All Natural HOME STLYLE Sesame Balls (Thala Guli) 5oz

WHAT IS THALA GULI (Sesame Balls)?

Thala guli (තල ගුලි), gingelly balls, gingelly rolls, thala bola, thala kerali! Several names for one delicious recipe, no white sugar and no gluten. One of Sri Lanka‘s most famous treats!

Several names and only two shapes: small balls and small rolls. Thala or tala (තල) means “sesame” in Sinhalese and guli (ගුලි) means “balls”.

WHAT IS KITHUL?

Today, we are rediscovering a small miraculous seed, sesame, and the most popular sweeteners in Sri Lanka: kithul treacle and palm sugar (jaggery).

Kithul is the Sri Lankan name given to a variety of palm trees scientifically known as caryota urens that grows in Southeast Asia and especially in the humid regions of Sri Lanka and southern India. It is a species of the palm family in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India. It grows naturally in the wild, in forests, fields, and even in private and family gardens.

WHAT IS KITHUL TREACLE?

It is made from the sap that is extracted from the stem of the flower. This juice, brought to a boil, gives a brown syrup with a slightly caramelized taste. This sweetener has the benefit of being a little less caloric than conventional sugar. This syrup is actually a mixture of equal parts of three sugars: fructose, glucose and sucrose. Our body would keep less of this syrup, a definite health benefit!

In addition, its vitamin B, vitamin C, calcium and iron content fares very well compared to white beet or cane sugar.

It is actually the same sweetener that is used to prepare another popular Sri Lankan treat called kalu dodol.

THE HISTORY OF SESAME

In many countries around the world, this small seed is considered the symbol of immortality and is one of the first oilseeds known to mankind.

It is a herbaceous plant native to India and Africa, Sesamum indicum. There are two types of sesame seeds: black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are a valuable source of nutrients enclosed in such a tiny seed.

We should learn to exploit these little gems more often! Not only because they enrich and complement our dishes, but especially because they hide, indeed, a great treasure of nutritious benefits. Like their oilseed cousins, including sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts, or pistachios, sesame seeds are rich in unsaturated fatty acids. They are indeed healthy. Rich in calcium, sesame seeds have many other properties starting with helping maintain good cardiovascular health.

The sesame plant is currently grown mainly in India, China and Burma, but is also found in Greece and parts of southern Italy.