Best Gujarati Mohanthal Sweet (No Mawa)

Why you will love this recipe

Ingredients

Making Mohanthal

Getting the Sugar Syrup Consistency Right

Tips

Storing

This is a family favorite recipe! My mom made it growing up. It’s definitely one of my tried and tested recipes that I love.

Mohanthal is a very popular Indian mithai, specifically made in Gujarat and Rajasthan.  This recipe is for a traditional Gujarati mithai, mohanthal.

(Note mithai means sweets so Indian mithai means Indian sweets!)

Mohanthal is made of coarse besan flour, milk, ghee, sugar, cardamom powder, and pistachios.

It is made by roasting coarse besan flour in ghee and milk to make a danedar or grainy texture very unique to the mithai.

Why is it called mohanthal? Mohan is another name for Lord Krishna and thal means plate, like thali.  So, in some areas, Mohan thal is a sweet dish believed to be Krishna’s favorite.

Mohanthal is popular to serve as a Diwali sweet or during the festive season and weddings.  Other popular Gujarati sweets include Sukhdi, Sing Pak, and Magas or Magaj.

Why you will love this recipe

• Step-by-step instructions to get the technique right
• Along with its unique melt-in-your-mouth texture, the sweet has a deep, rich flavor.
• Simple ingredients
• Vegetarian and gluten-free
• I like to make it ahead for parties and gift giving during Diwali

Main Ingredients

Coarse besan flour:  Note, this is not regular besan flour.  It is coarse ground gram flour sold in Indian stores such as Ladoo Besan or Ladu Besan Flour.  Regular besan flour is finely ground.  Make sure to get the right one.

(Besan flour is gram flour or chickpea flour)

Sugar: Regular caster sugar or white sugar is used.

Milk: Use whole milk

Ghee: Use room temperature desi ghee.

Cardamom powder: Gives a distinct taste!

Pistachios: Chopped for garnish.  Almonds can also be added. 

Optional: If you have the Indian spice, mace powder it can be added.  While it was not used in the area my family is from, there are regional variations to the sweet, and mace that can be added if you choose.

Other variations include saffron strands and rose water.  You can add it but it is not the traditional Gujarati way.

Making the Mohanthal Mithai Recipe

Prepare flour (dhrabo or dhaabo)

The unique texture of ghee-roasted besan is key to this traditional dessert.  It is achieved by using coarse besan flour and following the steps below.

Add ¼ cup milk and 2 tbsp ghee to a small pot on the stove on medium heat.  Mix and heat until the ghee melts. Turn off the gas. Image 1

Add coarse besan flour to a mixing bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour.  Pour the milk and melted ghee mixture into the center. Image 2

You can use a spoon to initially mix the milk/ghee with the flour.  Then, use your hands to mix it all well. Images 3 and 4

Once well combined, pat the besan mixture down into the bowl. Let rest for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, move on to the next step of making the chaasni. Image 5

Make sugar syrup (chaasni)

The sugar syrup consistency of Gujarati mohanthal is KEY.

Add sugar and water to a pot on the stove on medium heat.  Let simmer until it reaches 1 to 1.5 string consistency.  See the post for tips on this. Images 6 and 7

Remove from stove and let cool to room temperature.  It will thicken as it coolsUse a candy thermometer
After letting the sugar syrup simmer for a few minutes on medium use a spatula to let 5-6 drops fall off the edge.  Place the 6^th or 7^th drop of syrup on a plate.  Let it sit for 10 seconds.  Now, slightly tilt the plate.  If the drop does not move much or at all it is at the right consistency.
After letting the sugar syrup simmer for a few minutes on medium take a spoonful of the syrup and put it in a small bowl.  Give it a minute or two to come to a temperature that is safe for you to touch.  Dip a pointer finger in the syrup and touch it to your thumb.  When you pull your fingers apart it should form a string.  That is one-string consistency.  When it forms 1 string and a 2^nd that is less strong than the first that is 1.5 string consistency which is what you are looking for.

Roast / cook the coarse besan flour

Return to the flour and crumble it into pieces.  Images 8 and 9

Use a small to medium size sieve to sieve the flour. Use your hands to press chunks through the sieve. Images 10 and 11

Any large chunks should be blended to make the flour. Images 12 and 13

Grease a mithai tray or plate with ghee.  Once the mixture is ready you will let it set in this tray.

Melt ghee in a pot on the stovetop on low heat. Image 14

Once melted, add coarse besan flour and mix well to combine.  At first, the mixture will be dark and thick. Keep mixing intermittently. Image 15

After 8-10 minutes you will notice the mixture has lightened in color and it seems a bit fluffier and lighter.  Image 16

Keep mixing intermittently. After another 5-7 minutes the mixture will become darker again and a bit thicker. Image 17

Then, add 1 tbsp milk to the mixture and mix.  It will swell a bit and fluff up. Mix for 1-2 minutes until it settles down. Images 18 and 19

Repeat the procedure one more time, adding the remaining tbsp of milk.  Mix and let it cook down for 4-5 more minutes. It will have a thick, grainy texture. Images 20, 21 and 22

Turn off the gas. Remove pan from heat and spread out to cool to room temperature in another wider pan or large mixing bowl. Image 23

Make mohanthal

Once the mixture is at room temperature add cardamom powder. Image 24

Next, pour in the prepared sugar syrup (chaasni).  (It will be thicker now that it is also at room temperature). Image 25

Mix to combine the mixture well for 2-3 minutes. Image 26

Pour the mixture into the ghee-greased tray. Lightly tap the tray a few times on the countertop to help the ghee rise to the top. Image 27

Place chopped pistachios on top (they will stick better to the ghee that rose to the top). Let set for at least 2-3 hours.  Then cut pieces using a sharp knife. Images 28 and 29

Getting the sugar syrup consistency right (chaasni)

Tips: You can achieve this syrup consistency in a few ways:

1. Use a candy thermometer.

Drop method: After letting the sugar syrup simmer for a few minutes on medium use a spatula to let 5-6 drops fall off the edge.  Place the 6^th or 7^th drop of syrup on a plate.  Let it sit for 10 seconds.  Now, slightly tilt the plate.  If the drop does not move much or at all it is at the right consistency. See picture below.

Sugar strings: After letting the sugar syrup simmer for a few minutes on medium take a spoonful of the syrup and put it in a small bowl.  Give it a minute or two to come to a temperature that is safe for you to touch.  Dip a pointer finger in the syrup and touch it to your thumb.  When you pull your fingers apart it should form a string.  That is one-string consistency.  When it forms 1 string and a 2^nd that is less strong than the first that is 1.5 string consistency which is what you are looking for.

Tips

• Be mindful of the temperature of the gas.  Most of this process is done on low flame.  This ensures the besan is roasted and cooked correctly and does not burn.

• Make sure to use a pan that is deep enough when you get to the point of cooking the besan and adding milk twice.  The mixture rises and you don’t want it to overflow.

• Pay attention to the color of the besan throughout the process.  The color of the besan changes along with the coarse texture which is a big clue in the process as outlined in the steps.

• The sugar syrup consistency is important and it may take some time for you to learn.  Don’t get frustrated!  I’ll put up a longer post about learning this in the future.
• You can either use a ghee-greased plate or a parchment paper line tray to set the mohanthal.
• Use a sharp knife to cut the sweet. 

Storage

If you are making this sweet recipe as Diwali mithai or during the festival season you can make it ahead and store it for later use.

Make sure to use an airtight container.