Til/Sesame Laddoo

Happy Makar Sankranti/Pongal to all. Apologies for not posting this on time. I got a bit preoccupied with other work. So, here is a simple fool proof recipe to make yummy n healthy til laddoos at home. All you need is some good quality n clean sesame seeds, jaggery and little bit of ghee. Timing n judgement plays a crucial role in this recipe. You need to know how much to

cook the jaggery, when to switch off the flame, how much to cool and when to shape the laddoos.

Sesame seeds are a good source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and zinc. It’s also high in protein content. Consumption of sesame seeds is known to reduce the blood pressure levels. It’s specially eaten during winters. You can add some crushed peanuts and dessicated coconut for an added crunch. In India, it’s customary to make these laddoos during Sankranti or uttarayan which marks the entry of Sun into Capricorn zodiac that is the end of winters and start of summer.

As always, I have used a 240 ml cup. 1 cup of sesame seeds would weigh around 160-170 grams. These laddoos stay good at room temperature for more than two weeks. With the below mentioned proportion, you can make around 18-20 laddoos. So once again, a very happy Sankranti to all of you. Enjoy the festivities.

Ingredients:

• Sesame seeds 1 cup
• Jaggery 1 cup
• Ghee 1 tsp

Method:

• Roast the sesame seeds for three to four minutes at low flame till it starts to splutter.

• Remove from fire and cool it well.
• In the same pan, add a teaspoon of ghee/clarified butter and add chopped or grated jaggery.

• Melt it on low flame till it thickens.

• After around 3-4 minutes, add few drops of the melted jaggery in a bowl containing water.

• If it solidifies and hardens on cooling, switch off the flame. Else cook for a minute more and check again.

• Into the melted jaggery, now add the roasted sesame seeds and mix well. Remember that all these steps should be done pretty fast or else the jaggery will solidify and become hard.

• Transfer the contents on a lightly greased plate and cool for 2-3 minutes.

• Moisten your palm with water and take small portions of the mixture and roll them into laddoos.
• Repeat with the entire mixture.
• They will be slightly soft in the beginning, but will eventually harden on cooling.
• Store in airtight containers once it’s cooled sufficiently.
• Happy Makar Sankranti to all.

Notes:

• Be careful while working with melted sugar or jaggery as thr temperature will be too high.
• Keep all ingredients, greased plate, bowl of water etc ready while you melt the jaggery.
• Take care not to overcook the jaggery or else the laddoos will turn too hard.
• You can add some crushed peanuts, dessicated coconut and half a teaspoon of cardamom powder for an added flavour.
• You can reduce the amount of jaggery by a spoon or so.
• Be careful while roasting sesame seeds as they splutter a lot. I have used white organic sesame seeds. You may use a combination of white and black seeds too.