North Indian Makar Sankranti 2026: Know How To Prepare Sesame And Makhana Ladoo For A Delicious Celebration
Know how to prepare delicious sesame and makhana ladoos at home for Makar Sankranti 2026 with this easy, healthy, and festive recipe.
(Recipe By Ashu Chugh)
Harvest season in India is a time that is celebrated in all its glory, the air turns lighter, the mood turns warmer, and kitchens become the real celebration grounds. Makarsankranti sits at that sweet intersection of tradition and renewal; India being as diverse as it is, every home leans into its own flavour vocabulary of jaggery, sesame, ghee, grains, and nostalgia. Every region has its hero dish, every household its non-negotiable sweet, every generation its own twist. It’s less about grand feasts and more about rituals that feel lived-in: slow stirring, toasting, rolling, sharing, honouring the same sentiment of abundance and fresh beginnings.
One such hallmark Sankranti favourite is the classic sesame makhana ladoo, capturing the essence of the season with elegance. This festive treat blends the nuttiness of roasted sesame with the airy crunch of makhana and the caramel warmth of jaggery, creating a texture that’s soft yet defined, rich yet never heavy. It embodies the Sankranti ethos perfectly, wholesome ingredients, minimal fuss, maximum comfort.
The recipe brings together a thoughtful mix of roasted lotus seeds, ground almonds and cashews, golden coconut, and a medley of chopped nuts folded through ghee. The fragrance alone, toasted nuts, warm cardamom, jaggery bubbling into syrup, feels like a celebration in progress. Once everything is combined, the mixture is shaped gently by hand and of course, a lot of heart. They’re satisfying without being indulgent, festive without being overly sweet, and nourishing in a way that feels both traditional and contemporary.
What makes these ladoos special isn’t just their flavour, but the ritual behind them, the act of roasting, stirring, grinding, shaping, a process that invites participation and nostalgia. Stored well, they last up to two weeks, making them ideal for gifting, snacking, or simply keeping a little Sankranti warmth on hand long after the festival has passed.
Ashu Chugh is the Executive Chef at Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort
Ingredients
- 100 Gram Makhana
- 0.5 Cup Whole Almond’s (Roasted)
- 0.5 Cup Whole Cashew (Roasted)
- 1 Cup Coconut (Desiccated)
- 4 Tablespoon Ghee
- 2 Tablespoon Cashew (Chopped)
- 2 Tablespoon Almonds (Chopped)
- 2 Tablespoon Pistachios (Chopped)
- 2 Tablespoon Raisins
- 2 Tablespoon Sesame seeds (Roasted)
- 0.5 Teaspoon Cardamom powder
- 1.5 Cup Jaggery
- 0.5 Cup Water
Cooking Instructions
Place a flat bottom kadhai over low medium heat, put makhana, stirring well until the makhana turns crunchy. Remove from heat, cool completely, and grind into a fine powder, keep aside.
In a blender, put almond, cashew and grind into a fine powder, transfer in a bowl and set aside. Simultaneously roast coconut until it turns slightly golden brown and then transfer it in the same bowl.
Melt 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan. Add chopped cashew, almonds, pistachios, raisins, stirring occasionally, until the nuts turn crunchy. Remove from heat and transfer the dry fruits into the bowl of roasted coconut. To this mixture add sesame seeds, cardamom powder and mix well.
Prepare the jaggery syrup, by adding the remaining ghee in a large kadhai, add jaggery and ½ cup water and keep stirring until the jaggery dissolves completely. Cook further until the desired consistency is attained.
Lower the heat, to this add the ready mixture and mix well to combine, transfer it on a flat surface, wait for a while, divide the mixture in equal parts, and then start preparing the ladoos by taking each part and rolling them between your greased palm
Let it cool down completely; sesame makhana ladoos can now be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Summary
Makar Sankranti 2026: Know How To Prepare Sesame And Makhana Ladoo For A Delicious Celebration
Know how to prepare delicious sesame and makhana ladoos at home for Makar Sankranti 2026 with this easy, healthy, and festive recipe.
Ingredients
- 100 Gram Makhana
- 0.5 Cup Whole Almond’s (Roasted)
- 0.5 Cup Whole Cashew (Roasted)
- 1 Cup Coconut (Desiccated)
- 4 Tablespoon Ghee
- 2 Tablespoon Cashew (Chopped)
- 2 Tablespoon Almonds (Chopped)
- 2 Tablespoon Pistachios (Chopped)
- 2 Tablespoon Raisins
- 2 Tablespoon Sesame seeds (Roasted)
- 0.5 Teaspoon Cardamom powder
- 1.5 Cup Jaggery
- 0.5 Cup Water
Main Procedure
Place a flat bottom kadhai over low medium heat, put makhana, stirring well until the makhana turns crunchy. Remove from heat, cool completely, and grind into a fine powder, keep aside.
In a blender, put almond, cashew and grind into a fine powder, transfer in a bowl and set aside. Simultaneously roast coconut until it turns slightly golden brown and then transfer it in the same bowl.
Melt 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan. Add chopped cashew, almonds, pistachios, raisins, stirring occasionally, until the nuts turn crunchy. Remove from heat and transfer the dry fruits into the bowl of roasted coconut. To this mixture add sesame seeds, cardamom powder and mix well.
Prepare the jaggery syrup, by adding the remaining ghee in a large kadhai, add jaggery and ½ cup water and keep stirring until the jaggery dissolves completely. Cook further until the desired consistency is attained.
Lower the heat, to this add the ready mixture and mix well to combine, transfer it on a flat surface, wait for a while, divide the mixture in equal parts, and then start preparing the ladoos by taking each part and rolling them between your greased palm
Let it cool down completely; sesame makhana ladoos can now be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
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