Photo: Sharvarism · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Maharashtra · Dessert

Makar Sankranti Til Chikki

Brittle slabs of roasted sesame seeds set in hard jaggery — the defining sweet of Makar Sankranti in Maharashtra, snapping into shards between the teeth with a caramel-nutty intensity. Unlike the soft Til Laddoo (which uses a soft-ball stage syrup), chikki is cooked to hard-crack stage: crystalline, brittle and deeply caramelised. The ratio of sesame to jaggery is roughly equal, giving every bite maximum sesame flavour.

🧺 Ingredients

• 1½ cups (150 g) white sesame seeds (til)
• 1 cup (160 g) dark jaggery, grated (Kolhapuri gur — hard variety preferred)
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp ghee (for greasing)
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• Ghee for greasing the surface
• Work within 60 seconds once the sesame is added — the mixture sets rapidly

👩‍🍳 How to make Makar Sankranti Til Chikki

1. Heat a heavy pan (no oil) over medium heat.
2. Add sesame seeds.
3. Roast, stirring constantly, for 3–4 minutes until the seeds turn pale golden and a few begin to crackle and pop.
4. They will smell nutty and toasted.
5. Remove immediately — sesame burns in seconds at this stage.
6. Transfer to a bowl.
7. Cool completely. *Hot sesame + hot jaggery = chikki that sets too fast to spread; ensure sesame are fully cooled.*
8. Grease a rolling board or marble slab and a rolling pin generously with ghee.
9. In a heavy pan, combine jaggery and water over high heat.
10. Stir until jaggery dissolves.
11. Boil without stirring for 6–8 minutes.
12. Test for hard-crack stage: drop a small amount into a bowl of cold water — it should immediately harden into a brittle, snapping shard.
13. If it bends, cook 1–2 more minutes.
14. At hard-crack stage, the syrup will smell deeply caramelised. *This timing is critical — soft-ball gives chewy chikki; hard-crack gives brittle chikki.*
15. Remove jaggery from heat immediately at hard-crack.
16. Add cardamom.
17. Add cooled roasted sesame seeds.
18. Stir quickly for 15–20 seconds to combine — the mixture will be extremely hot.
19. Immediately pour onto the greased surface.
20. Using a greased rolling pin or the back of a greased flat bowl, roll or press the mixture to 4–5 mm thickness as fast as possible — it sets in under a minute.
21. Score into rectangular pieces (3×5 cm) using a sharp, greased knife while still warm and pliable.
22. Allow to set completely (5 minutes) — they will snap apart cleanly.
23. Break along the scored lines.
24. Cool completely.
25. Store in an airtight tin between layers of parchment paper.
26. Keeps at room temperature for 2–3 weeks.

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