Sesame Chikki / Til Chikki

Makara Sankranti is one of the widely celebrated Indian festival. It is observed in various names across the country. If it’s Magh Bihu in Assam, it’s Maghi in Punjab, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Ghughuti in Uttarakhand and Makar Sankranti in most of the other states. Sesame seeds are used in most rituals during this festivals. Ever wondered why?

A little research on Google tells me that sesame seeds were blessed by Lord Yama, the God of Death, and are hence referred to as the seeds of immortality. They are also believed to be the vehicle or the food of the departed souls. Hence, black sesame seeds are used while performing Tarpana – an offering for departed souls. Sesame seeds keep the body warm during winter months and play a pivotal role during a season change. Makar Sankranti marks the end of the cold weather and the onset of spring. Though we call most things as ritualistic, they have such science behind them, which unfortunately gets hidden.

We love sesame chikki, but I never made them at home as I had this preconceived notion that it will be an extensive process. But this entire process took not even 30 minutes and just 3 ingredients and yielded such delicious and perfect chikkis. No more store bought chikkis ever!

Sesame Chikki / Til Chikki

Lejna

You will never go for a store bought chikki once you try this recipe and that's a promise! They are amazing!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Cooling time 5 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Snack

Cuisine Indian

Servings 10 squares

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup Sesame seeds
• 1 cup Jaggery
• 1 tsp Ghee
• Dry rose petals and pistachios optional

Instructions

 

• Dry roast the sesame seeds in a kadai till they swell up and start spluttering. Transfer the seeds to a plate.
• In the same kadai add ghee and the jaggery. 1 cup jaggery roughly translates to 260 grams. Crush the jaggery into smaller pieces. The colour of your jaggery determines the colour of your chikki. I used dark jaggery and hence my chikki is dark.
• Heat the jaggery and keep stirring on medium flame till the jaggery melts completely.
• The jaggery would froth and the colour would slightly change.
• Check the consistency, by dropping ¼ tsp of the syrup into a bowl of water, it should form a hard ball and should be crunchy when you either bite it or try breaking it. That's the consistency we are looking for. If it's soft or disintegrates in the water then heat the mixture till it reaches the hard ball consistency.
• Stop the flame and add the roasted sesame seeds. Mix well till the syrup coats the sesame seeds well.
• Working quickly, pour the mixture over butter paper or a steel plate greased with ghee.
• Using a greased spoon flatten the chikki mixture.
• Grease the roller with ghee, sprinkle the dry rose petals and pistachios over the chikki and roll it till you get an even block of chikki.
• Quickly cut the chikki into desired shapes with a knife.
• Allow it to completely cool. Store in an airtight container and keep upto a month.

Keyword Ghee Pongal, Makar Sankranti, Makara Sankranti, Sesame Chikki, Til Chikki, Til Gud Chikki