Tilkut

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A sweet savoury made in the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Tilkut is made of pounded 'tila' or sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum) and jaggery or sugar. The best tilkut is said to be from Gaya. References to this dry sweet is found in the in Buddhist literature as 'Palala'.

Normally, three types of tilkuts are available - the sugar tilkut is white in colour, the sakkar tilkut is made of unrefined sugar and is light brown in colour and the gur tilkut is made of jaggery and is dark brown in colour. Each of these varieties have their own flavour. However, the white variety made of sugar is more popular and the other two varieties are losing out. The circular shaped savoury is called tilkut and the smaller nut-sized ones are called tillouri.

Winter is the period when sugar cane is harvested. It is also the period when large quantities of tilkut are made in many towns and even villages. However, as the demand persists throughout the year, smaller quantities are made round the year.

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