Makar Sankrant. . . Till ke Laddu

Staying in Jaipur for over a decade and a half now, Makar Sankrant is one festival that I have witnessed here in North people celebrate it with so much of enthusiasm by people of all age groups, which is worth the watch. First thing that comes to our mind is but of course Kites. Celebration of this festival is worth witnessing throughout the entire month here. Come January and one can see the sky painted with colourful kites. The extreme weather conditions gives all the more reasons for each one of us to spend more and more time basking the sun while most of them indulge in kite flying...

Kite flying festival is not only celebrated as an entertainment part but it has a psychological reason attached to it. While the kite romances in the air, one has to constantly keep their eyes up on flying kites, which raises their confidence level. This is also said to be a natural remedy to overcome nervousness and depression. And also motivates people of think high. The confidence level of a kite flier also sky rockets as kite moves up in the sky. It also enhances concentration of the kite flier.

Makar Sankrant here means nothing but kite flying accompanied by savoring variety of mouth melting dishes the women of the house dish out. One sweet that is very popularly in Rajasthan like in Maharashtra, is Til ke Laddoo. Here, though the ingredients and cooking method looks simpler, yet the taste largely depends on the skill. So why don’t you too give it a try?

Ingredients:
Sesame seeds-Til (unpolished) 1 cupJaggery/Gud 1 cup
Water ½ cupRaw Peanuts or Cashew or almond 1/2 cup) optional

Pure desi Ghee 4 table spoon Cardamoms 8-10

Method:
Roast the sesame seeds in a pan on medium fire till it turns light golden brown and leave it aside. Roast the peanuts/cashew/almonds separately. Once the nuts are cooled pound them into pieces so that in case of ground nuts or almonds the skin would peel off.

Boil the water and jaggery in a separate pan and bring it to boil till it arrives to a thick consistency. You can check the consistency by dropping a drop of the syrup in a bowl of cold water. If the drop of syrup forms into a lump then it is time to pour the roasted sesame seeds, nuts, and cardamom powder. Mix it well.

Use a little ghee to coat your hands take a piece of the warm mixture and form small balls/ladoos, 2 inches in diameter. Store in a air tight container. It will stay for a long time.