Til ke laddu is a healthy, delicious, and nutty ladoo prepared with sesame seeds, jaggery, peanuts, and desiccated coconut. A vegan recipe and also a Makar Sankranti festival special sweet.
Heat a kadai or pan and add the white 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 intervals.
The sesame seeds pop and change color. On a low heat, this takes about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not brown them.
Remove and set aside in a plate.
Then add the peanuts. Dry roast the peanuts on a low heat stirring often until they become crunchy and get a few black spots or blisters on them.
Remove the peanuts in a mortar-pestle or on a plate. Allow them to cool.
In the same pan, add the desiccated coconut.
Stir continuously and roast the coconut until it become light golden or golden. Switch off the heat. Remove from the pan and set aside.
When the peanuts have cooled, crush them coarsely. You can also crush them in a dry grinder.
Add the coarsely crushed peanuts to the roasted coconut and sesame seeds.
Next add the cardamom powder.
Mix very well. Set aside.
Making jaggery syrup
In the same pan or kadai, take the powdered jaggery or grated jaggery and water.
Keep the kadai on the stove top on a low heat.
Keep on stirring the jaggery so that it dissolves in the water.
On a low heat 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 some water in a small bowl. Drop a bit of jaggery solution in the water. The water will cool the jaggery syrup and when you remove it, the consistency will be sticky and forming a soft ball.
Making til ke laddu
At this stage, switch off the heat and add the dry roasted mixture of sesame seeds, desiccated coconut, crushed peanuts and cardamom powder.
Mix the dry roasted mixture with the jaggery solution thoroughly.
Keep the pan on your work surface or kitchen countertop.
When the mixture is still hot, begin to shape til laddu from it. If too hot, then wait for a minute and then form the laddu. Spread some oil or water in your palms to shape the ladoo. If you are not able to shape laddu when the mixture is too hot, wait for some seconds and then shape the laddu
You can also use a ½ to 1 tablespoon measuring spoon for scooping the mixture and making the til ke laddu Then just shape the laddu once you scoop them out.
For the last batch, scrape the sides very well and then make til ladoo from it.
Make all the til ladoo this way. Store in an airtight jar at room temperature.
Serve til ke laddu ladoo during makar sankranti or have them as a sweet snack.
Notes
Soft ball consistency: Cooking jaggery syrup to a soft ball consistency is an important and crucial step in this recipe. You have to be attentive when the jaggery syrup is cooking and keep stirring often.
An easier way is to check the consistency using a candy thermometer. If you do not have a candy thermometer, follow the steps I have outlined in the step-by-step guide above - which is to drop a bit of jaggery solution in some water taken in a bowl.When the water cools the jaggery syrup, then you remove it and the consistency should be sticky and form itself into a soft ball. It should not be fluid and mix in the water or look like strands.
Sesame seeds: You can easily make this recipe with both hulled or unhulled sesame seeds. Unhulled sesame seeds are slightly bitter to taste. Using unhulled sesame seeds is fine when making ladoo as we are also using a sweetener, so you do not feel the bitter taste when eating.
If the laddu mixture has become hard: In this case, add a few splashes of water to the mixture. Place on low heat on the stovetop and mix thoroughly and cook for a few minutes.
Mixing with water and heating it will change the consistency and soften it. Check for the soft ball stage (even if the mixture has sesame seeds, peanuts in it). Switch off heat and shape into balls.
If til laddu is not binding: If you cannot bind and shape, this means the jaggery syrup needs to be cooked more and has not reached the soft ball stage. So place the entire mixture in the pan on low heat.
Cook for some minutes until you reach the soft ball stage. Check the soft ball stage test, with the points I have mentioned in the step-by-step guide above.
Making til chikki or sesame brittle: If you are unable to shape due to the mixture being too hot, then pour the mixture into a greased or parchment-lined pan. Let it cool and set. Then remove and chop to make sesame chikki or brittle.
Sweeteners: The traditional til laddu recipe calls for jaggery which is an Indian unrefined sugar made from sugarcane juice. If you do not have jaggery, then use sugar. Simmer the sugar syrup on low heat until you get the soft ball consistency in it.
Peanuts and desiccated coconut: You can omit adding peanuts and desiccated coconut in the recipe if you do not prefer them or are allergic. But replace peanuts with more ¼ cup sesame seeds.
Roasting: You need to roast or toast the sesame seeds until they pop and become crisp. Do not brown them. For peanuts, roast them really well until they are crunchy.
If you use pre-toasted/roasted sesame seeds or peanuts, then simply omit their roasting steps when making the recipe.
Cardamom powder: Cardamom powder gives a nice aroma. If you do not have it, then skip adding.