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Thursday 12 January 2017

Peanut Sesame Fudge / Til ki Burfi recipe


Til ki burfi is a perfect combination of nutty sesame seeds and peanuts with jaggery. This peanut sesame fudge is soft, chewy and absolutely delicious. Flavoured with green cardamom powder and garnish with almond slivers, the til burfi has a characteristic nutty flavor and stays good for about a week at room temperature, provided it lasts until then. My vanished within 2 days :) With a very easy recipe the fudge is ready within 30 minutes. I make this sweet treat for Makar Sankranti festival. Til ki burfi can be served as dessert after meals or had with milk in the morning. It can also be enjoyed any time of the day just like that to satisfy some sweet cravings. Kids love them in their snacks box. This fudge can also be had during fasts (vrat).

What is Makar Sankranti ?

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious days for Hindus and as the first festival in the year's calendar it is eagerly awaited by one and all. It marks the end of the long winter, as the sun begins its northward journey and so this festival is called Uttarayan also. After Sankranti the days start becoming longer and warmer and the chill of winter declines. farmers pray on the occasion to be blessed with bountiful harvest.

This harvest festival is celebrated in different parts of India by different names. In North India, large bonfires are lit on the eve of Sankranti , known as Lohri. In  many states of South India, it s celebrated for 4 day long festival called Pongal. In Gujarat it is known as Uttarayan, in Maharashtra , Makar Sankranti, in Uttar Pradesh as Khichri. Lord Sun is worshipped on this day and people take dip in holy rivers.


Importance of Til or Sesame seeds during Makar Sankranti:

Til or Sesame seeds are of special importance during Makar Sankranti. Sweets made from Til are offered to deity and distributed among family, friends and needy.Sesame seeds have oil in them which generates heat in the body which is much needed during winters. Jaggery on the other hand has healthy sugar that keeps the body energised. So having this burfi during winter season has lots of health benefits. Sesame seeds are also excellent sources of calcium, iron, copper, manganese , magnesium , phosphorous, dietary fibers, protein and carbohydrates. 

In Maharashtra, on Makara Sankrati, married women are invited for a get together called Haldi Kumkum and given new utensils or gifts and sweets made from Til and Jaggery. Hailing from a typical Maharashtrian family, i usually make Tilgul Ladoo and Tilgul Poli for the occasion. This time i made this delicious Til burfi also. Peanuts Sesame Seeds and Coconut ladoo and Dates, nuts and sesame seeds candy are also very addictive and perfect winter treats. 


What goes into this Til Ki Burfi / Peanut Sesame Fudge ?

As the name suggests this fudge is made using peanuts and sesame seeds. Jaggery is the sweetener used in this recipe. Cardamom powder compliments very well with jaggery. Silvered almonds are used for garnishing the fudge. Little quantity of ghee is also used in this fudge which adds a rich flavor and shine to the fudge. However, you may skip it for a vegan version. The roasted sesame seeds and peanuts are powdered, before adding to the jaggery syrup. The mixture so formed is cooked for a while and poured on the greased trays and allowed to set. The amount of ingredients used in this recipe yield around 15 fudge pieces. You can easily double the recipe. The fudge is ready under 30 minutes and stays good for about a week at room temperature. 

Related Event:

This is an old post which i had published in 2017 during my initial blogging days. I have updated this post today with written content but have not changed the recipe. I have many such old posts where the photography is dull and the recipe is not up to the mark. Such posts need to be updated with new pictures and written content. Thanks to Renu, my dear friend and a fellow blogger who came up with a Facebook group, Foodies_Redoing Old Posts as an initiative, wherein we bloggers can update our old posts with either new pictures or written content or both every two weeks. This is my 13th entry into this event (10th January). Now, without any further ado, let's get to the recipe.

Foodies_RedoingOldPost


Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 12-15 minutes.
Serves: 15

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 200 ml
  • 1 cup Sesame seeds / Til (150 grams)
  • ¾ cup Peanuts/ Mungfali giri ( 150 grams)
  • 1 cup powdered /grated Jaggery / Gud (200 grams)
  • 2 tablespoon Almond slivers
  • 3 tablespoon Ghee / clarified Butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon Green Cardamom powder / elaichi

  Method:
  1. Grease a tray or deep plate with ghee and keep aside until use. Heat a pan on medium flame. Dry roast the sesame seeds in it for 2-3 minutes or until they pop and turn pink in color. Keep stirring so that the seeds do not burn as they will turn bitter.

  2. Remove the roasted sesame seeds in a plate and allow them to cool down. Now pulse them in a grinder jar to get a coarse powder. Do not pulse for a very long time as the mixture will turn sticky because of the oil in the seeds. 


  3. In the same pan dry roast the peanuts for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Allow them to cool down, remove the peel by rubbing the peanuts against the palms. Discard the peels. Make a coarse powder using grinder. Keep aside until use.



  4.  In the same pan heat ghee and add grated or powdered jaggery to it. Add 3 tablespoon ( 1/8 cup) water to it and mix well and cook on low flame until the jaggery melts completely.



  5. Add the powdered sesame and peanut to the jaggery syrup.



  6. Mix very well with a spatula and allow the mixture to cook until it leaves the pan. This will take about 3-5 minutes. Keep stirring continuously to ensure the mixture does not catch the bottom of the pan.



  7.  Put off the flame and add cardamom powder to the fudge mixture. Mix well.


   8. Pour the mixture onto the greased tray and pat the surface with a greased flat spatula or with hand to even it. Keep the desired thickness of the fudge. 



  9.  While the mixture is still hot garnish the fudge with almond slivers and press slightly so that the slivers stick to the fudge.


  10. Cut the fudge in desired shapes using a sharp knife before it sets. The fudge sets fast in cold weather. Here in Gurgaon it is freezing cold this week. My fudge took hardly 10 minutes to set.


   11. Separate out the fudge pieces and transfer them to air tight container on cooling. 

                                

  12. Enjoy the healthy and delicious Til burfi with your loved ones !


Notes:
  • Do not add more water while making the jaggery syrup. Always add water in measured quantity. I added just 3 tablespoon water. If the water quantity becomes more the fudge will not set. If you add less the fudge will become hard.
  • Garnishing the fudge with almond slivers is optional. You may skip it.
  • You may lower the quantity or completely skip addition of ghee in this fudge for a vegan version. But ghee gives a nice flavor and shine to the fudge.
  • Do not cook the mixture for a very long time. The mixture is ready to pour to the greased tray once it leaves the sides of the pan. If you cook more the fudge will become hard. 
I hope a few of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Lohri , Makar Sankranti and Pongal !!!

For more Makar Sankranthi, Lohri and Pongal special recipes do check my posts on

                               

                              

                              

                              

                              

                              

                              


3 comments :

  1. I'll have to try out this soft fudgy peanut and sesame burfi. I love simple recipes, and this one with jaggery is so much better than sugar burfis. Hubby is always looking for something sweet after lunch and this seems like a good option.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice and healthy fudge for sure with sesame and Jaggery. I have a sweet tooth and always make something with Jaggery. This would make a nice addition.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sesame chikki is tasty and crunchy, a good snack to binge anytime too. Loved the addition of peanuts in it.

    ReplyDelete

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