Gaya Bihar Tilkut Sesame Pressed Sweet GI Tag

Gaya in Bihar produces tilkut, a pressed sesame (til) sweet considered the finest version of this confection in India. Cooperative tilkut makers pound roasted white sesame seeds in stone mortars heated over coal fires and blend with liquid jaggery or refined sugar syrup to a semi-solid mass, then roll and press into thin rectangular slabs that set into crisp flaky sweets. The result has a deep nutty flavour sold in corrugated boxes at Gaya railway station, Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and Bihar Sharif sweet markets. Gaya tilkut holds GI tag protection. The traditional beating process requires two workers alternating pestle strokes in synchronised rhythm — a technique requiring 5-6 years to master at production pace. Cooperative manufacturers supply tilkut to Bodh Gaya monastery gift shops, pilgrimage tourism outlets, and Delhi specialty sweet stores serving the Bihar diaspora community.