Sips & Sweets · No onion or garlic
No-Bake Date Sesame Bites
No-bake bite-size sweets made from soft dates, toasted sesame seeds, almonds and cardamom, rolled into small balls. Ready in 20 minutes.
- Prep 15 min
- Cook 8 min
- Total 23 min
- Makes 14 bites
Photo: Til Ke Laddu Recipe A Traditional Dessert Of Indian Cuisine by Sonia Goyal Jaipur, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Bites are round Indian sweets, and there are hundreds of kinds. Til ladoo, made with sesame and jaggery (unrefined cane sugar), are traditional around the winter festival of Makar Sankranti. This easy no-cook version uses soft dates to bind toasted sesame seeds and almonds, so there is no sugar syrup to fuss over.
They taste toasty, nutty and caramel-sweet, with a gentle scent of cardamom. Small ones are just right with an afternoon cup of tea or as a little sweet after a light dinner. Medjool dates make the softest, stickiest mixture.
These bites are a good project for small helpers in the kitchen. Once the toasting is done and the mixture is cool, rolling the balls is easy and satisfying, and coating them in sesame seeds is the fun part. Make them on a weekend, store them in a tin, and you will have a small, ready sweet for the week. A tablespoon-size ball is about right; they are rich, and one or two is plenty.
The recipe
Ingredients
Bites
Method
- Toast the 1/2 cup sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden and starting to pop. Transfer to a plate. Toast the extra 2 tablespoons separately for rolling.
- In the same pan, toast the almonds for 4 to 5 minutes, until fragrant. Let everything cool for 5 minutes.
- Pulse the almonds in a food processor until coarsely ground, like rough sand with a few small pieces.
- Add the dates, the 1/2 cup toasted sesame, cardamom and salt. Process for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides, until the mixture clumps together into a sticky dough.
- Rub your palms with a little ghee. Scoop level tablespoons of the mixture and roll firmly into smooth balls.
- Roll each bite in the reserved toasted sesame seeds to coat. Let them firm up for 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
Kitchen notes
- If your dates are dry, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes and pat dry before processing.
- Add 2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut or chopped pistachios for variety.
- Sesame burns quickly; keep the heat low and stir the whole time.
Storing and reheating
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
To serve alongside
Serve with Warm Saffron Almond Milk or a cup of masala chai.
A gentle note: this recipe is shared for cooking enjoyment only. It is not medical or dietary advice. If you have allergies or specific dietary needs, check every ingredient label and adapt the recipe to suit you.
