I hated sweets while growing up.. with just one exception of an endearing Indian festive sweet known as ‘Til Ke Laddu’ or Sesame energy bombs… My mother makes them every year during the festival of Makar Sankranti and we as a family completely devour it…
Now Makar Sankranti (goes by multiple names across India) is an Indian Hindu festival which is literally celebrated to mark the direction of the Sun turning towards the north… What this means is longer days and shorter nights for people living in the tropical region. This is an extremely auspicious time according to the Hindu Calendar and is celebrated by various people across the country in various forms like by playing with kites, dressing up with the customary black color and distributing sweets made out of sesame and jaggery – known as Til ke Laddu.
3 ingredient and completely festive Til ke Laddu
Now while we are all aware of the benefits of jaggery over sugar but it is no replacement of sugar as it has a high glycemic index and it does contain about 60% of sugar which is unsafe for consumption for people with Type 2 diabetes or for those of us with food allergies and frankly for anyone out there… So what do we do? Stop eating our favorite festive sweets? No way Hosay! I say we recreate them… in our own unique natural way using healthy substitutes…
This is a super easy recipe, can be made in large batches and can be stored in the fridge to consume throughout the week… Also, this recipe uses just 3 ingredients and is Paleo, Keto, and Vegan compliant!!!! How crazy is that?
Sesame seeds which is one of the main festive ingredients are extremely essential for our bodies as they add a good protein to a well-balanced diet are a rich source of magnesium and help immensely with digestion. Dates on the other hand (our next ace ingredient) are super nutritious, are high in fibre and a great great source of anti oxidants!
All you have to do is combine culinary simplicity with intelligence and you get the most delicious Til Ke Laddu or Sesame energy bombs!!!!
Til Ke Laddu | Sesame Energy Bombs - Paleo | Keto | Vegan
Ingredients
- Medjool Dates - 1.5 cups
- Raisins-1.5 tablespoons
- Sesame Seeds 2/3rd cups
- Coconut Oil - 1 teaspoon
Instructions
- Toast the sesame seeds until slightly brown/beige
- Run them through a blender to form a powdery mixture
- Soak the dates and raisins in clean filtered water for atleast 3-4 hours (the more the better)
- Rinse the water away and put them on a heated skillet
- Saute them until the moisture goes away – 10-15 seconds
- Add the sauted dates to a food processor to form a sticky mushy paste
- Add the paste to the skillet again and mix in the blended sesame powder
- Keep skillet on a medium low flame
- Mix the 2 ingredients together
- You will realize that they dont blend in too well hence we add 1 teaspooon of coconut oil to help with the incorporation
- Turn off the gas after about 15 seconds to prevent the sesame from over burning
- Remove the mixture on a pan and flatten the batter with the help of a back of a spoon or a small bowl or just your hands
- Set the mixture aside for 25 minutes
- After 25 minutes pull out small portions into balls
- Serve
- For best effect store the bombs in an airtight container in the fridge overnight
- Above everything else, ENJOY!