Best Gujarati Mohanthal Sweet (No Mawa)
Just 6 ingredients to make a homemade Gujarati mohanthal recipe that melts in your mouth! Detailed pictures to learn the tips to make this delicious traditional sweet without mawa.
Servings: 12 pieces
Calories: 228kcal
Equipment
- 2 small pots for chaasni and heating ghee/milk mixture
- 1 heavy bottom pan for roasting besan, recommend non-stick and using a deeper pan
- 1 mithai tray for the sweet to set in
- 1 sieve to prepare the besan flour
- 1 Blender to blend the bigger chunks of besan during dhaabo
- 1 Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2½ cups coarse besan flour or ladu besan flour 325g
- 1 cup ghee 225g
- 1½ cup sugar 300g
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp whole milk total: ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (used in parts)
- 1½ cup water
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- pistachios chopped, for garnish
Instructions
Prepare flour (dhraabo)
- Add ¼ cup milk and 2 tbsp ghee to a small pot on the stove on medium heat. Mix and heat until ghee melts. Turn off gas.
- Add coarse besan flour to a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour milk and ghee mixture into center.
- You can use a spoon to initially mix the milk/ghee with the flour. Then, use your hands to mix it all together really well.
- Once well combined, pat the mixture down into the bowl. Let rest 20 minutes. Meanwhile move onto the next step of making the chaasni.
Make sugar syrup (chaasni, 1 string consistency)
- Add sugar and water to pot on stove on medium heat. Let simmer until it reaches 1 to 1.5 string consistency. See post for tips on this.
- Remove from stove and let cool to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools.
Roast / cook the coarse besan flour
- Return to the flour and crumble it into pieces. Use a small to medium sieve to sieve the flour. Any large chunks that can't be sieved should be blended.
- Grease a mithai tray or plate with ghee. Once the mixture is ready you will let it set in this tray.
- Melt ghee in pot on stovetop on low heat.
- Once melted, add coarse besan flour and mix well to combine. At first the mixture will be dark and thick. Keep mixing intermittently.
- After 8-10 minutes you will notice the mixture has lightened in color and it seems a bit fluffier and lighter.
- Keep mixing intermittently. After another 5-7 minutes the mixture will become darker again and a bit thicker.
- 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.
- 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.
- Turn off gas. Remove pan from heat and spread out in a different pan or wide bowl to cool to room temperature.
Make mohanthal
- Once the mixture is at room temperature add cardamom powder.
- Next, pour in the sugar syrup (chaasni). (It will be thicker now that it is also at room temperature).
- Mix to combine the mixture well for 2-3 minutes.
- 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.
- Place chopped pistachios on top (they will stick better to the ghee that rose to the top). Let set at least 2-3 hours. Then cut pieces using a sharp knife.
Notes
This makes 12 pieces of mohanthal that are on the bigger side. Similar to the bigger pieces you get at the mithai shop. You can definitely cut them smaller, per your preference.
The longer you let it set, the easier it will be to cut pieces as the ghee solidifies and helps set the sweet.
Nutrition
Calories: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 0.05g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 1mg | Fiber: 0.01g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.02mg