Sesame & Jaggery Ladoo

A very Happy New Year to all of you. Hope you all had a lovely holiday season and are now gearing up to start a wonderful 2008.

Til ladoos take me back in time. My Mouma would pack these “Teeleh Oondoh” with other home made goodies when we’d visit every year or get it along with her when she would visit us.

I wanted to choose something sweet and less fatty at the same time, as the first entry on my blog for the year 2008. Not sure about you, but I have a ton of holiday pounds to shed…thanks to my sweet tooth! And I certainly didn’t want something that would add a few more pounds.

Just then I thought my grand mom’s recipe for these ladoos would be perfect, as they are easy to make, light on the tummy and the calorie count. And I could kick start the year on a sweet note as well.



Ingredients
1 ½ cup White sesame seeds, roasted till brown
1 cup Jaggery, cut in pieces (choose the darkest colored Jaggery)
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
¼ teaspoon finely powdered cashew nut
2 tablespoon water
A pinch of salt

Method
Heat water in a wok on medium flame. Add jaggery and stir till it melts. Mix in roasted sesame seeds and cook on low flame. Stir continuously for 10-12 min till the mixture thickens and binds evenly. Add in cardamom powder , powdered cashew nut and a pinch of salt.



Remove from heat, allow to cool. Rub palms with a teaspoon of oil and shape the mixture into balls using palms. Allow to completely cool till the ladoos harden. Store in an airtight container. The ladoos can be stored at room temperature up to a month.

Lesson Learnt: Roast the sesame seeds on low flame. I initially started out using medium flame and then realized that the sesame seeds began to blacken, so I had to start with a fresh batch all over again! You could still see some extra roasted sesame seeds in the picture.