Til ko Laddu & Ghee Chaku Recipe: Maghe Sankranti Festival Sweets

Why These Sweets Are Eaten on Maghe Sankranti

Maghe Sankranti (the start of the Magh month, usually falling around mid-January) marks the point where winter starts easing and days grow longer. It's traditional to eat warming foods like sesame, ghee, and chaku (jaggery) on this day, since Ayurvedic tradition holds that these foods help keep the body warm and energized through the rest of winter. Til ko laddu and ghee chaku are the two signature sweets made for the occasion.

How to Make Til ko Laddu

What You'll Need

• Sesame seeds — 2 cups
• Chaku (jaggery) — 1 cup, chopped or crushed
• Ghee — 1 tablespoon (for greasing your hands)

Step 1: Roast the Sesame Seeds

Roast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until lightly golden and fragrant, stirring constantly so they don't burn. Sesame seeds scorch easily, so stay attentive and don't step away from the heat.

Step 2: Melt the Chaku

In a separate pan, melt the chaku over medium heat with a splash of water until it becomes glossy and stretches like taffy.

Step 3: Combine

Add the roasted sesame to the melted chaku and mix quickly — this needs to happen while the mixture is still hot, since it hardens and becomes difficult to work with once it cools.

Step 4: Shape the Laddus

Grease your hands with ghee (to protect them from the heat) and quickly shape small portions of the mixture into round balls. Shaping them before the mixture cools is the key part of this step.

How to Make Ghee Chaku

What You'll Need

• Chaku — 2 cups, cut into pieces
• Ghee — 2 tablespoons

Step 1: Melt the Chaku

Heat ghee in a pan, add the chaku, and melt it slowly over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.

Step 2: Pour Onto a Tray

Once fully melted, pour it in a thin layer onto a ghee-greased plate or tray.

Step 3: Score Into Pieces

While it's still slightly warm (not fully hardened), score light diamond-shaped lines with a knife, so it can be easily snapped into pieces once fully cooled.

Common First-Time Mistakes and Fixes

• Sesame seeds burning: keep the heat at medium and stir constantly
• Struggling to shape the laddus: the mixture has likely cooled and hardened — shaping it quickly while hot is best, but you can gently rewarm it to soften if needed
• Chaku scorching: only melt it over low heat, and keep stirring continuously

How to Store Them

Both sweets keep for 2-3 weeks at room temperature in an airtight container.

Fresh sesame seeds and chaku are available from sellers on FoodSansar — make these traditional sweets at home for Maghe Sankranti.