Crispy and crunchy Til Chikki or sesame crisps are made with roasted sesame seeds, sugar, laced with floral cardamom, and a hint of salt. In India, these irresistible crisps are specially made during the Sankrant Festival celebrated in January.
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Growing up, I remember celebrating the festival of Makar Sankrant by visiting family and friends and wishing them "Tilgul ghya goad bola" which literally means "Take tilgul and talk sweetly".
On the Sankrant evening, we dressed in our pretty traditional outfits and went around the neighborhood, collecting different varieties of sweet treats made with sesame seeds called tilgul.
My favorite amongst the sweet treats was the crispy and crunchy Til Chikki or as we call it in Marathi "Tilachi Chikki". Made with roasted sesame seeds, sugar, and a hint of cardamom and salt, these crisps make an irresistible and yummy winter snack.
Festival of Sankrant
In Maharashtra, Sankrant is celebrated for 3 days. On the first day which is ‘Bhogi’, we enjoyed the special dish 'bhogichi bhaji' that celebrates the seasonal bounty of winter vegetables along with coconut, peanuts, and sesame seeds. Sesame seeds have a big significance for this festival. Sesame seeds provide the much-needed energy and nourishment to keep the body warm during winter.
Ingredients for Til Chikki
- Sesame seeds - I like to use brown sesame seeds but you can also use the white ones
- Sugar - I use organic cane sugar but regular white sugar works too
- Ghee - homemade ghee is super easy to make and a must in many Indian desserts to add the nutty aroma
- Cardamom - ground cardamom powder adds a floral aroma to the chikki
My mom made many batches of this sesame chikki to share with everyone that visited our home on Makar Sankrant day. Although they seemed pretty simple, I have failed to make them a few times.
The memories of my mom making them easily are still so fresh in my mind that I could not give up on this recipe. Over the last few times, I have slowly but surely mastered the technique!
How to Make Til Chikki
Step 1: Roast the sesame seeds
Add the sesame seeds to a heavy bottom pan. Roast on medium heat for 5 mins until they are light brown and aromatic. Take out the sesame seeds in a bowl and keep them aside.
Step 2: Make the sugar syrup
In the same pan, add sugar and ghee. Stir in cardamom powder and salt. Cook on medium-low heat stirring frequently, until the sugar melts completely. Initially, the sugar will start to crystalize, keep mixing and breaking up the lumps as it then slowly starts to melt to form a syrup. Keep stirring all the time during the process. Takes about 6 to 8 minutes (photos 1 - 4).
Step 3: Add sesame seeds to the syrup
Once the syrup is ready, turn the heat to low and add the roasted sesame seeds and quickly mix them in. (photos 5 - 6).
Step 4: Spread and cut
Quickly and carefully pour the mixture on a parchment paper-lined surface. Spread it as thin as you can using a silicon spatula coated with a thin layer of ghee and patting it to form an even layer while it's hot. Do not wait too long as the mixture will start to harden, it is easier to spread the mixture into a thin layer while it's hot.
Tip - You can also use a well-greased rolling pin to roll it thin. Just make sure that you apply lots of ghee or oil to the rolling pin so the mixture does not stick to it. Once again this step has to be done rather quickly as you want to cut it into pieces while it's still warm.
Next, while the rolled mixture is still hot/warm, use a pizza cutter or knife to make diamond or square-shaped cuts to form the crisps. Allow them to cool and then lift them from the parchment and break them along the lines (photos 7 - 10).
Storing
Let them completely cool and then store them in an airtight container. This Chikki will stay good for 2 weeks at room temperature.
Tips
- Secure parchment paper on a cutting board using tape
- Apply lots of ghee on the rolling pin or silicon spatula and use it to spread the mixture
- Spread the mixture quickly into a thin layer while it's hot, do not wait too long as the mixture will start to harden
- Cut the crisps into small squares or diamonds while the mixture is still warm
More Sankrant Recipes
Love these festival delicacies? Try this delicious mixed vegetable curry AKA Bhogichi Bhaji with Homemade whole wheat parathas and Tilachi Poli. Also, make sure to make a batch of the easy Til Laddo and Tilachi Vadi made with sesame seeds and jaggery.
Recipe
Til Chikki {Sesame Crisps}
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sesame seeds
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ghee or oil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Add the sesame seeds to a heavy bottom pan. Roast on medium heat for 5 mins until they are light brown and aromatic. Take out the sesame seeds in a bowl and keep them aside.
- In the same pan, add sugar and ghee. Stir in cardamom powder and salt. Cook on medium-low heat stirring frequently, until the sugar melts completely. Initially, the sugar will start to crystalize, keep mixing and breaking up the lumps as it then slowly start to melt to form syrup. Keep stirring all the time during the process. Takes about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Once the syrup is ready, turn the heat to low and add the roasted sesame seeds and quickly mix them in.
- Quickly and carefully pour the mixture on a parchment paper-lined surface. Spread it as thin as you can using a clean silicon spatula and by patting it to form an even layer while it's hot. Do not wait too long as the mixture will start to harden, it is easier to spread the mixture into a thin layer while it’s hot.Tip – You can also use a rolling pin to roll it thin. Just make sure that you apply lots of ghee or oil to the rolling pin so the mixture does not stick to it. Once again this step has to be done rather quickly as you want to cut it into pieces while it’s still warm.
- Next, while the rolled mixture is still hot/warm, using a pizza cutter or knife make amond or square shaped cuts to form the crisps. Allow them to cool and then lift them from the parchment and break along the lines.
- Let them completely cool and then store in an airtight container
Video
Notes
- Secure parchment paper on a cutting board using tape
- Apply lots of ghee or on the rolling pin or silicon spatula and use to spread the mixture
- Spread the mixture quickly into a thin layer while it's hot, do not wait too long as the mixture will start to harden
- Cut the crisps into small squares or diamonds while the mixture is still warm
Nutrition
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Cook with Smile.. says
Looks delicious ?
Archana says
Thank you Lathi!
Sk says
Thanks Archana, for demystifying a beautiful family recipe. It came out perfect. Happy Lohri/Sakranti/Pongal!!!
payel says
Soooo delicious! Pictures are so good Archana!
Archana says
Thank you Payel!
cookandenjoyrecipes says
Oh WOW WOW WOW - Just <3 <3 <3 this Archana
Archana says
Thank you Esme!
Hans Susser says
"Trick or Treat" without the Trick 🙂
Wonderful as usual.
Cheers !
Archana says
Thank you Hans!
Blogtastic Food says
I could snack on those all day (:
Archana says
me too!
Indu says
Archana, the post is wonderful. And the chikkis you gave me yesterday? They tasted absolutely divine!!! Thank you!
Archana says
Thank you Indu! So glad you liked them.
kavitaparvathi says
That looks inviting.. Now i wanna taste that.
Archana says
Thank you Kavita!
Prajakta says
Hi Archana, your blog is so so delicious. I also loved that it is very neat and well-written. I can't wait to try your recipes. Keep posting! 🙂
Archana says
Hi Prajakta, Thank you so much for your kind words.
Blogtastic Food says
Hi, these sesame crisps look super delicious.
Just letting you know that I have nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award.
I will just leave the link down below to the post if you would like to respond (:
http://www.blogtasticfood.com/blogger-recognition-award/
Archana says
Thank you! I am honored to be nominated for this award, but my I have very busy schedule coming up and I am afraid I won't be able to spend time on this. Good luck and congratulations!! Keep those awesome posts coming.
cook the beans says
wow looks amazing
Archana says
Thank you!
Arohii says
we make round sesame Laddoo, this looks superb!
Archana says
Thank you Arohii!
annika says
I've missed so many of your recipes..... you don't show up in my WordPress stream for followed sites?
Archana says
Hi Annika, I have the same problem with yours. I usually just go to your blog that I have bookmarked. May be because I have a self hosted site? Anyway, may be we should do email follow.
annika says
Your posts just showed up in my feed... I didn't change anything on my side. I have been slacking off on following along on WordPress so maybe it was that all along.
Archana says
I have to agree, since I started the self hosted I forget to go wordpress reader and I miss so many posts.
Saroj says
I tried this recipe today. Chikkis turned out very crisp and tasty with the right amount of sweetness. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Can i use the same recipe and substitute 1 cup til with 1 cup peanuts?
Archana says
Thank you! Sure try with peanuts, ground them small like sesame seeds.
Anusha says
Hi!
What is the sugar syrup consistency? Like 1 string consistency ....etc.
Archana says
I do not check for that, basically once the sugar is fully melted you add sesame seeds. It comes out perfect.
Usha says
I made these for Diwali this year and, wow, what a great recipe! So easy and I appreciate the video to show the color & consistency of the sugar once it’s melted. My only mistake was I spent too much time flattening it so it cooled too quickly on the parchment for me to make cuts. I was able to make a couple of scores. In the end I just broke into pieces. Still was so tasty - my mom’s favorite and she loved it, as did my friends who said it reminded them of the good old days in India. Next time I make them I am going to try to roll it flat with another piece of parchment in between the chikki and the rolling pin, then quickly cut!
Kajal Patel says
Hi, I wanted to know if the calorie count on this is for 1( one piece) or for a a few pieces.
Archana says
It is for a few pieces 🙂
Jasmine Cooper says
I just tried it today. Delicious and super easy to make
Thank you
Akanksha says
Wonderful recipe. I have made it for two makar sankratis now. Out of all the various chikkis we put in our lohri plate yesterday everyone liked this the best.
The tips are very helpful as it has to be done very fast speed.thabks Archana. I always check your recipes when I want to try something new
Gouri says
Can we substitute sugar with jaggery? If yes, what would be the measure be? Also would jaggery balls work if added and melted just like mentioned above or is better to powder the jaggery? Thanks in advance!
Archana says
I would not recommend using jaggery unless you know how to make the perfect jaggery syrup! Try my Til Laddu recipe instead that uses jaggery
Aparna Kumar says
Tried this recipe ans turned out super delicious.. Easy to make