Indian festivals and seasons are interwoven with each other. If you delve into the science of traditional festive food, it would most likely also be a course in seasonal eating.
Ayurveda recommends eating sesame seeds in winter. They are known to give warmth to the body, shielding it from the cold and load it with nutrients apart from giving immunity to diseases.Sankranti, the harvest festival celebrated throughout India and Nepal, is synonymous with sweets made with sesame seeds.I love to use sesame seeds in many dishes- salad dressings, various chutneys, vegetable dishes and to make til laddus or til chikkis.
Til laddus were actually one of the first sweets that I shot, when I started this website, but somehow I never got around to making that post and those beautiful pictures that I shot with a lime green back drop still lie in a folder on my hard disk.Since there are many laddu recipes already posted in this space, I decided to make these chikkis or brittle for you.
I loved the little til laddus made with jaggery that made their way into our home during sankranti, when I was a child. This was also a time when women, accompanied by children at times, went to each other's homes in the neighbourhood for haldi kumkum (a ceremony where married women anoint each other's forehead with turmeric and vermillion).
These chikkis are made with sesame seeds and jaggery, both being my favourite ingredients. At times I like to give this a little twist by incorporating some crushed skinless peanuts or cashews or both along with the sesame seeds.And I love to snack on these tit bits, stored in glass jars (I'm always hungry and alas with a terrible sweet tooth-not a great combination at all!).I hope you enjoy making, eating and sharing these sweets as much as I do! Happy Sankranthi! And cheers to this post that finally made its way after seven long years!
Watch how to make Til Chikkis here-
Til Chikki
You can also use 1/4 cup of cashews or peanuts by replacing 1/4 cup sesame seeds in the recipe.
Ingredients:
cardamom seeds from 4 cardamom pods, powdered
225 gm (1 ยฝ cups) sesame seeds
220 gm ( ยพ th cup) jaggery*
4 tsp ghee
1 tbsp milk
7" or 8" square tin
baking parchment
Method:
Powder the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder. Roast the sesame seeds until they change colour, about 4 to 5 minutes and allow to cool. Crumble the jaggery and keep aside.
In a heavy bottomed pan, put in the ghee and after the ghee melts, add the jaggery and allow it to melt on low heat.
Once the jaggery melts, stir in the milk (the milk helps to soften the chikki, so if you don't want a chikki that is hard to bite into, do not forget this step).
After the jaggery bubbles for a few seconds, you need to put in the roasted sesame seeds, the cardamom powder and mix well until all the sesame seeds are coated with the jaggery.
Turn off the heat and transfer this mixture onto a tray lined with baking parchment. You need to make the surface even, using any bowl with a flat bottom and pressing it all over the surface of sesame mixture.
You need to make cut the flattened surface into squares or diamonds immediately. As it cools, the chikki begins to harden and will be difficult to cut into.
Allow the squares or diamonds to cool down, harden and acquire shape.
After it is completely cool, you can break away the pieces easily and store it in an air tight container.
- You need to use jaggery sold in blocks. Jaggery powder wont work with this recipe.
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Hi Anu, Happy Sankranti to you and your family. Wonderful recipe as usual. Is there any particular consistency ( hard ball/softball) that the jaggery needs to be cooked to before mixing in the sesame seeds?
Loved Til wadi..I like the way you write on blog and even I see your videos.I am great fan of your videos ๐
Radhika- The jaggery needs to be cooked, until it melts. It should not even come to a boil.
Pooja- Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback.
I couldn't resist making these after seeing your video and I am so glad I did! they have turned out perfect! Thank you so much for the detailed instructions and tips. I had tried several recipes before but never got the desired texture and sweetness. We don't get the special jaggery used for making brittle here so I used regular jaggery and this will be my go to recipe henceforth. I did grind the seeds slightly before adding them since we like them that way other than that I followed your recipe as it is. Thank you so much!! "Til gul ghya anhi goad goad bola" let the sweetness of this til gul seep into our interactions. Wish you a joyous sankrant!
Hi Anushruti, I am a regular reader of your blog & view most of your videos. I followed your Chikki recipe for sankranti. However, it became very brittle & powder with very few intact pieces. What could be the mistake?
Thank you,
Veena
I tried this recipe again (twice within a week, since we finished the earlier batch) and this time powdered the sesame a bit more than before and added some freshly ground nutmeg in addition to the cardamom. I followed the proportion of sesame to jaggery and the cooking instructions as is. The result was mindblowing ๐ they were melt in the mouth and so full of flavor! The jaggery held on well so I got perfect looking pieces and the amount of sweetness was just right! This batch got over within two days, it was so hard to resist. Thank you so much Anushruti!!! Can't wait to see what you share next.
Hi Anu,
Lovely recipe lovely video and ofcourse lovely pics.
After we add the sesame seeds to thr jaggery roughly how much time should the mixture be on the flame.
Bhavana
Priti- Those are sweet words indeed! Grinding the sesame seeds, intensifies the flavour of sesame. Happy to know you liked this so much and it worked so well for you. Thank you for your enthusiasm. ๐
Veena- Sorry to know your chikki was brittle! Did you use ghee, milk and did you melt the jaggery thoroughly? Also, this recipe wont work with jaggery powder. You need jaggery that is sold in blocks.
Lovely post! So glad I stumbled upon your website..wonderfully written posts and gorgeous photography ๐
Cheers
Love the recipe. I usually sprinkle sesame on fried items or salad and have never thought of using sesame for sweet dishes.
I found the instructions very helpful especially the video you posted at the end.
Looks like the prep and cooking time aren't long. So next time when I am in the mood for some sweet dishes, this one would definitely be high up on the list.
Hey Anu,
Awesome pics and awesome recipe.
Made it and everyone loved it.
Just wanted to know is there a point to which the jaggeey needs to be cooked before turning offthe gas stove.
Please let me know.
I am a big fan of your recipes. Please keep up the great work
Bhavana
Natasha- Glad to have you here. Thanks for the compliments.
Bhavana- Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the feedback. I can't tell you how much I love to hear from my readers and those who cook my recipes. You need to cook the jaggery, just until it melts.
Hi Anushruti,
This looks like a pretty quick recipe. I have yet to try this, but I have some questions
1. Can we use the regular Block Jaggery or is the jaggery used for making this dish different . Reason I ask is because I know of shops around here in Mumbai that sell special jaggery for til ladoos
2. Instead of squares can these be rolled into balls. Will the recipe change as a result
Parvathy- I used regular jaggery. Yes, you can roll into balls, no difference in taste but you need to be quick while doing it as the sesame mixture hardens very fast.
I loved your recipe and have tried it myself. It was a bit sweet for me so next time I would like to reduce the amount of jaggery into this. But overall my chikkies were a bit chewy and sticky instead.
What would have gone wrong I wonder? Moreover you have mentioned to cook jaggery until few bubbles comes which means are we suppose to bring it to the boil because you adviced the vice versa Xx
Aarti- You are not supposed to boil the jaggery. You need to cook it until the bubbles appear. Kindly see the video for more clarity.
Hi Anushruti, tried it today. simply awesome, quick and easy recipe! All of your recipes are the best. Thank you for sharing with us.
You are welcome Sonali. ๐
Nice recipe..thank you for sharing
Chikki looks yummy. Little different from the south Indian style (Ellu Mittai). There is no ghee and milk will be added.
https://thenativetreats.com/product/kovilpatti-ellu-mittai-sesame-chikki/
Where can I buy jaggery? Iโm in Salem Oregon USA
You can try in amazon or any indian grocery store.