Quick and Delicious Til Milk Cake

Tasty Sesame Milk Cake Recipe

Let’s make a Makar Sankranti special – delicious til milk cake or sesame milk cake. This is a super tasty mithai that you can make in minutes without mawa, and with just a handful of ingredients.

To give you a quick summary of the health benefits of sesame seeds, they’re believed to reduce cholesterol levels, they are rich in protein, fibre, B group vitamins and anti-oxidants, and contain many nutrients that could boost our immune system.

Sweets made from til or sesame are traditionally made in Maharashtra, Goa, and other parts of the country during the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti, usually celebrated on the 14th of January.

This sweet is not only one of the easiest mithais you could make, it’s also very tasty and nutritious too. Sesame seeds are believed to reduce cholesterol levels, are rich in protein, fibre, B group vitamins and anti-oxidants, and contain many nutrients that could boost our immune system.

So do give this delicious recipe a shot. And if you’re interested in yet another tasty Makar Sankranti sweet, do check out my easy recipe for making soft til gul vadis but with two added special ingredients.

Ingredients

1 ½ cup (210 g) sesame seeds

3 tbsp pure ghee / unsalted butter

½ cup + 2 tbsp milk powder

1 cup (210 g) granulated sugar

½ cup water

¾ tsp cardamom powder

(Or rose essence, a few drops)

Chopped pistachios (optional)

Procedure

1. Lightly grease and line a tray (or thali or plate) with parchment paper and grease the upper surface of the paper (at the bottom) as well. Or else, skip the parchment paper and just grease the tray.
2. In a pan, roast the sesame seeds lightly on medium heat for around 2 minutes, or till they slightly change colour. Set these aside to cool.
3. Grind the cooled down sesame seeds coarsely in a mixer-grinder, using the pulse mode.
4. In the same pan, heat 2 ½ tbsp of the ghee. Add the coarsely ground til to it and roast it for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat.
5. Mix in the milk powder and mix everything well.
6. In another vessel, mix the sugar and water and bring it to a boil. Add in the ground cardamom. For a different flavour, you could add a few drops of rose essence. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 2 – 3 minutes or till you have a slightly sticky sugar solution. (You don’t have to cook it till it forms a single string or double string syrup. The syrup shouldn’t be too thick.)
7. Pour this sugar syrup into the sesame mix. Mix the two well, and add in the remaining 1/2 tbsp of pure ghee. Start cooking the mixture on medium-low heat with constant stirring till it thickens. Check a small portion of the mixture. If it forms a ball on cooling, it means the mix has reached the setting point and you don’t need to cook it any further.
8. Transfer the milk cake mixture into the prepared tray. Spread it to a thickness of a little more than half an inch and press it down to level it. Add a garnish of chopped pistachios if you want. Then keep it aside to set.
9. After around 15 minutes, make cuts in the til mixture slab and cut rectangular shaped milk cakes from it. Let these cool completely and then store them in an airtight container.
10. The til milk cakes will stay good at room temperature for around 2 to 3 weeks.

Enjoy!