Chigli unde - Black sesame seed
laddoo recipe

South Indian festival recipe for Ganesh chaturthi, Nag panchami

Chigli unde or black sesame seed laddoo recipe with a video and step by step written instructions below. Chigli unde is a Karnataka recipe. It is a festival recipe generally made during the festival of Nagpanchami and Ganesh Chaturthi.

Very few ingredients are needed for this sesame seed laddoo. Main ingredient is black sesame seeds. Jaggery is the sweetener added.

Sesame seeds, known as Tila (Sankrit) Til (Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bangla), raashi (Oriya), ellu or yellu (Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam) Nuvvulu (Telugu).

Sesame (Til) seeds are nutritious and black sesame seeds are still better.

chigli unde - black sesame seed laddoo

Chigli unde is made as naivedya (an offering) to the deity. It is a easy and recipe. It takes less than 10 minutes to make.

Chigali is yummy too. So can be made during winter months too as sesame seeds provide warmth to the body. Make it as a quick sweet / snack.

These sesame seed laddoos have a shelf life of 8-10 days or even longer without refrigeration.

How to make chigli unde - Black sesame seed ladoo - Til laddoo

Main ingredients for chigli unde - Black sesame seed ladoo - Til laddoo

black sesame seed/til - jaggery - ghee

Ingredients for chigli unde

black sesame seeds - 100 gms
grated or crushed jaggary - 3/4 cup - More or less according to taste
ghee (optional) - 1 tsp or as needed
Cardamom seeds - from 1 or 2 pods

Step by step instructions for making chigli unde - Til laddoo

Heat a pan and reduce temperature to medium.
Add the washed and dried til(sesame seeds). Roast till you get a aroma, which will take about 2-3 minutes. The sesame seeds will start jumping when roasted so that is an indication.
Switch off the flame and continue stiring for a few seconds till the jumping of til seeds stops. Cool a little.

roasting black til - sesame seeds

Add to the mixer jar while still warm. Add the cardamom seeds and grind to powder.

grinding roasted black til - sesame seeds

Mix well with a spatula and add the grated jaggery and grind again.
Stop and mix once in a while. The mixture will stick together as the grinding is done.

grinding roasted black sesame seeds and jaggery

Take out the sesame jaggery mixture onto a plate or in a bowl.
Make small lime sized balls while the mixture is still warm.
If the mixture seems too dry, and you are not able to form a ball, add a little ghee to the mixture.

Mix well and then you will be able to shape it to a ball. (see tip below)

Chigli unde - Black sesame seed laddoo

Tips and variations

When you use ghee, the til laddos remain good for 2-3 weeks without refrigeration.
Instead of ghee, one or two spoons of warm milk can be used. In case you use milk, refrigerate if keeping for more than 2-3 day.