Til Gul Ladoo is a sweet made with just 2 ingredients sesame seeds and jaggery but other ingredients are add ons and are truly optional. This sesame seeds energy balls are nutritious and gets ready under 30 minutes.
Til ke laddu or Til gud ladoo are the different names given to this winter special energy balls which are popular during harvest festival in India.
And also if you are exclusively looking for winter special ladoo then you must try this Moringa Ladoo . OMG , these ladoo's are awesome ; it's just like adding nutritious supplement into your diet.
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About this recipe
Til gul ladoo is made on occasion of harvest festival in India . Sesame seeds and Jaggery are the main ingredients used to make this Ladoo. You can also use add on's like roasted peanuts and dry coconut to get extra crunchy and taste , but any how it's optional.
Til Gul Ladoo is a Maharashtrian sweet . It is exchanged with family and friends on the day of Makara Sankranti , with a saying " Til Gul ghya , goad goad bola " which means " Accept TiGul and Speak Sweat " .
Irrespective of region , harvest festival is celebrated across India with different names like Makar Sankranti ,Pongal, Bihu , Lohri and Uttarayan . Lohri is essentially a festival dedicated to fire and the sun god. It is the time when the sun transits the zodiac sign Makar (Capricorn), and moves towards the north.
As it is a traditional time to harvest Sugarcane ; Jaggery and sugarcane are widely exchanged on the festive day . Munchies likes sesame, peanuts , dry coconut along with jaggery are associated with the festival .
In winter , sesame , peanut ,dry coconut along with jaggery keeps us warm within . Hence these winter foods are exchanged during this festival.
Along with Sesame Ladoo other recipes which are regular on Sankranti festival are Khara Pongal and Chakkare Pongal . Do find few of the best Sankranti recipe collections here
Nutritional Benefits
Sesame is very nutritious . Its calcium and mineral rich, which is great for bones. It reduces inflammation and improves fertility, hence its given to girls when they reach menarche . Also its essential fatty acids are good for cardiovascular health . As its low on GI , improves insulin sensitivity . So adding Til to regular diet , has many health benefits.
Ingredients
Though only 2 main ingredients are used to make this til laddu , I have used some peanuts and dry coconut for crunchy taste . And also flavored with some spices which is optional and you can totally skip if it's unavailable.
Sesame Seeds - Try to use organic sesame seeds ,these seeds are creamish in color , unpolished and as that typical nutty taste when compared with nylon sesame seeds . Where as Nylon sesame seeds are refined and has nice white color. Making til ladoo with nylon sesame seeds makes it look really beautiful but will be low in nutrients and taste. Choice is up to you ,use whichever is available.
Peanuts and Dry coconut - I recommend using it as I find nutty tasty of sesame seeds overpowering . Adding peanuts adds some crunch and balances the flavors as well.
Jaggery Powder - I have used organic jaggery powder , depending on the color of the jaggery powder , you get a lighter or darker shade ladoo's . Always buy organic jaggery powder from known sources.
Flavors - I have used cardamom powder , dry ginger powder and pinch of nutmeg . You can use only cardamom powder and skip other two. As I love these flavors together , I prefer to use .
Water- few tablespoon of water is required to make jaggery syrup .
Clarified butter - I recommend using 1 tablespoon of clarified butter in jaggery syrup to make the process of making syrup fail proof.
Top Tip
Use clarified butter /ghee while making a jaggery syrup , this helps not to solidify jaggery syrup quickly and helps to bind sesame balls easily.
How to make Til Gul Ladoo:
In a pan or iron griddle ,dry roast ½ cup of regular sesame seeds( cream colour ) on a low heat ,till it starts to crackle. Once it crackles , transfer it to plate and keep it aside.
In the same pan dry roast ¼ cup peanuts , until peanuts becomes crunchy and gets dark brown spots. Remove from the pan and set it aside to cool.
Again , in the same pan continue to dry roast , ¼ cup of dry coconut on a low heat until it starts to change colour to light golden brown. Turn off the heat and keep it aside to cool.
In a blender / mixer jar , add dry roasted peanut and dry coconut . Just blitz for a 5 seconds to get a coarse powder.
Now take a wide pan ,add sesame seeds , powdered groundnuts and dry coconut .
Add in ¼ teaspoon elaichi/ cardamom powder ,pinch of nutmeg powder (optional) , ¼ teaspoon dry ginger powder (optional) and mix well everything and set it aside.
Making Jaggery Syrup:
Take ½ cup of jaggery powder in a sauce pan / pot , add 3 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of clarified butter /ghee.
Heat the jaggery mixture on a low to medium flame , keep stirring the mixture in between. Let it bubble and then it starts to froth.
Now add a drop of jaggery syrup into cold water for testing. If jaggery syrup forms a soft ball , then right consistency has reached. Turn of the heat. It takes about 7-8 minutes.
Mixing and making Ladoos
Now add this jaggery syrup slowly into the already prepared sesame, groundnut mixture and mix well.
You can also keep pan on a very low heat and mix this with jaggery syrup. So that it becomes easy to mix while maintaining the temperature. Once everything is well mixed ,turn off the heat and keep it aside.
When the mixture is still hot , grease the palm with ghee , scoop 1 tablespoon of mixture to the palm and make balls out of it. Til Gul Ladoo is ready to serve.
Store it in a air tight jars , stays good for 10-15 days .
This post has been updated from the archives, was first published in January 2019
Recipe Card
Til Gul Ladoo
Ingredients
- ½ cup Sesame seeds
- ¼ cup Dry coconut grated ,optional
- ¼ cup Peanuts , optional
- ½ cup Jaggery Powder
- 3 tablespoon Water
- 1 tablespoon Clarified Butter /Ghee
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Dry Ginger powder , optional
- Nutmeg powder pinch , optional
Instructions
- In a pan or iron griddle ,dry roast ½ cup of regular sesame seeds( cream colour ) on a low heat ,till it starts to crackle. Once it crackles , transfer it to plate and keep it aside.
- In the same pan dry roast ¼ cup peanuts , until peanuts becomes crunchy and gets dark brown spots. Remove from the pan and set it aside to cool.
- Again , in the same pan continue to dry roast , ¼ cup of dry coconut on a low heat until it starts to change colour to light golden brown. Turn off the heat and keep it aside to cool.
- In a blender / mixer jar , add dry roasted peanut and dry coconut . Just blitz for a 5 seconds to get a coarse powder.
- Now take a wide pan ,add sesame seeds , powdered groundnuts and dry coconut.
- Add in ¼ teaspoon elaichi/ cardamom powder ,pinch of nutmeg powder (optional) , ¼ teaspoon dry ginger powder (optional) and mix well everything and set it aside.
Making Jaggery Syrup:
- Take ⅔ cup of jaggery powder in a sauce pan / pot , add 2 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of clarified butter/ghee .
- Heat the jaggery mixture on a low to medium flame , keep stirring the mixture in between.
- Once it comes to boil and starts to froth , take jaggery syrup in a spoon and drop syrup into a bowl of cold water for testing.
- If jaggery syrup forms a soft ball , then right consistency has reached . It takes about 8-10 minutes to get the . Turn of the heat.
Mixing and making Ladoos
- Now add this jaggery syrup slowly into the already prepared sesame, groundnut mixture and mix well. You can also keep pan on a very low heat and mix this with jaggery syrup. So that it becomes easy to mix while maintaining the temperature. Once everything is well mixed ,turn off the heat and keep it aside.
- When the mixture is still hot , grease the palm , scoop 1 tablespoon of mixture to the palm and make balls out of it. Til Gul Ladoo is ready to serve.
- Store it in a air tight jars , stays good for 10-15 days.
pranita
Looking delicious, but i didn't like to add anything in it as it will reduce taste of original sea same & jaggary. You eat Ladoo of only seasame & Jaggary & see the taste.
Muktha
Thanks Pranita . I'm not a great fan of sesame seeds , when I add only sesame seeds I feel its overpowering. Though adding Dry coconut and peanuts is optional , I believe, it increases the nutritional value along with taste.