Til ke laddu
Preparation Time
10 minutes
Cooking Time
20 minutes
Difficulty Level
moderate
Meal Type
Dessert
Serves 12
Key Ingredients
- White sesame seeds (til)
About This Recipe
Til gud, sesame and jaggery, is the taste of Makar Sankranti across the north and west of India. In Maharashtra the little balls are tilgul, handed over with the words til gul ghya, god god bola: take sweet sesame, speak sweetly. In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab they are til ke laddu, eaten through the coldest weeks of January, and in Gujarat the same mix is pressed flat into tal sankli.
This is the syrup version, the one that gives a til ladoo that holds together and stays chewy rather than rock hard. Roasted sesame goes into jaggery syrup cooked to the soft-ball stage, and the mix is rolled while warm with greased palms. The texture is crisp from the popped seeds and chewy from the jaggery; the taste is nutty and lightly smoky. Everything rests on the water test described in the steps.
The jaggery can be block, cubes or powder; a darker jaggery gives a deeper colour and a stronger taste. Roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed, are a common addition and go in with the sesame; roasted chana dal or a spoon of desiccated coconut also work. Cardamom is standard; a pinch of dry ginger powder is a common winter addition. Black sesame makes a stronger, slightly bitter laddu; white sesame is the everyday choice.
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
Laddu
- White sesame seeds (til) — 1 cup
- Jaggery, grated or chopped (block or cubes; powder also works) — 150 g
- Water — 2 tbsp
- Ghee, for the syrup — 1 tsp
- Cardamom Powder — 1/2 tsp
Optional
- Peanuts (groundnuts), roasted, skinned and coarsely crushed — 1/4 cup
For shaping
- Ghee, for greasing the palms and plate — 1 tsp
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Serving Suggestions
Serve at room temperature, one per person, with tea or with a glass of warm milk in the evening. On Makar Sankranti they go on the plate with peanut chikki, puffed rice and roasted chana. For a tiffin box, wrap one in butter paper; it holds its shape on the way. In Maharashtra a tilgul laddu is offered to guests with the greeting.
Tips for Cooking Til ke laddu
Two things decide the laddu. First, the roast: sesame is done the moment it pops, swells and turns a shade darker; ten seconds more and it is bitter, so keep the flame low and the spoon moving. Second, the syrup stage: a drop in cold water must gather into a soft ball you can flatten between your fingers. A thread that dissolves means the laddus will crumble; a hard ball means they will set like stone.
Chef’s Note
White sesame gives 1283 mg calcium and 15.04 mg iron per 100 g (IFCT 2017). One small laddu comes to about 114 kcal, 2.0 g fibre, 167 mg calcium and 2.4 mg iron. It is still a jaggery sweet: one laddu is a serving, with about 12.5 g of jaggery. Use fresh, cream-coloured seeds that smell nutty; old sesame smells like stale oil and turns bitter in the roasting.
Per serving (approx.): 114 kcal, protein 2.8 g, carbs 12 g, fat 6 g, fibre 2 g. Computed from IFCT 2017 / USDA values for the listed quantities. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
Happy Cooking
!!
ByCOWBERRY
Jul 30, 2026
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