Til Chikki Recipe With Berries & Jaggery

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Til Chikki Recipe with Oats & Berries is a complete health package. The addition of berries transports this Til Chikki to an exotic level. The recipe is shared with tips that are needed to make the Chikki, crisp and brittle.

Makar Sankranti

What colors is to Holi, lamps are to Diwali, Same way Til or Sesame seeds are to Makar Sankranti.

Makar Sankranti. The famous Kite festival of Gujarat is also celebrated on this auspicious day, where it is called Uttrayan. My husband, Sandeep, who once lived in Gujarat, is very fond of this festival and still gets nostalgic remembering the sky filled with kites on this day. Did this for him. How is it?

This Til Chikki has become our absolute favorite. Guilt-free…crisp…not sticking to the palette… the additional taste of sweet berries and of course the benefits of sesame seeds and jaggery.

Sometimes, I wonder how all our festivals are so thoughtful of each and everything. Like it is customary to have Til (Sesame seeds) and Khichdi (a dish with a mix of rice and lentils) on Makara Sankranti. There are lot many ways we can consume this wonder seed. Like my son, Shivang loves Tilkut, which is nothing but roasted and grounded sesame seeds sweetened with sugar powder. Then there is Til laddoo and Til chikki to name a few.

Til has a special significance associated with Makara Sankranti. I remember, my mother-in-law often used to say a Hindi proverb, ” Til Chatka, Jaadha Patka” meaning that as sesame seeds splutter, the cold waves also settle down. However, due to global warming, this idiom hardly holds true now, as chill is even more after this day of Makar Sankranti also. Just some memories that I shared here with you all.

As Makar Sankranti is almost there so yesterday I tried this Til Chikki and it came out excellent. I tried both with Dates and Jaggery. Both were good except that the ones with Dates was soft like toffee and the one with jaggery was crisp and brittle. We liked the crisp one more. Not bragging but it was as good as store-bought or in fact better. Better, because, I adjusted sweetness to our liking and then added berries to it. Berries not only give it a beautiful look but give a very pleasant taste. Though you can add nuts like almonds etc to it but I strongly recommend trying with berries. I promise you will not regret it.

Til chikki a very healthy sweet as it has only til and jaggery. No clarified butter. In addition, the whole process takes 15 to 20 minutes only.

Benefits

We all know the nutritious facts of sesame seeds. Til (sesame seeds) being rich in calcium, iron, oxalic acid, protein, vitamin B, C, and E are excellent for health.
The berries are rich in antioxidants and fiber.
Combined with the goodness of jaggery and berries, they provide a lot of warmth to the body, it is advised to have these in winters.
Together, they also provide relief in constipation and asthma. Consumed with milk they give relief in joint pains too.
Thus, this Til Chikki is a full-on health package with iron, calcium, vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and protein, all rolled into one with the bonus of taste and looks.

Tips To Make Crisp And Brittle Chikki

Cooking Jaggery syrup to the right consistency: When you talk of Chikki, you refer to a crisp and brittle sweet. An ideal Chikki should be crisp and brittle, it should not stick to the palette while eating, should not be soft, and should break with a snap. Now how do you achieve all these attributes?

This depends upon whether the jaggery is cooked up to the right temperature or not. If cooked less then the Chikki will be soft and chewy. If cooked more then it will be hard to bite.

Hardball or Candy Stage of Jaggery Syrup

Once the jaggery is melted, you cook it further till it reaches a hardball stage. How to check that stage? Well, very simple. While cooking jaggery you keep a bowl of water near you. After about 5 minutes, when the foam on the melted jaggery settles down then put a drop of it in the water. You take it out of the water and check it. If it stretches like elastic then this means that it needs more cooking.
After a few minutes, repeat this test. When this ball breaks with a snap then this is the correct stage. You can check by eating it also. If not properly cooked, it will taste like toffee and will even stick to your palette but when cooked to the correct stage then you will be able to break it like a candy. You can perform this test as many times as you want. Whenever it stretches, put it back into the melted jaggery.

So the simple rule is if the melted jaggery when put in water,

Stretches like elastic or tastes like toffee…Needs more cooking

Breaks with a snap or tastes like candy…Perfect and ready for mixing nuts/seeds

As soon as the candy stage is reached, immediately mix in the nuts or seeds and switch off the flame. The mix will now clamp together.
Take it out on a greased surface, preferably your kitchen counter. With wet hands, shape it into a ball. Now with a rolling pin, roll it as thin (or thick) as you want.

Step By Step Instructions

Do all the needed preparations and keep the ingredients ready.
First of all, dry roast sesame seeds on medium flame, until there is a slight change in the color. Keep stirring, keep the flame medium only. They burn very fast so be careful. If they turn brown then they taste bitter and we don’t want that.

Secondly, dry roast oats for a minute or two till slightly crisp. Then put them in the grinder and just for a while. We don’t need powdered oats.

In case, your berries are big in size then chop these into bite-size pieces. I used dried blueberries and cranberries.
Roughly chop jaggery into small pieces so that they melt easily.
Grease a portion of your kitchen platform, to spread chikki.
Keep a bowl of water, a rolling pin, and a knife (better, if pizza cutter) handy. You will be requiring these and you can’t afford to waste time in looking for any of them.
Now, once all the above preparations are done, then heat a heavy-bottomed pan (kadhai) on the gas stove.
Put chopped jaggery in it along with 1 tablespoon water. Melt it on medium flame.

Keep stirring it. Once fully melted, you will see a lot of foam on it. It will subside gradually, keep stirring throughout.

Do the test by dropping a drop in the bowl of water. The drop will settle down. Take it out, it will probably stretch like an elastic. Put it back in the heating jaggery.

Repeat the test after a minute. When it breaks with a snap then it is the correct stage.

Bring the flame to the lowest level.
Add sesame seeds, oats, berries, and mixed nuts.

Mix everything quickly by pressing the spatula in between, it will soon gather into a ball. Switch off the flame.

Take out the mix on the greased surface.
Wet your hands and shape it roughly into a ball using both the hands.

Using a rolling pin, roll it as thin as possible.
Make cuts using the knife or pizza cutter. This is because once set, you cannot cut it. Then you can only break it into uneven pieces. So, mark the cuts. You need to be really fast after adding the seeds as jaggery sets very quickly.

After 10 minutes or so, remove the pieces and store in an airtight container.
Enjoy with near and dear ones.

FAQs

Q) Difference Between Til Chikki And Til Laddoo?

If you are wondering as to how Til chikki is different from Til laddoo then though both are made using the same set of ingredients the difference is in the method of cooking jaggery. Chikki is brittle while laddoo is soft and hence the difference.
For Chikki we cook the jaggery syrup up to a hardball stage (as discussed above) and then add Til.
But for laddoo, we just melt the jaggery and add the Til or other ingredients.

Q) I want to make only with sesame seeds. Can I?

The addition of oats, berries, and mixed seeds is entirely optional. You can skip these or adjust as per your taste buds.

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I hope you have liked this Til Chikki recipe and will surely try it out for your loved ones.

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