Name: Punjabi Til Bugga
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ¼ cup Sesame Seeds, white, washed and dried; ¼ cup Khoya, mawa, crumbled; ⅛ cup Powdered Sugar, boora or tagar preferred; 1 tbsp Mixed Nuts, almonds and cashews, chopped; ¼ tsp Ground Cardamom; ½ tbsp Ghee, for roasting khoya

30 mintotal

Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: None

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Ingredients

¼ cupSesame Seedswhite, washed and dried
¼ cupKhoyamawa, crumbled
⅛ cupPowdered Sugarboora or tagar preferred
1 tbspMixed Nutsalmonds and cashews, chopped
¼ tspGround Cardamom
½ tbspGheefor roasting khoya

Quantities are for 2 servings.

You'll need: Stovetop.

No inactive time is required, but the roasted khoya must cool from hot to warm before sugar is mixed in.

Method

Use a heavy-bottomed pan and keep the heat low. Dry-roast the white sesame seeds for 4-5 minutes. The seeds should puff slightly and smell nutty without browning. Remove immediately to a neutral plate.
4–5 min
Let the roasted sesame seeds cool completely. Divide the batch in two: grind half of it coarsely in a blender and leave the other half whole. Using both is what gives the bugga its texture.
Re-use the pan and liquefy the ghee. Add the crumbled khoya (mawa) mass. Roast on low heat for 5-7 minutes. The protein block must yield, releasing minimal internal lipids and projecting a deeply caramelized, savory-sweet fragrance.
5–7 min
Turn off the heat. Let the roasted khoya cool from hot to warm before adding the sugar.
Dump the chemically refined powdered sugar (boora), the blendd sesame dust, the intact toasted sesame spheres, the roughly fractured nut shards, and the cardamom directly into the tepid khoya mixture.
Mix firmly by hand. You must rub and smear the mixture between your palms, forcing the sugar crystals to dissolve and blend with the lipid-rich khoya and sesame.
Extract portions of the resulting mixture. Press firmly to shape them into evenly round ladoos or flat pedas. Let them cool and set at room temperature.

How to tell it's done

The sweet should be dense and fudgy, with coarse sesame crunch and enough khoya to bind without turning greasy.

Getting it right

Tip

Add powdered sugar only when the khoya is warm, not hot. Hot khoya melts the sugar and makes the mixture too loose to shape.

What to serve it with

Serve til bugga for Lohri or Makar Sankranti with warm milk, or pack it with rewri and gajak.

Common mistakes

The til bugga will not hold shape.: Let the khoya cool to warm before adding sugar and press the mixture firmly while shaping.

Storing and reheating

Refrigerate til bugga in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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