Tilu-Layee Pitta Undo / Sesame-Powdered Puffed Paddy Rice Ladoo.

“Tilu (Black+ White)~ Layee Pitta Undo/ Sesame (Black+ White)~ Powdered Puffed Paddy Rice Ladoo” … Sesame is high in calcium and with addition of jaggery the combination becomes a good source of iron and minerals. Powdered puffed rice gives it a good binding and the addition of cashew nuts gives a crunchy taste … On the whole a nutritious and sweet monsoon treat for those in between sweet cravings … The Credit for these ladoos goes to my Mom, while I did all the helping in only ... Yummy …....

Tila undo/ Sesame ladoos with addition of layee pitto (powdered puffed paddy rice) are easiest to prepare. These are traditionally made during “Krishna Janmashtami as Naivedyam”. Sesame/ til is high in calcium and with jaggery the combination becomes a good source of iron and minerals. Layee pitto gives it a good binding and the addition of cashew nuts gives a crunchy taste. You get chikki gud / gur / jaggery/ goda in Maharashtra which is specially used in making chikki, laddoo, ladoo, snack bars etc. They are gummy in nature and bind very well with the ingredients. Til ladoos are usually prepared with white sesame/ til with ground nuts. It is prepared during the famous festival of ‘Makara Sankranti’ throughout Maharashtra. I have already posted the sankranti laddoo before. This ladoo though is in similar lines, is prepared more by Konkani Saraswats with the addition of cashew nuts and layee pitto. We in Southern parts of India extensively use black til, while it is rarely used elsewhere. I have prepared this ladoo using both black and white til with addition of layee pitto (powdered puffed paddy rice).

Ingredients :

500 gms Jaggery. (I used chikki gud / jaggery)

4 – 5 cups of Layee Pitto (Powdered Puffed Paddy Rice)

50 gms of Black Sesame Seeds / Til.

250 gms of White Sesame Seeds / Til.

50 gms of cashew nuts.

1 tsp Cardamom Powder.

2 tblsp Ghee.

** Pick and clean both black and white sesame seeds to remove unwanted particles.

** Take a thick bottomed large pan and add in black sesame seeds. Roast on medium heat till the raw smell goes away and the seeds are crunchy. The seeds should be roasted properly and evenly, so keep stirring or it may get burnt at the bottom. The seeds sometimes splutter, so do be careful, and stay a little bit far when stirring the seeds. Remove and put in a plate and keep aside.

** Take a thick bottomed large pan and add in white sesame seeds. Roast on medium heat till the raw smell goes away and the seeds are crunchy. The seeds should be roasted properly and evenly, so keep stirring or it may get burnt at the bottom. The seeds sometimes splutter, so do be careful, and stay a little bit far when stirring the seeds. Remove and put in a plate and keep aside.

** Heat 2 tblsp of ghee in the same pan, when hot and melted, add in the cashew nuts and fry till light brown in colour. Remove and keep them aside.

** In the same pan continue the ladoo making procedure. Add in the jaggery / gud and a little bit of water ie about 2 tsp and allow the jaggery to get melted evenly on low heat. Keep stirring. Once the jaggery / gud has completely melted bring it to boil on medium heat till bubble appear. 

** Cook the jaggery till you get 2 thread consistency. You can just touch the jaggery between your thumb and index finger and check the thread consistency. You can also add a tsp of melted jaggery into half a cup of water, if it settles down and comes to a ball consistency the jaggery is done and ready. 

** Now add the roasted mixture of both white and black sesame, cardamom powder and cashew nuts to the jaggery and mix well. Keep mixing till all the seeds are evenly coated with jaggery mixture.

** Now add in ½ to ¾ th amount of the layee pitto / powdered puffed paddy rice to the gud-til mixture and mix well. Do not add all of the layee pitto in one go. Keep adding and mixing till you feel its blended well. Do not add excess. All the ingredients should come to a thick mass like consistency. 

** Remove from fire and start binding into round smooth even sized balls by greasing your palms with a little bit of ghee. Do not try binding if you find it too hot, wait for a few mins. However, the binding has to be done fast and while still hot coz. the mixture starts getting hardened fast and binding later become difficult.

** Put the bound ladoos in a wide plate. Once all are bound allow to cool down completely and then put them in a air tight box / dabbo and serve as and when needed. Remain good for 3 weeks. But I doubt if it will as children will finish this in no time. So be prepared to make next batch soon enough.

** Note : If you were not able to bind the laddoo / ladoos / undo fast and the mixture turns hard and you are not able to do so. Just put the kadai again on heat for a few minutes, when the kadai / pan becomes hot the jaggery melts and you can continue the binding of ladoos.