Desi baklava

The slight nip in the air every winter is a reminder to soak in the sun and for “tilgul ghya, goad goad bola”. The sweet, nutty aroma of roasted sesame seeds wafts in the air, as tilgul ladoos and tilachi vadis are doled out with love in kitchens across Maharashtra. Last year, while whipping up tilachi vadis — a sablé-like confection of jaggery, sesame and peanuts — ahead of Makar Sankranti, Navi Mumbai-based home baker Medha Inamdar had set aside some of the basic mixture. “I always have a huge stock of phyllo dough as I bake. So, I thought, ‘Why not use the tilachi vadi mix in the phyllo and see if it works?’ I made 20-odd pieces, and sent them out to a close friend, who posted a picture of the baklava online and I was flooded with calls,” recalls the founder of PieceO’Cake about how she made tilgul baklava on a whim.

Medha Inamdar