Photo: Sumit Surai · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Gujarat · Dessert

Mohanthal

Traditional 1. Mohanthal recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• Besan (chickpea flour): 500g
• Ghee: 500ml (full measure, clarified butter)
• Sugar: 400g
• Milk: 100ml (½ cup)
• Mawa (khoya, optional): 100g, grated
• Cardamom seeds: 10-12, crushed coarse
• Nutmeg powder: 1g (⅛ tsp)
• Saffron strands: pinch
• Pistachios: 30g, chopped coarse
• Almonds: 30g, chopped coarse
• Cashew pieces: 30g

👩‍🍳 How to make Mohanthal

1. *Roasting besan:*
2. Heat 300ml ghee in heavy-bottomed kadai (wok) on low heat (45 seconds) until hot.
3. Add besan gradually, stirring constantly. It will look lumpy initially—this is normal.
4. Continue roasting on low heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently with wooden spatula.
5. As you stir, besan will gradually become smooth, then light, then start releasing aroma.
6. Visual cue: After 12 minutes, besan should be light-colored, fluffy, and smell nutty (toasted aroma).
7. When you tilt kadai, besan should flow like sand—NOT thick like paste.
8. Turn off heat.
9. *Sugar syrup:*
10. In another pan, combine sugar and 150ml water on high heat.
11. Stir until sugar completely dissolves (2-3 minutes).
12. Bring to boil. Boil for 5-7 minutes.
13. Sugar syrup should reach one-thread consistency: When cooled slightly and pulled between fingers, forms a single thread that breaks (not dropping as liquid).
14. This is critical—use a sugar thermometer if available: 110-115°C.
15. *Combining:*
16. Remove sugar syrup from heat. Slowly add roasted besan to syrup while stirring constantly.
17. Mixture will combine with some lumps initially—continue stirring vigorously.
18. In a separate small bowl, warm 100ml milk. Add mawa (if using) and mix well.
19. When besan-sugar mixture is uniform, remove from heat.
20. Add remaining 200ml ghee in 2-3 batches, stirring well after each addition. Mixture should become glossy.
21. Add the mawa-milk mixture. Stir vigorously until fully combined.
22. Add crushed cardamom seeds, nutmeg powder, and saffron. Mix well.
23. Mixture should look grainy/crumbly (like wet breadcrumbs), not smooth.
24. *Setting:*
25. Add 20g pistachios, 20g almonds, and all cashew pieces. Stir well.
26. Immediately pour onto a buttered tray (size: 25cm × 20cm) or into a pan.
27. Smooth top with buttered spatula. Don't compress too hard—should look fluffy.
28. Let cool at room temperature for 1 hour.
29. Refrigerate for 5 hours (or overnight) until firm but still soft to touch.
30. Cut into 2.5cm × 2.5cm squares using a sharp knife (dip knife in warm water between cuts for clean edges).
31. Garnish top of each piece with remaining pistachios and almonds.
32. Besan: Nutty aroma, sandy texture when tilted
33. Syrup: One-thread consistency, forms thread when pulled
34. Mixture: Grainy, light-colored, glossy
35. Final: Melts on tongue, crumbly texture

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