Tilgul – Tilachi Barfi
Sesame and peanut fudge – made for Makar Sankranti – A hindu festival marking the end of winter solstice
Normally the hard, crunchy sesame candy is the more popular kind of tilgul – and if taht’s what you like mre here’s my favorite recipe to make that one! However, if you are not the person who likes to bite into til-gul brittles, and have some stuck in your teeth, this one is for you! My aji’s innovation 🙂 This is probably not like any other tilgul you have eaten. It has vanilla for flavoring, but you wont even know it has vanilla, what the vanilla does is takes the tilachi barfi to a different level, gives it a creamy decadent feel – such a modern twist on tilgul.
This is the kind of recipe I will usually stay away from as it involves sugar-syrup making (which freaks me out). But for this particular preparation, I stood right by my aji’s side and observed each step and learnt how to make the perfect consistency sugar syrup for it. I have tried to depict that through pictures, if you need help, feel free to ask.
You will need:
1 cup powdered sesame seeds (roasted, then ground)
1 cup powdered peanuts (lightly roasted and ground)
3/4 cup sugar
3/8 cup milk (half of 3/4 cup)
3/4 tsp vanilla extract (seriously, trust me! also, if you can get hold of the ‘viola’ Indian brand, it will be better)
1 tsp Ghee
Procedure:
- Powder lightly roasted peanuts on pulse mode, till you get as fine of a powder as possible, without letting it get to peanut butter stage
- Pwder lightly toasted sesame seeds, till you get as fine of a powder as possible, without letting it get the oil to separate out.
- mix the two powders and set aside
- In a pan take the sugar and add milk to it.
- start heating this mixture on low flame, stirring constantly. This is how it will look, as the sugar dissolves and the milk starts to boil
- drop the sugar syrup with your spatula into the pan and keep heating until it thickens to the point where it no longer runs down the pan but drips slowly
- After this point, you need to monitor it closely, as you have a short time window where its perfect!
- To make sure you get the perfect consistency – you can use one of two methods:
- 1. drop drops of the syrup on a plate – in the beginning it will spread but as you continue cooking, the drop will eventually stay nice and round on the plate without spreading after
- From left to right in the picture, you can see how the shape of the dot changes. Notice that the one on the far right is homogeneous and 3D (if you know what you mean. It does not splutter on the plate, stays like a hemisphere!
- That’s exactly how much you want to cook the syrup. At this very instant, add the peanut and sesame powders and mix vigorously.
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- 2. the second method is using the string method – take a drop of syrup on your finger and check with your thumb –
- Initially it will form a thing single strand string thats almost transparent. you need the syrup to get to a consistency where it starts forming a thick waxy – string thats translucent
- When the syrup is at the right consistency, add the powdered mixture, mix well and turn the heat off.
- Dont overcook as You don’t want to let it become too dry, while its still soft take it off the heat (this happens in a few seconds, be alert)
- keep mixing while off the heat. When a little warm, add Ghee and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix
- transfer onto a greased sheet, while still warm. Press flat and cut squares.
- Let cool and remove. Enjoy!
