Mohanthal is a traditional Gujarati sweet prepared from besan, ghee, sugar and flavoured with saffron, cardamom, and nutmeg. This mohanthal recipe is prepared without mawa and we have shared all the tips & tricks so you can easily prepare the mohanthal this Diwali.
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¾cupminus 1 tablespoon gheein total we have used ¾ cup ghee, out of which 1 tablespoon we have mixed with besan for dhrabo
2tablespoonmilk powder
8 to 10saffron strands
1teaspooncardamom/elaichi powder
¼teaspoonnutmeg/jaiphal powderor grated jaiphal
For the garnish
1teaspoonpoppy seeds/khus khus
8-10pistachios/pistachopped
Instructions
Step 1 – Dhrabo – Mix besan, ghee and milk
Sift besan once through a fine sieve and take in a wide bowl. Make a well/hole in the center and add milk and melted warm ghee.
Mix well, first with a spoon, and then rub with your fingers or between your palms to get a crumbly texture. It will resemble breadcrumb-like texture.
Once you notice it has a crumbly texture, press it with your hands or the back of a spoon. Cover and keep this aside for half an hour. This process is called Dhrabo Devo in Gujarati. We are doing this process to get the grainy texture of the mohanthal.
Step 2 – Roasting Dhrabo mixture
After half an hour, sift this mixture through a medium-hole sieve. You can crumble the mixture between your palms to break the lumps, so passing the mixture through the sieve becomes easy.
Heat ¾ cup minus 1 tablespoon ghee in a pan on medium flame. In total, we have used ¾ cup ghee, out of which 1 tablespoon we have mixed with besan for dhrabo.
Once ghee starts melting or becomes little warm, add besan mixture to it. Do not let the ghee become too hot, otherwise, there will be a typical smell in your mohanthal.
Immediately start stirring and keep mixing. Cook on low-medium flame for 10-12 minutes and keep stirring continuously. Cook this mixture on a low flame till it becomes brown in colour and fragrant. It will also become light and airy, which you will notice while stirring. Keep stirring continuously till it is done.
Switch off the flame and add 2 tablespoons of milk powder and keep stirring and mixing for about 1-2 minutes.
For elaichi powder, dry roast 10-12 elaichi/cardamom for 2 minutes on low flame. Keep stirring. Remove from flame, let it cool. Once cool, you can peel them easily to remove their seeds. Crush using a mortar and pestle.
Step 3 - For the sugar syrup
In a pan, combine sugar and water, and let it cook on a medium flame.
Once the sugar syrup becomes hot, take out a spoonful syrup in a bowl and add kesar to it. Let it sit for some time.
Once the syrup comes to a boil, reduce the flame to low and allow to simmer until you get a 1.5 string (thread) consistency. Once you notice that the syrup has thickened, switch off the flame and take out little quantity on a plate. Once it cools check the consistency.
To check, place a drop of syrup between your finger and thumb and draw them apart, you should observe one firm string and one breaking in between. That is one and a half strings.
Switch off the flame and add cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, and kesar soaked in syrup. Mix. Do not switch on the flame and cook the syrup after achieving the desired string consistency. Otherwise, syrup will become thicker.
Step 4 – Preparing Mohanthal
Immediaely add sugar syrup to the besan mixture gradually. When you add sugar syrup, besan mixture should be hot/warm, it should not be cold/room temperature. Sugar syrup should be boiling hot. Mix. Do not switch on the flame while doing this process.
Pour this mixture into a greased plate/tin, sprinkle chopped pista and khus khus. Let it cool down for 10 minutes. Once it sets a bit, cut it into square pieces. We just have to make square markings so that it becomes easy to remove the pieces once it is cooled.
Do not remove the pieces at this stage. Now let it set.
Once it is set, again run the knife through the markings and cut it into square pieces. Remove the pieces and store them in an air-tight container.
Video
Notes
Warm ghee and room temperature milk – For the dhrabo process, make sure the ghee is warm and the milk is at room temperature.
Do not let the ghee become too hot before adding the besan mixture: while adding besan mixture to ghee for roasting, add it immediately once the ghee starts melting or becomes a little warm. Do not let the ghee become too hot, otherwise, there will be a typical smell in your mohanthal.
Add milk powder only after switching off the flame: Switch off the flame before adding milk powder and keep mixing for about 1-2 minutes. But add it immediately after you notice that the mixture is roasted well.
Adding sugar syrup to the roasted besan mixture: when you add sugar syrup, the besan mixture should be hot/warm, it should not be cold/room temperature. Sugar syrup should be boiling hot. Do not switch on the flame while doing this process.
Do not skip the dhrabo process: the process is done to acquire the grainy texture of mohanthal.
Sift the besan: before you proceed with the dhrabo process, sift the besan and then use it.
Sugar Syrup: Do not switch on the flame and cook the syrup after achieving the desired string consistency. Otherwise, the syrup will become thicker.