoons of this milk for my face and neck. I take some of those tiny granules like particles in the inner part of the figs too. They do not lose their hardness even after soaking for hours. They form a good scrub for my skin.

I massage my face and neck with the fig flavored milk for about 2-3 minutes and leave it alone for about half an hour before I wash. This cleanses, moisturizes and exfoliates my skin very well.