Mohanthal or Mohan thal is a rich Indian sweet dish primarily made from chickpea flour or gram flour. It has a nutty, aromatic and warming flavour with a special grainy texture and is a traditional Gujarati mithai. This particular mohanthal is set into beautiful orange color squares but you can also prepare dhilo (lachko) or loose mohanthal that can be enjoyed with a scoop of ice cream or lachha rabdi. This particular sweet recipe has been passed down from my Grandma so you can be assured the recipe and techniques are authentic! She was always particular about the taste, texture and shape. Yes shape too! Mohanthal should resemble square tall cubes and not in thin slices. Also, she loves the haveli no mohanthal (being a Vaishnav) which is considered to be the best. As this recipe hails from Gujarat in India, there are some features of Mohanthal that make it specifically unique to there. This traditional dessert is also prepared in Rajasthan too. These are the distinct features of perfect traditional Gujarati Mohanthal:
The Mohanthal should be thick and have height The colour should be similar to terracotta The addition of Mace powder is a MUST for Gujarati Mohanthal
There are some similarities but also obvious differences between Indian sweets that are made with gram flour. Recipes with besan include: Besan ladoo Besan halwa Ghotma ladoo Meethi Boondi or ladoo Mysore pak Besan barfi Magas
Difference between Mohanthal and Magas
Mohanthal and Magas/Magaj have the same ingredients, however, the method of preparation is slightly different. Mohanthal is made with a prepared sugar syrup but in magas, we don’t make a sugar syrup but use caster sugar directly. In Magas, we don’t add mawa. Both these differences do impart a unique taste to each sweet, so it is worth noticing the differences.
Difference between Mohanthal and Besan Barfi
Mohanthal and Besan barfi, both are traditional Indian dessert, however mohanthal mithai texture is danedar (granular texture) and crumbly and besan barfi smooth in texture. In besan barfi, we do not “shorten” the besan flour first (the first method where we mix and rub together besan and ghee). Besan burfi has a smooth mouth feel and a melt-in-mouth texture. Besan barfi is a yellow golden colour and not a reddish/golden brown color like mohanthal.
Serving suggestion
Mohanthal is mostly known as a Diwali sweet and is prepared during the festive season. In Gujarat, it will also be served at weddings, in temples, and at other religious occasions
Ingredients
This list includes all ingredients you will need to make Mohanthal and also includes variations/tips for each of the ingredients Gram flour – aka chickpea flour or regular besan. I have used the fine variety of gram flour for this recipe. If you use coarse gram flour, then you can skip the initial step of “shortening” or “Dharbo/Dhabo Devo” and roast the coarse besan directly. Ghee – for rich flavour I have used homemade ghee. If you use shop-bought ghee, you may find that you need to use more ghee than we have used. Milk – whole milk. You can use also semi-skimmed milk too Sugar – granulated white sugar to make the sugar syrup Mawa/Khoya – We have used homemade mawa. If you do not use or have mawa, then add the equivalent of extra ghee. Mawa makes Mohanthal moist and soft and gives a creaminess. This is more common in Rajasthani Mohanthal but is definitely used in the Gujarati recipe too – particulaly areas of Gujarat that border Rajasthan. Cardamom Powder to flavour the sweets. Mace Powder – a must for Gujarati Mohanthal, it lends the distinct and unique taste for Gujarati Mohanthal. Saffron – saffron strands Slivered nuts – pistachio and slivered almonds. You can add other nuts should you wish.
Vegan and sugar-free Mohanthal
Classic Mohanthal is best prepared with dairy products however, it can be made vegan. Replace ghee with vegan butter or ghee (known as vegetable ghee or dalda). Use any plant milk for dhabo step, (for gluten-free version use any nut or rice milk) and skip khoya or use soya milk powder. To make refined sugar free Mohanthal, one can use jaggery or for sugar-free other sweeteners such as stevia that is natural with zero calories. (please note that using jaggery does not make Mohanthal sugar free)
How to make the best Mohanthal + Tips
Whenever you try new dishes for the first time, make in small quantity to begin with. Keep extra ingredients of the same recipe on the side, so if any mishaps whilst making the dish occur, you can use those ingredients to salvage it. Always use quality and pure ingredients to yield excellent results. Warm ghee and milk should be used to laminate the flour – cold ghee and milk will not give the same texture that is required. Use heavy-based pan, kadai or nonstick pan that is wide, so you can stir the mixture freely and less chance of the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan. Roast the flour properly on low heat. High heat will burn the flour but will still taste raw, so patience is best here! Stir continuously so the flour roasts uniformly. Besan mixture will initially go thick, then as the moisture disappears, the mixture will froth (see video recipe). When the flour has set, you’ll be left with a silken mixture with a terracotta colour. If the sugar syrup isn’t cooked properly, you may get chewy Mohanthal. Do not compromise on using ghee but using too much will cause issues too, so stick to the given amount.
How to set?
How to cut set Indian Mithai?
Storage
Other Diwali mithai/sweets recipes
1. Habshi halwa First, take besan in a big and wide plate or large mixing bowl. Add warm milk and ghee, and mix it with a spoon or hands. Make sure all the liquid is nicely absorbed into the flour, just the way you rub butter and flour to make basic pastry or crumble. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. This step ensures you get crumbly pieces to achieve that danedar or grainy textured mohanthal. Next, take a not too fine or large hole sieve and sift or pass through ‘Dharbo’ flour. You may have to give little extra pressure on the grains. If you don’t have a sieve, carefully grind the ‘Dharbo’ flour in a coffee grinder or food processor but make sure to keep a coarse mixture.
Cook the Dhabo/Dharbo (crumbly flour)
Optional – Mix warm water and sugar in a pan and leave it aside to make chasni later. Heat ghee in a kadai, add sifted flour and start roasting the flour. Keep on low-medium heat and stir the mixture all the time. Once the mixture combines, it will go thicken and you may slightly find it difficult to stir – keep going. After 8-10 minutes you’ll see the mixture getting thinner and frothy because whatever moisture is in the flour is reducing at this stage Keep stirring, the mixture will start turning beige then pinkish to almost caramel or almond skin colour. This process will take another 7-8 minutes or more (keep heat low) Once you have roasted besan, the froth will automatically disappear. Turn off the heat. Add khoya or mawa and mix well. Mawa doesn’t need too much heat so it will cook directly in the hot besan mixture. Remove the pan from the heat, but still keep stirring as pan stays hot and it may burn the mixture or you can remove it into another plate. Add cardamom powder, mace and saffron threads to flavour the mohanthal and mix well to incorporate. At this stage, the mixture should be like loose halwa but not stiff.
Third step to make sugar syrup (chasni)
Mix water and sugar in a sauce pan, bring it to boil on medium heat. Cook the syrup until it reaches one and half 1 1/2 thread consistency. Turn off the heat straight away. If using food colour and rose water add now and mix.
How to prepare sugar syrup
The sugar syrup consistency of gujarati mohanthal can really make or break the mohanthal. If it is undercooked then mohanthal won’t set, if overcooked it will turn rock solid. We must cook syrup to right consistency. Place a drop of hot syrup between your thumb and index finger and slowly pull your fingers apart – we are looking for a 1 and hald string or single thread consistency. (Basically just a little more than a one-string consistency) If you end up overcooking, then add a little water and do not cook any longer. If using a cooking candy thermometer, go for around 102/105C.
Fourth step to set and cut the mohanthal
As soon as sugar syrup is done, carefully add in the roasted flour mixture and mix well. Once the mixture is properly mixed, pour and spread evenly it into the greased tray or thali and gently press it down using a spatula. Sprinkle slivered nuts and apply silver varq if using. Leave it aside to set. It will take approximately 2 hours to 8 hours (depends on the weather). Do not place it in the fridge to set. Once set cut into chosla ( Gujarati word for square pieces) carefully using a sharp knife. The Mohanthal will set best at room temperature, so leave it on the worktop away from direct sunlight. If your Mohanthal is hard, it may be because the sugar syrup is overcooked. In this case, grate the pieces using a cheese grater, add tablespoon ghee and water and cook again 2-3 minutes on low flame, however, can’t be guaranteed that you’ll have the best Mohanthal but at least it it edible. To combat this, lay a greaseproof or butter paper or parchment paper in a greased tray or baking dish. Keep the paper longer at the edges, so you can lift out easily from the tray and then cut. As the days pass you may notice the texture of mohanthal will harden – that’s normal. 2. Kala jamun 3. Moong dal ladoo 4. Almond gulkand katli 5. Bombay ice and golden halwa 6. Diwali Sweets and Snacks 7. Indian Milk Sweets/Desserts Note – This recipe was first published in 2010. The post has now been updated with more helpful content – the recipe remains the same.
