Mohanthal – traditional besan sweet recipe

Melt-in-the-mouth traditional Indian sweet! Mohanthal or Mohan Thal is a traditional dessert, especially popular in Rajasthan and Gujarat. This mouth melting sweet is like a fudge made from besan (gram flour). Mohanthal (Traditional Besan Sweet Recipe) is made with a few and simple ingredients easily found in your pantry. This burfi is very easy and quick to make.

As we know that both the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat are neighbours and along with the desert they share their food, culture and clothing habits. Being desert states they heavily depend on dehydrated vegetables, dals, pulses and beans. So the cuisine of both these states revolves around these ingredients whether sweets or savouries. No festival or wedding is complete without Mohanthaal (Besan Burfi). The other famous dishes are Moong dal halwa, Besan laddu, Aata Aur Gond ke laddu, Churma, Kanji vada to name a few.

Mohanthaal is a must to have during Diwali and Holi. The shelf life is good and it is easy to carry along while travelling. Made with besan (gram flour), ghee, sugar and flavoured with cardamom and saffron, it has a grainy texture. It is a classic Indian sweet dish with a lovely caramel colour and nutty toasty flavour. The recipe has not changed much over time. Gujarati Mohanthal does not have khoya/mawa, but Rajasthani Mohanthal recipe often has khoya.

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Yield: 20 pieces
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients for Mohanthal

2 cups besan heaped (gram flour)
3/4 cup +3 tablespoon ghee
100 grams khova (optional)
1/2 cup +3 tablespoon milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Few strands of saffron soaked
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
2 tablespoon pista chopped fine

Directions for Mohanthal

• Add 3 tablespoon ghee and 3 tablespoon milk to besan and rub with your fingertips to mix evenly for 3 to 5 minutes till no lumps remain and you get a coarse crumb-like texture.
• Bring the mix together and press a little. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Soak the saffron in 1 teaspoon warm water.
• Grease a tin and line it with butter paper. Keep it aside.
• Now sieve the besan to have a small grainy uniform texture or use the pulse feature in grinder for 3 pulse only.
• Heat 3/4 cup ghee in a pan; add besan and roast on low to medium flame. Stir continuously for minutes or till the besan changes colour and aroma starts to come.
• Add the grated khova if using. Stir till well incorporated.
• Now add half of the milk and stir till all the milk is absorbed. Repeat this one more time. The besan will be foamy.
• Switch off the heat and stir for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• In the meantime make the chasni (sugar syrup).
• In a pot add sugar and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil on high heat.
• Add saffron, cardamom, and stir till you get 2+ string consistency.
• Switch on the heat, pour the chasni on the besan and stir till it leaves the sides and starts to form a soft dough.
• Now transfer the mixture into the prepared tin. Level on top and sprinkle the nuts. If you want to use silver foil, then do it now.
• Set aside for 2 hours. Run a knife to cut the Mohanthaal into square pieces.
• After at least 4 hours or completely set, remove from the pan and serve.

Note – Store the Mohanthal in a dry container. It stays good for more than ten days without any refrigeration.