Sim sim balls

Ingredients

The sesame

• 300 gsesame seeds
• sim sim
• hulled or unhulled
• toasted

The syrup

• 250 gsugar
• or 200 g sugar and 50 g honey
• 3 tablespoonswater
• a pinch of salt

Sometimes added

• 50 groasted groundnuts
• chopped
• a little grated ginger
• a pinch of cinnamon

To shape

• a greased tray
• or a greased board
• oiled hands
• or a rolling pin

Directions

1. Keep children and pets entirely out of the kitchen. Have a bowl of cold water ready before you start. Hold a sugar burn under cold running water. Keep it there for at least twenty minutes. Do not try to pull the hardened sugar off the skin.
2. Put the sesame seeds in a wide dry frying pan. Use no oil at all for toasting the seeds. Spread them in a single layer across the pan. Work in two batches if your pan is small. Use a moderate heat rather than a high one. Shake the pan constantly as the seeds toast. Keep them moving so none of them sit still. Never leave the pan even for a moment.
3. Take them off while they are still light golden. They keep colouring in the hot pan afterward. Tip them straight onto a cold plate to stop that. Waiting even thirty seconds too long burns them.
4. Let the toasted seeds cool on a plate. They do not need to be fully cold before use. Warm seeds mix into the caramel more easily. Just get them out of the hot pan promptly. Grease a tray or a board thoroughly with oil. There is no time once the caramel is ready.
5. Use a neutral oil and spread it generously. Put the sugar and water into a heavy saucepan. Use a genuinely heavy based pan for this. Thin pans give hot spots that burn the sugar. Use one considerably larger than it seems to need. Warm it gently until every grain has dissolved. Stir it only until it is clear, then stop. Do not let it boil before it has fully dissolved.
6. Swirl the pan gently instead if you need to. Bring the syrup to a boil and let it cook. You want a light golden amber rather than dark. Take it off the heat the moment it is right. It keeps darkening in the hot pan afterward. Tip the toasted sesame into the caramel at once. Take the pan off the heat before they go in.
7. Add them all at once rather than gradually. Stand back slightly as you add them. Stir the seeds through the caramel quickly. Stir fast until every seed is coated. Use a sturdy wooden spoon rather than a light one. It becomes genuinely stiff within a minute. Stir in chopped groundnuts or spices if using. Add them at the same time as the sesame. Have them ready and measured before you start.
8. Tip the hot mixture onto the greased tray. Work quickly, since it sets within minutes. Spread it out a little with the wooden spoon. Do not touch it with your hands while it is hot.
9. Let it cool until it can just be handled. That takes about two or three minutes. Oil your hands and roll the mixture into balls. Oil your hands well before you touch it. The mixture sticks fiercely to dry hands. Take a small amount and roll it firmly.
10. Make them about the size of a walnut. You have only a couple of minutes to shape them. Work fast and shape them all in one go. Press the whole mixture flat with a greased rolling pin. Then cut it into bars while it is still warm.
11. Score the bars while the mixture is still soft. Score it deeply before it sets completely. Let the shaped balls cool completely and harden. They set hard within about half an hour. Keep them in an airtight container once cold. An airtight tin keeps them crisp for weeks. Keep them sealed and away from any damp.

Technique

• Caramel reaches temperatures far above boiling water, sticks to skin instantly and keeps burning — this is the most dangerous stage of the recipe. Never touch or taste it hot, keep children out of the kitchen, and have cold water ready. For a sugar burn, hold it under cold running water at least twenty minutes and do not try to pull the hardened sugar off; seek medical help for anything beyond very minor.
• Sesame burns extremely quickly, going from golden to black in under a minute. Shake the pan constantly, never leave it, and tip the seeds onto a cold plate while still light golden — they keep colouring in the hot pan, and burnt sesame ruins the whole batch.
• Sesame is a recognised major allergen and this sweet is almost entirely sesame; if you add roasted groundnuts, say so clearly too, since they are easily missed among the seeds.

Substitutions

• Fifty grams of the sugar can be replaced with honey. Chopped roasted groundnuts, a little grated ginger or a pinch of cinnamon are all added in some versions and go in at the same moment as the sesame.
• Press the mixture flat with a greased rolling pin and score it into bars while still warm rather than rolling balls — far easier, and both forms are genuinely sold in Uganda. Snap the bars apart once fully hardened, since cutting set brittle just shatters it.

Variations

• Grease the tray and have everything measured before you start the caramel: once it is ready the mixture sets within a couple of minutes and there is no time to prepare anything.
• Stop stirring the syrup as soon as the sugar has dissolved, swirling the pan instead if needed — stirring a boiling syrup encourages crystallisation. Take it off at light golden amber, since dark caramel is bitter and overwhelms the sesame while pale caramel will not set firm, and the colour changes in seconds at the end.
• Let it cool two or three minutes until warm and pliable rather than hot, test with one fingertip, then oil your hands well before rolling — the mixture sticks fiercely to dry hands. Store them airtight with greaseproof between layers, since they absorb moisture and go sticky in humid weather.

History

Sold in northern Uganda markets and at bus stops, made from the sesame grown across Acholi and Lango.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sim sim balls?

Sim sim balls is a snack from Uganda: sesame seeds bound with caramelised sugar into hard sweet bars. Sold in northern Uganda markets and at bus stops, made from the sesame grown across Acholi and Lango.

How long does Sim sim balls take to make?

Sim sim balls takes 15 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 20. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Sim sim balls?

Yes, within limits. Fifty grams of the sugar can be replaced with honey. Chopped roasted groundnuts, a little grated ginger or a pinch of cinnamon are all added in some versions and go in at the same moment as the sesame. Press the mixture flat with a greased rolling pin and score it into bars while still warm rather than rolling balls — far easier, and both forms are genuinely sold in Uganda. Snap the bars apart once fully hardened, since cutting set brittle just shatters it.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sim sim balls?

Keep children and pets entirely out of the kitchen. Have a bowl of cold water ready before you start. Hold a sugar burn under cold running water. Keep it there for at least twenty minutes. Do not try to pull the hardened sugar off the skin.