Til Ladoo is prepared to celebrate Lohri and Makar Sankranti festivals. It is a delicate, traditional winter sweet, made with roasted sesame seeds, jaggery (gur) and peanuts. This is a perfect warming sweet in winters, and very popular in winter month as sesame is thought to have heating properties.
Preparation Time- 10 min.
Cooking Time- 10 min.
Types- Sweets
- 1 cup til (sesame)
- ¼ cup Peanuts
- ½ cup gur (jaggery)
- ¾ cup water
- 1 pinch Cardemom powder( optional)
- 1 tespn deshi ghee
- Oil for greasing palm
Method-
Heat a kadai or pan and add 1 cup sesame seeds in it.
The pan should not be too hot, but on a low heat.
On a low flame roast the sesame seeds. stir at regularly.
The sesame seeds pop and change colour. On a low flame this takes about 2- 3 minutes.
Remove in a plate and keep aside let it cool.
Now same pan add ¼ cup peanuts.
Dry roast the peanuts on a low flame stirring often till they become crunchy and get a few black spots on them.
Remove the peanuts in a plate and let it cool.
When the peanuts have cooled, crush them coarsely, and peel out peanut skin.
Add the clean peanuts and sesame seeds mix properly.
Add 1 pinch cardamom powder.(Optional)
For Jaggery Syrup-
In the same pan, take ½ cup powdered jaggery or grated jaggery and ¼ cup of water.
Keep the pan on the stove top on a low flame.
Keep on stirring the jaggery (gur) so that it dissolves.
In a low flame simmer this jaggery and water solution. it will start bubbling first.
You have to continue to cook till you come to a soft ball stage in the jaggery solution.
To check the soft ball stage, take 2-3 tbsp water in a small bowl.
Drop a bit of jaggery solution in the water. Remove it and it should be sticky and form itself into a soft ball.
At this stage, switch off the flame and add deshi ghee and the dry roasted mixture of sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, desi ghee and cardamom powder.
Mix the dry roasted mixture with the jaggery solution properly.
Off the flame and keep the pan down.
When the mixture is still hot, begin to form ladoos from it. if too hot, then wait for a minute and then form the ladoos. Spread some oil in your palms to form the ladoos. If you are not able to form ladoos when the mixture is too hot, then wait for some seconds and then make the ladoos.
You can also use a ½ to 1 tablespoon spoon for scooping the mixture and making the ladoos. Then just shape the ladoos once you scoop them out.
Make all the til ladoos this way. store in an airtight jar at room temperature.
Serve and enjoy maker-sankranti and lohari with till ladoos.
