Ellurundai / Black sesame seed balls is a traditional sweet that is very healthy and delicious. It requires only 3 ingredients. Karuppu ellu/Black Sesame Seeds, Karupatti/Palm Jaggery and Peanuts. I am a big fan of ellurundai right from childhood. When I visit my native place, “Chinnayapuram” during childhood days, this urundai is made in the traditional method where they pound all the ingredients in an “Ural”. It is a tedious process that is time consuming. It tastes divine with an oily texture that comes from the sesame seeds, that earthy flavor from karupatti and a crunch of roasted peanuts here and there. I miss having that! After that I got to taste my mother-in-law’s version of ellurundai which also tastes delicious, but made using a mixie and without peanuts. It was super quick. My husband loves ellurundai and I learnt to make ellurundai from my mother-in-law. It was super quick and close to what I used to have when I was a kid.

My version of making ellurundai consists of roasted peanuts. Also, I strain the karupatti syrup to remove impurities. Everyone at home, including my kids love it. Guilt-free indulgence, anytime of the day and healthy too!

Lets get making these delicious energy balls!

Ingredients

• Karuppu Ell / Black sesame seeds – 1 cup
• Karupatti / Palm Jaggery – 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (If it is pure, just break it to smaller chunks and add. Else, add less than 1/4 cup of water to the karupatti and boil, then strain it and use it).
• Peanuts – 3/4 cup (Roasted and skin removed)

Procedure

• Dry roast peanuts in low flame for 5 mins till nice aroma comes and skin starts browning.
• Cool it a bit and remove the skin and set aside.

• Dry roast black sesame seeds for 10 mins in low flame till the seeds start popping with a crackling sound. Cool it in a wide plate.

• In a mixie jar, add in the peanuts and grind it to a coarse powder. Transfer this to a mixing bowl.

• Next, add in the sesame seeds and grind it till thick.
• Add the karupatti and grind using pulse mode thrice till evenly blended.

• Transfer this to the bowl with coarsely ground peanuts.
• Mix everything until nicely combined. Taste it and add more karupatti if you want it to be sweeter. Make medium sized balls.

• Store in an airtight container.

Notes

• I usually make karupatti / palm jaggery syrup in advance and store in the refrigerator. You can use it in the place of sugar in any dish.
• You can make ellurundai without peanuts too, still tastes great.