Til Wala Ladoo (Sesame Jaggery Balls)

The binding here is gur, jaggery, and it changes everything about the taste. Refined sugar gives you sweetness and nothing else. Jaggery gives you sweetness with a deep, almost smoky warmth underneath it, and it keeps the ball tender instead of glassy. The sesame is toasted first, the gur is melted to the right stage, the two are mixed and the balls are rolled before the mixture firms up. Roll too late and they will not hold. Roll too early and you burn your palms, which every maker has done exactly once.

Til and gur are both real foods, and this is still a sweet. Jaggery is sugar with a better flavour and a few minerals along for the ride; your body treats most of it the same way. One ladoo with evening tea is the traditional portion and it is enough. These are winter energy, made for cold days and working hands, not an all-day grazing snack.

A good til ladoo gives slightly when you press it, then breaks into a fragrant, seedy middle. A ball that is rock hard was made with overcooked gur or has been sitting too long. A ball that crumbles to dust was rolled too cool. Keep the pack airtight, cool and dry. Jaggery sweets soften in heat and draw moisture in damp weather, so a sealed jar away from the stove is the right home. They keep well for several weeks stored that way. The rest of the til family, rewri and til lai, sits alongside in our sweet snacks collection, and the full range is priced in the price list.

Is til ladoo made with sugar or gur? Ours is the jaggery style, as the name on the pack says: toasted sesame bound with gur. That is what gives it the softer bite and the warmer taste.

Why is it a winter sweet? Sesame and jaggery are both considered warming foods in our tradition, and the harvest season for til runs into the cold months. Mostly, though, it keeps and travels well in winter, and winter is when the tea goes around most often.

WD Foods is the online store of Wahid Nimco, Quetta, since 1990. Order til wala ladoo at Rs 1,000 a kilo, delivered across Pakistan in 3 to 5 business days. The shop on Masjid Road is open every day from 9 AM to 10 PM.