How to make the Best Mohanthal: Gujarati Mohanthal Recipe
Mohanthal is a popular traditional Gujarati dessert prepared during Navratri and Diwali festivals. It has a unique signature loose grainy texture. This Mohanthal recipe is prepared with coarse chickpea flour which gives it a perfectly grainy texture!
Ingredients
Ingredients for laminating the besan
- 2 cups Ladu Besan (coarse gram flour)
- 1 ½ tablespoon Milk (for lamination)
- 2 tablespoon Ghee (for lamination)
Ingredients for cooking Mohanthal
- ⅔ cup Ghee
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 1 ½ cup Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- A pinch Nutmeg
- Nuts to garnish
Instructions
- In a big bowl prepare Besan by mixing milk and ghee to it. Then rub it between your hands until it all becomes crumbly.
- Sieve it using a coarse mesh. Process the crumbly Besan left behind in the sieve using a food processor and sieve again.
- Add ghee into a heavy bottom pan. As the ghee melts, add the prepared Besan.
- Roast the Besan on low -medium heat, until it becomes aromatic and starts leaving ghee ( golden brown in color). It should take a good 20 -25 minutes. Keep stirring the Besan regularly throughout the roasting process.
- Now, add half of the milk while stirring quickly. Keep roasting the Besan, till all the moisture from milk is lost and Besan becomes dry and starts to leave ghee again.
- Then, add the leftover milk and keep roasting till Besan becomes crispy and starts to leave ghee again. Now, switch off the flame.
- Somewhere towards the end of the roasting process, prepare the sugar syrup by mixing sugar with ¾ cup of water.
- Bring it to boil and add a tablespoon of milk to separate the impurities. Skim the dirt (if present)from the sugar syrup using a ladle. Again bring the syrup to a boil and skim the leftover impurities. Repeat till the clear syrup is obtained.
- We are looking to get a 1 ½ string consistency syrup. Once ready add, cardamom powder and nutmeg to the syrup.
- Now, add the sugar syrup to the roasted Besan and mix thoroughly till all the syrup is absorbed.
- Into a greased tray take out the Mohanthal and spread evenly, leveling and smoothing using a spatula.
- Sprinkle chopped nuts over the top and press them gently.
- Let the Mohanthal rest at room temperature for about 2-3 hours.
- Cut it into the small pieces and serve.
- It can be stored in an airtight container at a cool place in your kitchen for about a week.
Notes
- Roasting Besan can be a tiring process in itself let it alone be a big batch. So, for the first-timers or making for small families, I suggest to scale down the recipe by half.
- Make sure that the milk added to laminate the Besan is at room temperature. When the milk pulled out directly from the fridge is poured over ghee will harden ghee and stiff lumps of Besan will be formed. And it will become very difficult to break the lumps and achieve a uniform texture in Besan.
- If you don’t feel confident to make syrup alongside roasting Besan, just prepare the syrup before roasting the Besan and reheat before pouring into the Besan.
Alternately, you can also make syrup after you are done roasting the Besan.
- It keeps well in an airtight container for almost a week. But make sure to keep in a cool dry place.
- It can be refrigerated for up to 15 days and enjoyed.
( Please note that if you choose cut down sugar, it may not last well longer.)
Nutrition
Calories: 101kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!