Name: Mohanthal Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cup chickpea flour (regular besan fine variety ); 1/4 cup ghee (for dhabo); 1/4 cup whole milk (for dhabo); 1 cup ghee; 1 cup khoya; 1 teaspoon cardamom powder; 1 teaspoon mace powder; Big pinch saffron strands; 1 1/2 cup sugar (regular white ); 1 cup water (tap ); 1/8 teaspoon food colour orange/yellow (optional); 3-4 tablespoon almond and pistachio slivers

The ultimate Diwali mithai has to be Gujarati Mohanthal! This recipe contains mawa or khoya to create proper crumbly Mohanthal that is as good as kandoi or mithai shops. This style of perfect Mohanthal is readily found in temples and in Havelis (Vaishnav temples) around the world.

Gujarati style chickpea flour sweet fudge, mohanthal served on a plate

Note - This recipe was first published in 2010. The post has now been updated with more helpful content - the recipe remains the same.

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

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.

Indian sweet Mohanthal garnished with almond slivers

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.

Mohanthal with mawa served in a metal plate next to flower vase

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.

square cubes of kandoi mohanthal on a vintage style round metal plate

How to make Gujarati Mohanthal

Dhabo/Dharbo (laminating the flour)

Dhabo/Dharbo devo is a Gujarati word to laminate or shorten the flour.

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.

In a wide plate regular besan, milk and ghee mixed to make Mohanthal

To make Gujarati mohanthal a flour mixture prepared in a big plate

A female hands are seiving flour mixture to prepare mohanthal recipe

Besan flour mixture in a staineless steel plate to make Gujarati Mohanthal

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)

sieved besan flour added in to the ghee to make mohanthal recipe with mawa

Cooked Besan flour and ghee mixture in the frying pan to make Kandoi mohanthal

mawa or khoya added to the mixture of kandoi mohanthal recipe

saffron, cardamom and mace powder added to the cooked mixture of mohanthal recipe

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 ½ 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.

sugar and water mixed in the pan to make gujarati mohanthal recipe

a female hand is showing a sugar syrup threads to make traiditional mohanthal recipe

food colour added to the sugar syrup prepared for mohanthal

thick and hot sugar syrup in a pan to add in danedar mohanthal mixture

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.

Hot sugar syrup added to the fried besan flour

Mohanthal recipe with mawa mixture is ready to pour in a tray

Loose Mohanthal mixture setting in the tray

chopped nuts sprinkled on the set mohathal

How to set?

If the Mohanthal doesn’t set, the sugar syrup may be undercooked in which case, you can recook the Mohanthal in a pan again on low-medium flame. Once the mixture leaves the side of the pan, it has now cooked.

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.

How to cut set Indian Mithai?

Usually, we set the sweets such as barfi, chikki and mohanthal in a greased tray. However, when it comes to cutting into pieces, it is always difficult.

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.

Storage

Mohanthal stays fresh up to one month at room temperature. Keep it in an airtight container. No need to refrigerate.

As the days pass you may notice the texture of mohanthal will harden - that’s normal.

Other Diwali mithai/sweets recipes

1. Habshi halwa

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