This is a very traditional dessert and is especially made for festivals like Sakat Chauth and Sankranti. Sesame is very rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, and also in phosphorus. I have used jaggery which is unrefined whole cane sugar. Til ke laddoo ( Sesame balls)can be easily made at home and loved by even kids... This sankranti try this healthy, nutritious, and delicious dessert.......

Ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• ⅓ cup sesame seeds, 50 grams
• ¼ cup peanuts
• ¼ cup desiccated coconut
• ½ heaped cup powdered jaggery or grated jaggery, 100 grams

• 3 tbsp water
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder
• some oil for greasing the palms

Instructions

roasting:

1. heat a kadai or pan and add ⅓ cup sesame seeds in it. the pan should not be too hot, but on a low heat.
2. on a low flame roast the sesame seeds. stir at intervals.
3. the sesame seeds pop and change color. on a low flame this takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. remove and keep aside in a plate.
5. then add ¼ cup peanuts.
6. dry roast the peanuts on a low flame stirring often till they become crunchy and get a few black spots on them.
7. remove the peanuts in a mortar-pestle. allow them to cool.
8. in the same pan, add ¼ cup desiccated coconut.
9. stir continuously and roast the coconut till it become light golden or golden. switch off the burner.
10. remove from the pan and keep aside.
11. when the peanuts have cooled, crush them coarsely. you can also crush them in a dry grinder.
12. add the coarsely crushed peanuts to the roasted coconut and sesame seeds.
13. next add ¼ tsp cardamom powder.
14. mix very well. keep aside.

preparing jaggery syrup and ladoos:

1. in the same pan or kadai, take ½ heaped cup powdered jaggery or grated jaggery and 3 tbsp water.
2. keep the kadai on the stove top on a low flame.
3. keep on stirring the jaggery so that it dissolves.
4. on a low flame simmer this jaggery+water solution. it will start bubbling first.
5. you have to continue to cook till you come to a soft ball stage in the jaggery solution.
6. to check the soft ball stage, take 1 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.
7. at this stage, switch off the flame and add the dry roasted mixture of sesame seeds, desiccated coconut, crushed peanuts and cardamom powder.
8. mix the dry roasted mixture with the jaggery solution very well.
9. keep the pan down.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. for the last batch, scrape the sides very well and then make ladoos from it.
13. make all the til ladoos this way. store in an air tight jar at room temperature.
14. serve sesame seeds ladoo during makar sankranti or have them as a sweet snack.

stepwise sesame seeds ladoo or til ladoo recipe:

1. heat a kadai or pan and add ⅓ cup sesame seeds in it. the pan should not be too hot, but on a low heat.

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2. on a low flame roast the sesame seeds. stir at intervals.

3. the sesame seeds pop and change color. on a low flame this takes about 2 to 3 minutes.

4. once the sesame seeds are roasted well, remove them and keep aside in a plate.

5. then add ¼ cup peanuts.

6. dry roast the peanuts on a low flame stirring often till they become crunchy and get a few black spots on them.

7. remove the peanuts in a mortar-pestle. allow them to cool.

8. in the same pan, add ¼ cup desiccated coconut.

9. stir continuously while roasting the coconut.

10. roast the coconut till it become light golden or golden. switch off the burner.

11. add the roasted coconut to the roasted sesame seeds.

12. when the peanuts have cooled, crush them coarsely. you can also crush them in a dry grinder. if you want, you can peel the peanuts also before crushing them.

13. add the coarsely crushed peanuts to the roasted coconut and sesame seeds.

14. next add ¼ tsp cardamom powder.

15. mix very well. keep aside.

16. in the same pan or kadai, take ½ heaped cup powdered jaggery or grated jaggery.

17. add 3 tbsp water.

18. keep the kadai on the stove top on a low flame.

19. keep on stirring the jaggery so that it dissolves. if the jaggery has impurities, then filter the solution and keep the filtered jaggery syrup back on the stove top. i used organic powdered jaggery, so there were no impurities.

20. on a low flame simmer this jaggery+water solution. it will start bubbling first.

21. you have to continue to cook till you come to a soft ball stage in the jaggery solution.

22. to check the soft ball stage, take 1 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.

23. at this consistency in the below pic, the soft ball stage has reached in the jaggery syrup.

24. at this stage, switch off the flame and add the dry roasted mixture of sesame seeds, desiccated coconut, crushed peanuts and cardamom powder.

25. mix the dry roasted mixture with the jaggery solution very well.

26. keep the pan down.

27. 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.

28. you can also use a ½ to 1 tablespoon for scooping the mixture and making the ladoos. then just shape the ladoos once you scoop them out. do shape the ladoos when the mixture is hot. if the mixture cools down, then the ladoos cannot be made.

29. for the last batch, scrape the sides very well and then make ladoos from it.

30. make all the til ladoos this way. store in an air tight jar at room temperature.

31. serve sesame seeds ladoo during makar sankranti or have them as a sweet snack.

Enjoy!