Til Ladoo / Sesame Laddu

a decorative plate full of sesame laddus with garland nearby

Uma Ramanujam

Til Ladoo is a traditional Indian sweet prepared using sesame seeds and jaggery. It is mostly prepared during Makara Sankranti day. It is not only delicious but also nutritious.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian, North Indian

Servings 14 ladoos

Ingredients

1 cup sesame seeds white/brown/red/brown
1 cup jaggery
2-3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp green cardamom powder

Instructions

In a wide pan, dry roast the sesame seeds on low flame until it changes the color and starts popping. Transfer the content to a plate and cool down.
To the same pan, add shaved or powdered jaggery and add water. Stir until the jaggery melts.
Once the jaggery melts, filter to remove the impurities. Transfer the filtered jaggery syrup back to the pan. Heat it.
The jaggery syrup started bubbling first and then reduced in it's quantity and the color became dark. Drop of a bit of syrup into a bowl of water. It forms a softball and stays firm. This is the correct softball consistency.
At this stage, turn off the stove and add roasted sesame seeds and green cardamom powder.
Stir just until everything mixed well. Coat your hand with oil or moisten it with water and start making the laddu while the mixture is still hot. If needed touch the water in between to avoid burning of your palm.
Repeat the laddu-making process until the mixture is over. if the mixture becomes dry and unable to shape laddu, slightly warm it up to finish the process.
Once the laddus are cooled down, store it in a clean airtight containter.

Video

Notes

1. All types of til or sesame seeds work for this recipe including hulled and unhulled sesame seeds. but please note that there is very mild taste difference depending on what type of sesame seed you use.
2. Always roast the sesame on low flame until it pops. Make sure not to burn it. Burned sesame seeds taste bitter.
3. You can use regular jaggery or palm jaggery for this recipe. Sometimes jaggery comes with impurities. so I highly recommend filtering for impurities after making the jaggery syrup.
4. The texture of the laddu depends on the softball consistency of the jaggery syrup. When you are checking the syrup consistency in a bowl of water, it should not be very soft or brittle. It should not dissolve but you can form a softball without much trouble.
5. For variations, add roasted peanuts, roasted chana dal and dried coconut to this laddu. if doing so, adjust the jaggery quantity accordingly