Sesame Ladoo - Til Ladoo

Til Ke Laddu Recipe (Sesame Seeds Laddu)

By Swasthi on February 5, 2023, Comments, Jump to Recipe

Til Ke Laddu in 4 ways!!! Sesame Laddu also known as Til Ladoo are traditional Indian sweet balls made with sesame seeds, jaggery and cardamom powder. These sweet balls not only taste delicious with a nutty aroma but are also rich in iron & calcium. Sesame ladoo are known by different names such as Ellu urundai, Ellu unde or Nuvvula undalu in Indian regional languages. These are most commonly made in the Indian homes during festivals like Sankranti, Ganesh Chaturthi and even Navaratri. There are numerous recipes to make til ladoo. In this post I share 4 ways to make them.

sesame laddu

In all the 4 ladoo varieties you can substitute a part of the sesame with some roasted, skinned and roughly crushed peanuts or copra (shredded coconut).

Andhra Style Sesame Laddu

I have the first one here (picture above) which is super easy to make in less than 25 mins. It is a traditional recipe from Andhra cuisine. These sesame ladoo have a melt-in-the-mouth texture and taste extremely delicious with a unique nutty aroma.

These are also offered to the deities during festivals as naivedyam. Most Telugu speaking households also make these often for their growing kids as they are nutritious. The only tweak I made to the traditional recipe is to add some roasted peanuts for a texture & aroma.

Making these healthy & delicious balls is super easy, even for a newbie. You can make them all alone without any help.

You can also check
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Til Ladoo with Jaggery Syrup

The second one is made by boiling jaggery syrup until a soft ball consistency is achieved. Then the dry roasted sesame seeds are added & rolled to small balls. These are most commonly made in many states during Sankranti festival.

til ke laddu sesame ladoo

As part of the festive celebrations til ladoos are exchanged among friends & relatives.

This is not a beginner’s recipe as it needs understanding the syrup consistency. Secondly the mixture has to be rolled while it is still hot. Handling the hot mixture is the most difficult part of making these ladoos.

So if you are a beginner or new to cooking then the second recipe may not be for you.

Dates Sesame Ladoo

The 3rd recipe is made with sesame seeds, cashews, cardamoms and dates. These are slightly denser in texture and are great if you want to avoid jaggery. Dates provide the sweetness and texture to these ladoos. Make sure you use softer dates like Medjool so the texture is not too dense.

dates sesame ladoo

Oats Sesame Ladoo

The 4th recipe is made with Oatmeal, sesame seeds, cardamoms and jaggery. These can also be made with palm jaggery or coconut jaggery. If you are looking for ideas to use oats this is one fabulous way to use them and no one will will know these are made with oats and sesame seeds.

oats sesame ladoo

How to make Sesame Laddu (Stepwise Photos)

Roast Sesame seeds

To make recipe 1 you will use 1½ cup (195 grams) sesame seeds. If making recipe 2 you will use 150 grams seeds.

1. Add sesame seeds to a wide and heavy bottom pan. Begin to roast on a medium heat, stirring continuously until they begin to sizzle/crackle or splutter. They also turn crunchy at this stage. Do not roast them for too long or until they brown as they tend to turn bitter quickly. Transfer to a wide plate immediately.

Note: When done you will begin to get a aroma. Some sesame seeds do not splutter so do not wait for too long. Remove them when they turn crunchy.

roasting sesame seeds in pan

Recipe 1 – Andhra style Sesame Seeds Ladoo

2. Roast ¼ cup peanuts on a medium heat until aromatic and golden. Cool and rub them with your hands to peel the skin. Separate the nuts and the skin. Crush the nuts gently with the base of a cup or use a mortar pestle or a rolling pin. You don’t want a powder, we are using them in broken form so they add a crunch to your sesame ladoo.

3. Reserve 2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds in a bowl for later. Add the rest to a grinder jar or food processor.

sesame seeds in blender

4. Grind to a powder. Do not over blend at this stage as they begin to release oil.

powdered sesame seeds

5. Add ¾ cup (150 grams) grated jaggery and ½ teaspoon cardamom powder.

adding jaggery to make sesame seeds ladoo

6. Grind until you see the mixture turns greasy and has begun to release oil. Do not over do. Take handful of this mixture to check if it binds. If not grind it again until the mixture turns warm. If you fail even then, add 1 tablespoon melted ghee. Taste test and add little more jaggery if you want.

sesame seeds mixture in blender

7. Add the crushed peanuts and the reserved toasted sesame seeds we set aside. If you want you can coarsely crush the seeds gently before adding.

8. Mix well. Take small portions of this mixture and press down with your palms to bind well to form ladoo. Bind them when the mixture is still warm. If your kitchen is too cold, you may not be able to bind. In this case you can run the blender once more. You will be able to make 12 ladoos.

9. Optional step: If you want to garnish your ladoos with sesame seeds, add 1 tablespoon ghee and 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds to a wide pan. Heat it on a low flame, as soon as it is medium hot (not very hot), turn off the heat. Add the ladoos to the pan and gently swirl them to coat the seeds and ghee. Take one by one and roll them in your palms. The seeds will begin stick to the ladoos. If your pan is too hot, the jaggery will melt and the ladoos will break down. If you over toast the seeds, they will taste bitter.

Store sesame ladoos in air tight jar and use within 2 to 3 weeks.

Sesame Laddu - Til ke Laddu

Recipe 2 – Make Til ke Laddu

2. Add 150 grams grated jaggery to the same wide pan and pour 3 tbsps water. Do not melt it straight without water. Some kinds of jaggery will burn and leave a unpleasant flavor.

adding jaggery to make til ke laddu

3. This is optional and you may skip if you don’t prefer. When the jaggery melts completely, I filter it to another bowl to remove the dust particles. I rinse the pan and pour back the syrup here to the same pan.

bubbling jaggery syrup to make til laddu

4. Continue to cook the syrup stirring often. After a while it reduces in volume, turns thick & frothy. Meanwhile keep aside, a small bowl half filled with water.

thickened jaggery syrup for til ke laddu

5. When you think the syrup is ready, reduce the flame completely and pour a tsp of jaggery syrup to the bowl of water. The syrup should stay in there without dissolving.

consistency of syrup

6. Remove it to check the consistency. Gather the jaggery. You should have a soft ball that turns firm upon cooling. Meaning it should neither be too soft nor too hard like a brittle. This is the stage at which I removed. It was past the soft ball stage and before the brittle stage.

The inner texture of the til ke laddu will depend on this jaggery consistency. If the jaggery ball is too soft, then the ladoos will have a soft texture inside and will stick to your teeth.

If the ball is hard and breaks like a brittle then it will be dry like a chikki.

soft ball consistency

7. You have to be quick at this stage and add toasted sesame seeds. Mix well and let it cool down a bit. Meanwhile keep a wide bowl half filled with water. Dip your palms in water and scoop 1 tbsp mixture each time and begin to roll.

This isn’t an easy work. Please take care and keep immersing your hands in water to prevent burns.

sesame seeds in jaggery syrup to make laddu

You will have to finish making all the balls while the mixture is still hot. If you are unable to do it, then cook the mixture further for a min and spread on a greased plate or parchment paper. Cut while hot or warm. Cool the til ke laddu completely.

til ke laddu

Dates Sesame Ladoo

Dates sesame ladoo

Ingredients

300 grams dates (280 grams seedless) Prefer medjool
¾ to 1 cup sesame seeds (use as needed, prefer unhulled)
¼ cup sesame seeds for rolling
¼ cup chopped cashews or roasted crushed peanuts (optional)
4 green cardamoms elaichi

How to make

Dry roast sesame seeds on a low to medium heat until they turn aromatic.

Cool them and powder along with cardamoms in a grinder.

Mash the dates well with your fingers or simply add the softened dates to the grinder & pulse a few times. I use medjool dates which are very soft so don’t prefer them to add to the blender. If not using soft or medjool dates, then chop them and saute in 1 tsp ghee or coconut oil until soft.

Then add the sesame seeds powder little by little and knead to a soft mixture for 2 mins.

Add cashews or roasted crushed peanuts and roll.

Pinch off little mixture and roll to balls.

Roll them in sesame seeds or desiccated coconut. Store dates sesame ladoo in an air tight jar.

Oats Sesame Laddu

oats sesame ladoo

Ingredients

1 cup organic rolled oats (or instant oats)
1 cup sesame seeds
3 to 4 green cardamoms / elaichi
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cup jaggery grated / palm jaggery/ coconut palm sugar (adjust)

On a medium heat dry roast oats until lightly golden. Transfer to a plate to cool.

roast oats

Toast sesame seeds on a low to medium heat until they begin to sizzle. Turn off and cool them.

toast sesame seeds

Add them to a grinder.

grind in a grinder

Powder them.

Add jaggery and grind until well combined.

Taste test and adjust the sweetness. Roll to balls. Store oats sesame ladoo in a air tight jar.

Here are some tips that may help you:

Pro Tips

Choosing sesame seeds: There are 2 kinds of sesame seeds in the market. The white ones are hulled, meaning the skin has been removed. These can be used directly after roasting. The light brown or light beige ones are the unhulled sesame which are slightly bitter. The unhulled seeds are richer in flavor, taste and nutrition.

If you are using this latter variety then you will need to rinse them rubbing very well to get rid of the bitter taste. I have shared more details here.

Prepare Sesame seeds

Skip this preparation section if using white hulled sesame seeds. Unhulled sesame seeds are naturally bitter in taste so you need to rinse them and dry before roasting else your ladoos will taste bitter.

If using unhulled sesame seeds, add them to a large bowl filled with water. Rub them very well with both your hands and drain the water. You will see some amount of hull floating over the water, just drain it off.

Repeat rubbing and rinsing 3 to 4 times discarding all the hulls floating on top. Then the last time drain to the colander and spread them well to drain the water completely.

Spread & air dry the sesame seeds on a dry cloth (preferably white) until the excess moisture dries off. This just takes about 30 mins.

Jaggery or sugar?  The aroma of jaggery is great and is more nutritious. However you can also replace jaggery with sugar to make the til ke laddu or even til chikki. Refined sugar gives best results. Just melt the sugar on a very low flame until it is all liquid.

Turn off and then add a pinch of baking soda and then sesame seeds. Pour it over a parchment paper or greased plate. Cut while still warm.

Copra (dried coconut), peanuts, roasted fried gram make a wonderful combo along with sesame seeds in any dish. We usually add all of these to make different kinds of ladoos like thambittu unde.

I did not add them this time. If you prefer to use them, substitute ¼ amount of the sesame seeds in the recipe with the same amount of crushed roasted peanuts and copra. More details in the recipe card notes.

til ke laddu sesame ladoo

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

Sesame Laddu - Til Ladoo

Til Ke Laddu (Sesame Laddu)

Sesame seeds ladoo are a popular Indian sweet snack made with sesame seeds, jaggery and cardamom powder.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Servings12
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

Recipe 1

  • 1½ cup (195 grams) sesame seeds
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) grated jaggery tightly packed
  • ¾ teaspoon cardamom powder
  • ¼ cup roasted skinned peanuts
  • 1 tablespoon ghee (if required)

Recipe 2

  • 150 grams sesame seeds
  • 150 grams jaggery
  • 3 tablespoons water to make syrup
  • ½ teaspoon cardamom powder


Instructions

Preparation

  • Dry roast sesame seeds on a low to medium heat till you begin to get a nice nutty aroma. Keep stirring to toast them evenly. Good quality sesame also splutter/ sizzle.
  • Avoid over roasting as they tend to turn bitter quickly. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Recipe 1 – How to make Sesame Ladoo

  • Crush or break down the roasted peanuts slightly with the base of a bowl/rolling pin or in a small hand mortar pestle. (Don't powder, check pic in the post)
  • Reserve 2 tbsps sesame seeds in a small bowl. Add the rest to a grinder or food processor. You can pulse/ grind/process to a fine powder depending on your machine. Do not over do.
  • Add grated jaggery and cardamom powder. Grind or pulse them until the mixture begins to release oils. If the mixture is still dry, add a tablespoon ghee and process again until the mixture looks greasy.
  • Mix-in the crushed peanuts and the reserved sesame seeds. Take portions of this to your fingers and press down against your palm to shape them to ladoos. You will get about 12.
  • Store sesame seeds ladoo in an air tight jar and handle with moist free hands.

Recipe 2 – Make Til ke Laddu

  • Take a small bowl with ¼ cup of water and keep it ready aside to check the syrup consistency.
  • Heat jaggery in the same pan along with water.
  • Optional – Once dissolved you can also filter it to another bowl to remove the dust particles. Rinse the pan and pour back the syrup to the pan.
  • Boil the jaggery syrup on a medium flame stirring often until it reaches a ball consistency.
  • The syrup reduces, turns to deep color & turns frothy. To check add a tsp of the syrup to the bowl of water we prepared earlier.
  • The syrup should stay in there in the bowl without dissolving. Gather the jaggery and make a ball. You should get a soft ball that turns firm upon cooling. It should not be too soft and should not turn to a brittle.
  • If the syrup hasn't reached that consistency yet, continue to cook for few more minutes.
  • When you get the correct ball consistency, turn off the stove. Add cardamom powder and sesame seeds. Mix well.
  • Let the mixture cool down a bit. Then quickly dip your palms in water just to moisten and scoop out 1 tbsp of the mixture to your palm and shape to ladoo.
  • Be quick at this stage and keep dipping your hand in water as needed to avoid burns.
  • Roll the entire mixture to balls when the mixture is still hot. Cool the til ladoos completely and store in air tight jar.


Notes

  • If using unhulled sesame that taste bitter, add them to a large bowl filled with water. Rub them very well with both your palms and drain the water along with the floating hull or husk. Repeat the rinse thrice and drain them in a colander.
  • Then air dry them on a clean cloth for 30 mins before roasting. This removes the bitter taste from the seeds.
Troubleshooting for recipe 2
  • If you feel you overcooked the syrup, just sprinkle little water and heat it up. It will melt and help you to adjust the consistency. You can do this even after adding the sesame.
  • If you undercooked the syrup and by mistake have already added sesame, you can still cook the mixture to get the soft ball consistency.
  • In case you are unable to roll the mixture to balls due to heat, then just cook the mixture for a few more minutes. Then pour it to a parchment paper and set it to chikki. Cut to squares when the mixture is still hot.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Til Ke Laddu (Sesame Laddu)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 240 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Sodium 3mg0%
Potassium 151mg4%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 16g18%
Protein 5g10%
Calcium 254mg25%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Sesame seeds ladoo recipe originally published in September 2014. Republished in January 2023

Til Ke Laddu Recipe (Sesame Seeds Laddu)

About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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I want to make the dates till ladoo. How long will they keep good without refrigeration at room temperature? Any tips to longer shelf life? TIA

5 stars
I made these sesame ladoo for pooja. Turned out delicious. Do you wash the seeds? If so how do you dry?

5 stars
Thank you for this amazing sesame ladoo recipe. I had some tahini to use up so made these with that. I used dates and a bit more oats. Turned out perfect and absolutely guilt-free.

5 stars
I love how you make very different recipes. First time I am seeing so many types of til ladoo. Well, we don’t celebrate this festival at home but I made the date sesame ladoos for snack. They turned out so yummy and delicious. Thank you and keep the recipes coming.

5 stars
I made your Andhra Sesame Ladoo and oats sesame ladoo. Both turned out very delicious. I am going to share them with family & friends soon. Thank you so much!! Happy Sankranti to you & your family.

5 stars
Recipe 2-Perfection! Thank you very much for sharing. Delicious and nutritious. 🙂

Hello mam, I used white til n 2nd method to prepare these ladoos but they r tasting bitter, what could have gone wrong, N what can be done not to bitter next time… Thank you

Hi Swasthi,
I will try recipe 2. Regarding the peanuts, is there a reason you don’t grind the peanuts? I thought since it will also release some oil, it would be a good idea.
thank you for your fine website!

Vikram.

Can I use sugar instead of jaggary. If yes pls share sugar and what quantity

I made the second recipe however was not able to bind the laddoos. So I added some ghee and made the mixture hot on pan for 2 to 3 mins and then I was able to bind the laddoos even though the mixture was too hot on hands. The taste came out good.

I tried it at home but it turned out veryyyy veryyy hard laddoo. Can you plz tell me whats the mistake i did? And now what can i do with these hard laddoos?

Hi, sounds really good.
How will it stick together the final laddu, j mean there is no liquid to bind, do weix ghee and water in the end.

Hi. I wish to try this recipe for my kid. Do v have to add water or make jaggery syrup? Without moisture ie. Without water will we be able to roll it into balls and will it hold the shape? Thank u

5 stars
The til ladoos came very nice except that there was a bitter taste in the end

5 stars
delicious til ke ladoo. My kids love it. thank u for the recipe.

so healthy and tasty ladoo