Til Chikki, Peanut Chikki and Gud Recipes: Syrup Test and Storage

Good chikki snaps cleanly, tastes of toasted nuts and caramelised jaggery, and does not stick to your teeth. The secret is one thing: cooking the jaggery syrup to the right stage. This guide gives you step-by-step recipes for peanut chikki, til chikki, til-gud laddoos and Gujarati gud papdi, explains the cold-water test for jaggery syrup in plain words, and tells you how to store each one so the batch you make for Makar Sankranti stays crisp.

Updated November 2026. Makar Sankranti 2027 falls on Friday, 15 January, so you have plenty of time to practise.

When to make chikki: Makar Sankranti 2027 and the winter season

Til and gud sweets are tied to Makar Sankranti across India: til-gul ghya, god god bola in Maharashtra, til laddoos in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, chikki and uttarayan kites in Gujarat, and ellu bella in Karnataka. According to Drik Panchang, the Sun enters Makara at 9:14 pm on Thursday, 14 January 2027 (New Delhi time), so Makar Sankranti is observed on Friday, 15 January 2027, with punya kaal from 7:15 am to 5:46 pm. Many families also make these sweets throughout winter, because sesame, peanuts and jaggery are traditional cold-weather foods.

Understanding jaggery syrup stages (the part that decides everything)

As jaggery melts and cooks, water evaporates and the syrup gets hotter and thicker. Each stage sets differently when it cools. Sugar confectioners describe these stages by temperature and by how a drop of syrup behaves in cold water; the standard chart, such as the one from the Exploratorium’s science of cooking pages, works for jaggery too, although jaggery’s impurities and moisture make it a little less precise than white sugar.

Stage	Approx. temperature	Cold-water test	Use it for
One-string (thread)	About 105–110°C	Syrup between finger and thumb forms one thin thread	Shakarpara coating, some mithai
Soft ball	About 112–116°C	Forms a soft ball that flattens when lifted out	Soft til-gud laddoos
Hard ball	About 121–130°C	Forms a firm ball that holds its shape	Firm laddoos, gud chana
Soft crack	About 132–143°C	Sets into threads that bend before breaking	Chewy chikki (usually a mistake)
Hard crack	About 149–154°C	Sets instantly into brittle threads that snap with a crack	Peanut chikki, til chikki, dry fruit chikki

How to do the cold-water test at home

1. Keep a small steel bowl of cold water next to the stove.
2. Once the jaggery is frothy and darker (usually 4–7 minutes after melting, on medium-low heat), drop half a teaspoon of syrup into the water.
3. Wait two or three seconds, then gather it with your fingers.
4. If it is soft or chewy, keep cooking and test every 30 seconds.
5. When it hardens instantly and breaks with a clean snap, and you can hear a slight crack against the bowl, the syrup is ready for chikki. Turn off the heat immediately.

Use fresh cold water for each test and let the drop cool for a moment before touching. Jaggery syrup at this stage is far hotter than boiling water and causes serious burns, so keep children well away from the stove.

Recipe 1: Classic peanut chikki

Makes: about 16 pieces. Time: 25 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (about 150 g) raw peanuts
• ¾ cup (about 150 g) grated or chopped dark jaggery
• 1 teaspoon ghee, plus extra for greasing
• 1 tablespoon water (optional, helps jaggery melt evenly)
• A pinch of cardamom powder (optional)
• A small pinch of baking soda (optional, for a lighter, more porous chikki)

Method

1. Roast the peanuts. Dry-roast on medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the skins crack and the nuts smell toasty. Cool, rub off the skins between your palms, and halve them by pressing lightly with a rolling pin.
2. Prepare the setting area. Grease the back of a steel thali or a sheet of butter paper, and a rolling pin. Keep a knife greased too.
3. Melt the jaggery. In a heavy kadai, heat the ghee, add jaggery and water, and melt on low heat, stirring.
4. Cook to hard crack. Let it bubble on medium-low. It will turn frothy, then darker. Start the cold-water test after about four minutes.
5. Finish. When it reaches hard crack, switch off the heat, add cardamom and baking soda (it will froth up), then the peanuts. Mix fast so every nut is coated.
6. Spread. Tip onto the greased surface, flatten with the greased rolling pin to about 5–6 mm thick, and shape the edges with a spatula.
7. Cut while warm. Mark squares within a minute or two, while it is still slightly soft. Break along the lines once fully cool, about 15 minutes.

Recipe 2: Til (sesame) chikki

Makes: about 20 thin pieces. Time: 20 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (about 140 g) white sesame seeds
• ¾ cup (about 130 g) grated dark jaggery
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• A pinch of cardamom powder (optional)

Method

1. Dry-roast sesame on low heat for 4–5 minutes until the seeds puff slightly and turn a shade darker. Do not let them brown; burnt til tastes bitter. Transfer to a plate.
2. Grease your thali or butter paper and rolling pin.
3. Melt ghee and jaggery in the same kadai on low heat. Cook until it reaches hard crack (cold-water test).
4. Switch off the heat, add the sesame and cardamom, and mix quickly.
5. Spread thinly, 3–4 mm, because til chikki tastes best thin. Roll fast.
6. Cut into diamonds or squares while warm and break once cool.

Tip: If the mixture hardens in the kadai before you finish rolling, place the kadai back on very low heat for 10–15 seconds to soften it slightly.

Recipe 3: Soft til-gud laddoos

Makes: about 15 laddoos. Time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sesame seeds, roasted
• ½ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
• 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut, lightly roasted
• ¾ cup grated jaggery
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

Method

1. Mix roasted sesame, peanuts and coconut in a bowl.
2. Melt ghee and jaggery on low heat. Cook only to the soft-to-firm ball stage: a drop in water should form a ball you can press, not one that cracks. This usually takes 2–3 minutes after the jaggery melts.
3. Switch off the heat, add the dry mix and cardamom, and combine.
4. Let it cool for a minute until you can handle it. Grease your palms with ghee or dip them in cold water.
5. Shape small laddoos quickly. If the mixture sets, warm it on low heat for a few seconds.

If your laddoos turn rock hard, the syrup went too far. If they will not hold shape, the syrup was undercooked; return the mixture to low heat for a minute.

Recipe 4: Gud papdi (sukhdi), the Gujarati winter staple

Gud papdi needs no syrup stage at all, which makes it the easiest recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
• ½ cup ghee
• ½ cup grated jaggery (packed), or a little more for sweeter papdi
• 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut or chopped nuts for topping (optional)

Method

1. Heat ghee in a heavy kadai, add atta and roast on low heat, stirring continuously, for 10–12 minutes until it turns light golden and smells nutty.
2. Switch off the heat and let the kadai cool for about a minute. This step matters: if the pan is too hot, the jaggery caramelises and the sukhdi turns hard.
3. Add the jaggery and mix until it melts into the flour.
4. Pour immediately into a greased tray, spread evenly, sprinkle coconut or nuts, and press lightly.
5. Cut into squares while warm. It firms up as it cools.

Variations to try

Variation	Change	Syrup stage
Dry fruit chikki	Swap peanuts for chopped almonds, cashews and pistachios	Hard crack
Rajgira (amaranth) chikki	Use puffed rajgira instead of peanuts; popular for fasting days	Hard crack, spread thin
Coconut chikki	Use dry coconut flakes, lightly toasted	Hard crack
Kurmura (puffed rice) chikki or laddoo	Use crisp puffed rice; cool syrup a few seconds before mixing	Hard ball to hard crack
Black til laddoo	Use black sesame; slightly more bitter and earthy	Soft to firm ball

Troubleshooting: why chikki goes wrong

Problem	Likely cause	Fix next time
Chikki is chewy or sticks to teeth	Syrup not cooked to hard crack, or jaggery was moist	Cook longer and test again; use dry, dark chikki gud
Chikki tastes bitter	Syrup or sesame burnt	Use lower heat and a heavy kadai; take off heat as soon as it cracks
Mixture set before spreading	Too slow after adding nuts	Keep the greased surface ready; warm the kadai for a few seconds
Chikki turned soft after a day	Humidity or a loose lid	Store in a clean, dry airtight jar away from the stove
Laddoos too hard to bite	Syrup cooked to crack stage	Stop at soft or firm ball for laddoos
Grainy texture	Stirring too much while the syrup boils	Stir to melt, then swirl gently rather than beating

Choosing the right jaggery

• Dark and dry is best for chikki. In Maharashtra and Gujarat, shops sell “chikki gud”, which has lower moisture and gives a glossy, crisp chikki.
• Avoid very pale, sticky jaggery. It often contains more moisture and may have been processed to lighten its colour.
• Check for grit. Melt a small piece in water; if sediment settles, strain the melted jaggery through a fine sieve before cooking further.
• Powdered jaggery melts faster but can scorch quickly. Use slightly lower heat.

Storage: how long each sweet lasts

Sweet	Room temperature (airtight)	Tips
Peanut chikki	About 2–3 weeks	Layer with butter paper; keep away from moisture
Til chikki	About 2–3 weeks	Thin pieces absorb moisture faster; seal well
Til-gud laddoos	About 2 weeks	Cool fully before storing to prevent sweating
Gud papdi (sukhdi)	About 1–2 weeks	Store in a steel dabba; ghee keeps it soft

These are home-kitchen estimates. In humid coastal cities such as Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata, expect a shorter crisp life; a jar kept in a cool cupboard helps. If you plan to gift chikki, pack it the day before in small airtight boxes rather than plastic bags.

A note on portions

Jaggery is less refined than white sugar but it is still mostly sugar, and chikki is calorie-dense. One or two pieces after a meal is a sensible winter treat. Anyone with diabetes should treat these as sweets and follow their doctor’s advice on portions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know the jaggery syrup is ready for chikki?

Drop a little into cold water. If it sets instantly and snaps with a crack, it has reached hard crack (about 149–154°C) and is ready. If it bends or feels chewy, cook a little longer.

Why is my chikki sticky and not crisp?

Usually the syrup was undercooked or the jaggery had too much moisture. Cook to hard crack and use dark, dry jaggery. Store it airtight so it does not absorb moisture.

Can I make chikki with sugar instead of jaggery?

Yes. Sugar brittle is cooked to the same hard-crack stage, but it tastes different and lacks jaggery’s caramel depth. Many families mix both.

Why add baking soda to chikki?

A small pinch makes the syrup foam, creating tiny air pockets that give a lighter, easier-to-bite chikki. Too much leaves a soapy taste.

When is Makar Sankranti 2027?

Makar Sankranti is observed on Friday, 15 January 2027, according to Drik Panchang for New Delhi. The Sun enters Makara at 9:14 pm on 14 January.

How long does homemade chikki last?

About two to three weeks in an airtight jar at room temperature, less in humid weather.

Start with one small batch

Make a half batch of peanut chikki this weekend and practise the cold-water test until you can recognise hard crack by sight and sound. Once you have that, every other recipe here is a variation, and your Sankranti tray will be ready well before 15 January.