BM # 72
Week 3, Day 3
Theme: Festival Recipes
Theme: Festival Recipes
Can we miss the Til Chikki for Lohri?No. we can’t! So today I have a Til Ckikki for this festival. The last two days I have been posting Lohri recipes like Gud Ka Halwa and Murmure ke Ladoo. The harvest festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm in North India. Lot of goodies are made and Til Chikki is a part of it.
Til is the Hindi word for sesame seeds, these tiny seeds are roasted to give that extra crunch and then mixed in roasted melted jaggery. It is amazing to see variations of this chikki, some make it paper thin, while some grind the sesame . The jaggery is cooked till it releases a wonderful aroma, the color of the chikki also varies, some like it very well cooked while some leave it lighter. I have made a chikki where I did not cook the jaggery too much, and I did not roll the chikki. Just patted it a little with a spatula. Incisions should be made as soon as it starts setting, else we cannot get even pieces.
Til ki Chikki
Ingredients
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup jaggery
1/4 tsp ghee
1/4 tsp Cardamon powder
Method
Roast the sesame seeds till slightly pinkish.
Melt the jaggery in a pan.
Let it cook for another 2-3 minutes, till it is golden.
Add sesame seeds and cardamon powder. Remove on a greased counter.
With greased hands quickly make a round of the mass.
Flatten first with a spatula then with your hands .
You could roll the chikki with a greased rolling pin to get a thinner chikki.
The process needs to be done quickly.
While the chikki is still setting make the incisions with a pizza cutter.
When completely set, break into pieces and store.
