The Month of January brings in the festival of Makar Sankranti. Popularly known as the harvest season of India there are many special delicacies that are prepared across the country to celebrate the festival with zest and zeal. Til laddus are the favourites during this season. Wondering how to make this irresistible delicacy?

Here's our chef's easy and quick recipe to make delicious Til ke Laddu at home.

Til Ke Laddu

Ingredients

· 50 grams sesame seeds

· ¼ cup peanuts

· ¼ cup desiccated coconut

· ½ cup heaped powdered jaggery

· 3 tablespoon water

· ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

· some oil for greasing the palm

Roasting Ingredients

· Heat a kadai or pan and add 1/3 cup 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 flame this takes about 2 to 3 minutes.

· Remove and keep aside in a plate.

· Then add 1/4 cup peanuts. Dry roast the peanuts on a low flame stirring often till they become crunchy and start turning slightly brown.

· Remove the peanuts in a mortar-pestle. Allow them to cool.

· In the same pan, add 1/4 cup desiccated coconut.

· Stir continuously and roast the coconut till it become light golden or golden. Switch off the burner. Remove from the pan and keep 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 1/4 tsp cardamom powder.

· Mix very well. Keep aside.

Making Jaggery Syrup for Til Laddu

· In the same pan or kadai, take 1/2 heaped cup powdered jaggery or grated jaggery and 3 tbsp water.

· Keep the kadai on the stove top on a low flame.

· Keep on stirring the jaggery so that it dissolves.

· On a low flame simmer this jaggery+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 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.

Making Til Ke Laddu

· At this stage, switch off the flame 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 very well.

· Keep the pan down.

· When the mixture is still hot, begin to form sesame ladoo 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.

· You can also use a 1/2 to 1 tablespoon spoon for scooping the mixture and making the sesame ladoo. Then just shape the ladoos once you scoop them out.

· For the last batch, scrape the sides very well and then make til ladoo from it.