Sankranti, Lohri, Uttarayan….is celebrated each year on the 14th of Jan. The skies in Gujarat are filled with different shapes and colors of kites flying freely. In Bihar, it about the color yellow, eating Kichdi ( a dish made with rice, dal, vegetables) is considered auspicious. But the one common thread that runs across is til(black sesame seeds) eaten during Sankranti. Tiny black sesame seeds rolled in warm, sweet jaggery. The melt in your mouth tilkut of Bihar and UP, the crunchy Gajak of Delhi or the til laddu of Maharashtra.
I distinctly remember the sweet fragrance of the caramelized jaggery, the roasting of the peanuts and sesame seeds…all these rolled together to form that ball of sweetened, crunchy goodness, when they were cooked at home.
You could order some glorious Til Ladu from our very own shop. Made by the talented Ananya Save, with pure ghee and gur, these are absolutely delicious. Click here to order.
Or if you’re around one of our favorite stores for Til Laddu, stop buy and pick some up:
1. Annapurna Farsan Bandra: Tucked in a corner, this store has been around forever.They have every kind of snack that you would want to buy dhokla, small samosa, puranpoli and anything that you would want. The best thing about being at Annapurna is that he knows every customer and their tastes.
They source their til ladoos from small women entrepreneurs who make the ladoos at home, so they taste exactly how your mom would make them. They are soft and layered with peanut for that extra crunch.
Deluxe Mahal Building, 16th & 33rd Road Junction, Opposite Hotel Mini Punjab, Bandra (W), 33rd Road, Khar West Mumbai, MH 400059, India
+91 22 2600 4974
2. Modern sweets and Farsan Mart: Located at the in the heart of the bustling Santacruz market, it has been patronised over the years. There is usually a long queue to buy jalebis from Modern. So head there early to get your packet of til ladoos.
Desai, Station road, Santacruz west, Mumbai-400054
3. Kandoi Haribhai Damodar: With branches across Ghatkopar, Borivali, Santacruz, New Bombay they have been famous for their Mithai’s since 1952. Their til ladoos are the most different and tastiest and they are so much in demand that they run out of them by very quickly so make sure you get your early on. The ladoos are the size of motichur ladoos very soft filled with goodness of ghee, garnished with pistas and a little something (never have been able to pin the flavor) that makes you feel warm.
Look up the closet shop near you
4.Jhama sweets: Started over 6 decades ago as a small shop serving sweets in Chembur to refugees, Jhama has now expanded to seven branches. They are famous for their traditional sindhi sweets such as singhar. They order their ladoos especially for Makar Sankrant and they come in only a day or two before. So make sure you call to get your packet
And remember, Til gud kha ani godh godh bola…