Recipe - Easy Way To Make Mohanthal

Mohanthal is a traditional Indian sweet especially famous in the state of Gujarat. It is particularly made during Janmashtmi and offered to Lord Krishna. Mohanthal is a fudge made from roasting gram flour (besan) in ghee (clarified butter). This mixture is finally mixed with sugar syrup and allowed to set. It is very similar to Besan Barfi or Mysore Pak.

This is an easy recipe, the only thing you need to be careful about is the sugar syrup, it shouldn’t be too thick and it shouldn’t be too thin either. Also once you add the sugar syrup, the mixture needs to be cooked till is reaches the perfect consistency to set.

It’s delicious, easy to make and trust me no brand can match the freshness and taste of homemade mithai. Sorry for the not so great pictures, my camera just died down on me.

Ingredients

Besan (Gram Flour): 2 cups
Khoya/Mawa (Dried Whole Milk): 1/2 cup [I used frozen mawa and grated it]
Ghee (Clarified Butter): 3/4th cup [melted]
Sugar: 1.5 cups
Water: 1 cup
Milk: 4 tbsp
Cardamom powder: 1/4th tsp + 1/2 tsp
Pistachios and Almonds for garnishing

Method

* Take the gram flour (besan) in a big bowl and add 3 tbsp ghee and 4 tbsp milk to it.

* Mix the ghee and milk into the besan using your hands.

* Rub the mixture between your hands so that it has a crumb like consistency. Also add 1/4th tsp of cardamom powder.

* We will now sieve the mixture using a strainer. This step is important, if missed the resulting mohanthal will not have a smooth texture.

* Put the remaining ghee in a work (kadhai) and add the sifted mixture into it. Switch on the stove and put the heat on medium.

* Meanwhile get your sugar syrup ready. Put the water and sugar into the pan and add 1/2 tsp cardamom powder to it.

* Put the heat to medium and wait till the syrup develops a one-string consistency [which basically means – put a drop of syrup between your thumb and index finger, when you move the fingers away from each other, you will notice the syrup forming one thread].

* This should take 6-7 minutes, switch off the flame once it’s done else it will become too thick.

* Now stir the mixture continuously till the color of besan changes to light brown. You will also get a very nice aroma once it is properly roasted. This will take around 10-12 minutes. Stir continuously on low-medium heat.

* Add in the khoya/mawa next and continue stirring the mixture for another 5 minutes. Notice how the color changed to golden brown. By this time your kitchen will be filled with an awesome aroma of roasted besan and ghee.

* It’s now time to add the sugar syrup. Add the syrup and keep stirring the mixture till it starts leaving the sides of the pan and becomes thick. If you try dropping the mixture from the ladle, it shouldn’t fall off easily.

* Grease a bowl with ghee and pour the mixture into it. Garnish with almonds or pistachios or both.

* Allow it to cool completely and once it has cooled down cut it into square pieces.

* Mohanthal is ready to serve. Store in an airtight container.