Sesame seed squares

Fusion cooking, Quick Recipes, Recipes for children, Saatvik food recipes, Women's Health Recipes

Women of all virtues are regarded as goddesses in our society even today, we could find men treating his worldly-wise mother as Sarasawathi, the goddess of wisdom & knowledge, his caring wife as Durga Devi, the goddess of strength & protection, and his lively daughter as Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. Our prime minister, a devotee of goddess Durga, inducted a righteous woman into his cabinet of ministers as the national defence minister. We could also find several references in our ancient literature that stress the need for the respect of women in unequivocal terms.

Thiruvalluvar, an enlightened sage who lived in 300 BC, wrote about the eternity of values to be followed by kings, men & women in all walks of life in Tamil (the oldest language in the world) and compiled Thirukkural, the greatest Tamil literary masterpiece known till today. Interestingly he did not miss to highlight the women power in his classic text 2000 years ago as below:

Screenshot-Thirukural Sesame seed squares
Meaning: Even the rain will fall at the command of a dutiful woman.

Today, on the day of International Women’s day, let’s celebrate womanhood by preparing sesame seed squares with sesame seeds & dates, the most nourishing ingredients for women, young or old. Since all the plant seeds are packed with key ingredients essential to generate life for new plants, they are also beneficial to women for their fertility or pregnancy nutrition. Sesame seeds are enriched with zinc contributing to fertility, calcium required for strong bones and iron prevents anaemia, the most common mineral deficiency among women. We all know that the dates good sources of iron (0.9 mg) but sesame seeds have 14.76 mg of iron. Here I used dates mainly as a sweetener and also as a binder.

Ayurvedic properties of sesame seeds:

Sesame seed oil is of great importance in Ayurvedic treatments particularly as a massaging oil for its deep penetrating quality.

Taste (Rasa): Sweet (mathura) & bitter (tikta)
Qualities (Guna): Strong & penetrating (teekshana)
Clear (vishada) -calms mind after oil bath
Heaviness (guru)- causes satiety
Potency (Veerya):  Hot (Ushna)- ideal during winter/ monsoon.
Action (Karma): Balances Kapha & vata,
but faintly increases pitta
Benefits: Maintains youthfulness (vayasthapana)
Improves intelligence (medhakara)
Improves memory (smrithikara)
Improves strength & immunity (balakara)
Improves digestion (deepana)

Sesame seeds nutrion data according to USDA:

It seems black sesame seeds are more nourishing than white/ red sesame seeds as black sesame seeds have more calcium than other sesame seeds.

Sesame seeds100 gDaily requirement
Calcium989 mg99%
Iron14.76 mg112%
Zinc7.16 mg82%
sesame-dates Sesame seed squares
Dates as sweetner

Sugar-free sesame seed squares recipe:

We can prepare sesame seed squares by refrigerating the dough for few hours, or we can just roll the dough into balls instantly as shown below. Sesame seed balls/ squares may be served as snacks for children, but I would like to take these hearty squares as a meal itself.

sesame-laddu-1 Sesame seed squares

I have prepared 2 types of sesame fudges, one with white sesame seeds & other seeds and the other with black sesame seeds, chocolate & dried fruits. Now let us look into the recipe for both the sesame squares as below:

sesame-seeds-squares Sesame seed squares
Chocolate sesame square & plain sesame square

Ingredients:

Sesame seed squareFruity sesame fudge
1/2 cup of white sesame seeds 1/2 cup of black sesame seeds
1/2 cup of pitted dates1/2 cup of pitted dates
2 tbsp of cocoa powder
A pinch of dried ginger powderA pinch of dried ginger powder
A pinch of cardamom powderA pinch of cardamom powder
1/4 tsp of toasted black sesame seeds1/4 tsp of toasted white sesame seeds
Pumpkin seedsSweetened dried cherries (chopped)
Sunflower seedsDried apricots (chopped)
Melon seedsSweetened dried pineapple (chopped)
sesame-dates-tile-1 Sesame seed squares

Preparation of sesame seed squares:

  • Dry roast sesame seeds and leave aside to cool them down.
  • Meanwhile microwave dates after sprinkling some water for 2 min and make a puree using blender.
  • Grind roasted sesame seeds into fine powder.
  • Add sesame seeds powder, dates puree & cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and knead into a soft dough.
  • Sprinkle white sesame seeds & chopped fruits and mix well.
  • Transfer the dough to a greased container and press with the back of a flat ladle to level the surface.
  • Sprinkle chopped fruits over the dough and press again with a spoon.
  • Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
  • Transfer the chilled dough to a tray and cut into squares.
sesame-seeds-bar Sesame seed squares
Chocolate sesame seed squares recipe

Tips & Tweaks:

  • We can prepare the same with white sesame seeds as below.
nutty-sesame-seeds-bars Sesame seed squares
Plain sesame seed squares recipe
  • I have packed the dough up to the height of 1″ inside the container, it won’t look nice if you increase the depth of squares.
sesame-tips1 Sesame seed squares
  • You may immerse the box in warm water for few minutes to invert the chilled dough onto a tray easily.
sesame-tips2 Sesame seed squares

132 comments on “Sesame seed squares”Add yours →

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  1. Lovely read! Looks delicious especially the fruity fudge.Interestingly blogged dear Megala as usual. Have a wonderful weekend 😀

      1. You’re welcome Megala and not sure if I told you that your blog icon bearing your initial first drew me to it. It looks like a flower or a mandala.

        1. Oh, nice to hear this. And yes, the icon is somewhat like a mandala art popularly known as Rangoli here in India, normally drawn (using colored flour) on the floor at the entrance of our homes. I’m glad that this rangoli design draws your attention. 🙂
          Thanks a lot.

  17. Love your posts with detailed description in terms of Ayurveda qualities and importance of ingredients.
    I remember my mother used to prepare various dishes using sesame seeds and jaggery in winter.

    1. Yes, sesame seeds are being used in every Indian home mainly for making traditional sweets. Thank you so much for stopping by.

  22. So very interesting! Chikki is what we most commonly make using sesame seeds. I love how you have come up with two different types of desserts (nutritious too!) using sesame seeds. 🙂

  32. Such a meaningful and delicious treat! I love hearing the story behind all the ingredients here. They serve a purpose, beyond just making it wonderful to eat. 🙂

    1. Yes, it gives the clear idea of what we are taking, and how it works for us. Thank you so much. 🙂

  34. yeah, sesame seeds are very good for humans! I cook with sesame oil a lot and also make sesame noodle.
    Sesame seed squares looks great. My next adventure on the coming weekend!
    Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Megala!

  35. These are tasty, healthy and guiltfree snack bars when compared to store bought bars…loaded with goodness of sesame seeds and definitely a must try recipe✌️

  37. Delicious!!!
    Now AKSHAYAKUMBHAM Transformed into something amazing with new look and crisp features.. Please take a look, subscribe/follow and bless my blog.
    All the recipes are cooked and clicked by me only. This is a small attempt to preserve and popularise several traditional recipes.
    Posted 400+ recipes @akshayakumbham blog!
    Kindly forward to your friends n relatives!
    Please follow the blog again ☺️!!
    Thanks so much for your time at the blog!

  40. What a perfect share for international women’s day Megala! I like using dates instead of the refined sugar too.

    1. Pleasure is mine! I would love to use sesame seeds as much as possible.
      Thanks much for your constant support.

  53. Innovative! I love Ellu urudai with whole sesame seeds or powdered with jaggery. Must try this recipe.Its loaded with goodness.
    Happy Women’s Day!

  56. This looks yum. I am going to try this. ? It’s like sesame chikki without the jaggery or heating the mixture.

    1. Yes, it is too easy prepare, I think you would like these squares too. 🙂
      Thanks much!

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