Sesame seed and almond laddoo

Why this works

Til laddoo is a winter sweet in most of India, usually made with jaggery and eaten around Sankranti. This version leaves the jaggery out entirely and lets the dates do the sweetening, which changes what it is for. It stops being a festival sweet and becomes something you can reasonably keep in a jar all year.

No added sugar, and why that matters here

Dates are sugar, and there is no point pretending otherwise. What makes them different from jaggery is that the sugar arrives packaged with fibre, potassium and some minerals, and that fibre slows how quickly it reaches your blood.

At around 72 calories a laddoo with 2 g of fibre, this is the gentler of the two sweet snacks in this collection. If you are watching blood sugar and want something sweet in the house, this is the one to make rather than the jaggery balls.

Sesame is quietly excellent

Sesame seeds are one of the better plant sources of calcium available in an Indian kitchen, along with magnesium, iron and zinc. For anyone eating little or no dairy, and that includes a lot of people who have cut it out for gut reasons, sesame is worth building into the week deliberately rather than leaving it to chutney and the occasional laddoo.

Two tablespoons across ten laddoos is not a large amount. If calcium is a particular concern for you, this is a recipe worth making with three or four.

Toast the seeds

Two or three minutes in a dry pan on low heat, until they smell nutty and start to pop. This is not a step to skip. Raw sesame tastes flat and slightly bitter, while toasted sesame tastes like the thing you were hoping to make. Light toasting also makes the seeds easier to digest.

Let them cool before blending. Warm seeds release their oil and turn the mixture greasy.

Getting them to bind

Everything holds together because of the dates, so their condition matters. Soft, fresh dates bind easily. Hard, dry ones will not, and the mixture crumbles when you try to roll it.

If yours are dry, soak them in warm water for ten minutes and pat them properly dry before blending. If the mixture still will not hold, add another date rather than any liquid. Water shortens the shelf life considerably and does very little for the binding.

Almonds, soaked or not

Either works here. Soaking and peeling almonds is a long standing Indian practice and there is a reasonable argument for it, since the skin contains tannins that interfere slightly with mineral absorption. For this recipe, unsoaked almonds blend better and give a firmer laddoo, so use them as they are unless you have a specific reason not to.

Keeping them

Two weeks in an airtight jar at room temperature, or a month in the fridge. They firm up when cold, which most people prefer.

Frequently asked questions

Are these suitable if I am watching my blood sugar?

They are the gentler of the two sweet snacks here, because the sugar comes from dates and arrives with fibre that slows it. They are still sweet, so treat one as a portion. If your sugars are poorly controlled, discuss it with your nutritionist first.

Do I have to toast the sesame seeds?

The recipe works without it, but two or three minutes in a dry pan changes the flavour completely and makes the seeds a little easier to digest. Let them cool before blending, since warm seeds release oil and make the mixture greasy.

My mixture will not hold together. Why?

Almost always dry dates. Soak them in warm water for ten minutes and pat them dry before blending. If it still crumbles, add another date rather than water, which barely helps and cuts the shelf life.

Should I soak the almonds first?

Not for this recipe. Unsoaked almonds blend better and give a firmer laddoo. Soaking and peeling has its merits generally, since almond skin contains tannins that slightly hinder mineral absorption, but it works against you here.

How much calcium do these actually provide?

Sesame is one of the better plant sources of calcium, though two tablespoons across ten laddoos is modest. If calcium is a specific concern, make the recipe with three or four tablespoons of sesame instead.

This recipe is general nutrition education, not a prescription. Portions and ingredients may need adjusting for kidney disease, allergies or a condition you are being treated for. Reviewed by Jinal Vora.