Delicious Mohanthal/chickpea flour fudge a traditional Indian sweet from the state of Gujarat.
This is a traditional sweet from the state of Gujarat, India. I haven’t yet had a chance to visit Gujarat or even taste this Mohanthal from their sweet shops. One day when I visit India I will try that. I tried this recipe after a quite bit of research. I feel that none of the Indian traditional recipes follows a similar pattern, every household make adjustment to suit their taste and convenience. Still there is some unity and uniqueness in the recipe. You will be wondering all of sudden why Mohanthal, it’s because Holi/Festival of color is coming on 12th March.
Even though Holi is not celebrated in South India with the pomp as in North India, it is another excuse for me to try a new sweet recipe as a food blogger. I checked with my friend she is also a blogger and she shared the recipe, but problem was that I don’t have mawa, a form of concentrated milk soilds and I was not in a mood to prepare one or to go to the Indian store which is located about 50 miles from my house. Then I watched YouTube videos from all big sites who claim to be food God according some of my Facebook friends. Then I watched a housewife making it and another one a traditional sweet maker who has 40 years of experience in making sweets making it. Both of them follow same method and ingredients. So I decide to stick to their recipe as it doesn’t require any mawa .
After trying it, my husband told me it is a cousin of our Mysore pak, south Indian chickpea flour fudge. The only difference is that in Mysore pak only sugar, ghee and chick pea flour is used, but In Mohantal, it is sugar, ghee, and milk and chickpea flour. Also the process of making it involves a few different steps, in Mohantal chickpea flour is first mixed with little ghee and milk and formed into bread crumb structure and then it is sieved and cooked in ghee and after switching off heat, the hot one thread consistency / soft ball sugar syrup is mixed well to get a thickened dough . In Mysore pak first chickpea flour is roasted in ghee and then cooked in sugar syrup along with hot ghee or ghee oil mixture. You can see my on the go recipe which gives best result all the time.
In Mohanthal, saffron and cardamom is used to enhance the recipe, while in Mysore pak only cardamom is used. Also mohanthal is studded with almond and pistachio and stands its own in Indian sweet world. We can try this traditional sweet from the state of Gujarat which is served during festivals, marriage and other functions. Or just like my hubby said for eating a sweet dish you don’t any special days or functions. This is gluten free dish, I don’t think we can make it vegan as it is traditional sweet.
Mohanthal/Chickpea flour fudge
Ingredients
- 1 cup Besan/ Chickpea flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup +2 tablespoon ghee /Indian clarified butter
- 2 tablespoon milk
- ½ cup +1 tablespoon water
- A pinch of safferon
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- For garnishing
- 15 pistachios chopped finely
- 9 almond chopped finely
Instructions
- In a bowl add chickpea flour, milk and 2 tablespoon ghee and mix well to form a bread crumb structure. When you try to make a ball it should hold the shape but also it crumbles in a second and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes sieve the chickpea flour -milk –ghee mixture to get a fine powder without any of thick pieces of flour.
- In a another pan heat water and sugar and stir well until it reaches 1 thread consistency /220° F–225° F. Remove from the fire and set aside. To this add saffron (dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water).
- Heat a skillet and add ghee once the ghee is heated add sieved flour and cook until you see bubbles are comes from the top. Make sure to stir well while making them. Then add cardamom powder and to chickpea flour-ghee mixture and switch off the flame.
- Then add the sugar syrup and continue to stir until you can see dough formed and removes the pan.
- Transfer to greased 6 inch square pan and then add chopped almond and pistachios and try to press them into dough and set aside for 15 minutes. Then make cut into the dough and set aside for further cooling. Making this cut will help to remove them as pieces once everything cooled down.
- Enjoy.
Notes
And add milk
mix well to form a bread crumb like dough and set aside for 15 minutes. Then sieve the flour In a small bowl add 1 tablespoon warm water and add saffron and set aside. In another pan heat sugar and water until it reaches single thread consistency/ 215F. To this add saffron with water Switch off the flame and set aside. In a skillet heat ghee When ghee starts hot add sieved chickpea flour and continue to cook in medium flame with constant stirring. Continue heat until you see bubbles in the top Remove from the fire and add sugar syrup with saffron. and cardamom continue to stir the mixture until it thickens into ball and remove the pan Transfer the dough into greased 6 inch square pan and spread well. To this add chopped nuts of your choice I used chopped pistachio and almonds and press well into the dough. While warm try to make a cut so that you can easily cut them into pieces once it is cooled down. Enjoy.
Other Holi recipe from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread. All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
Swathi, I have never had mohanthal or a sweet anything like it. It looks and sounds sooooo good AND even, with the chickpea flour, nutritious! I must put this on my to-make list. I hope you and your family are well.
Asha Shivakumar says
Any cousin of mysore pak, I know I will love. This sounds so good and going through the ingredients and the method, really looks like mysore pak and looks delicious.
Hope you are doing good Swathi.
Jennifer A Stewart says
Thanks for this recipe! Ever since I quit eating so much refined sugar I am always looking for new sweets that are not so sweet! This looks fabulous and I love the chopped pistachios and almonds on top!
Natalie says
Wow... This sounds, and looks, delicious. Love the addition of gee (which I really like), fragrant saffron and cardamom. This fudge must taste absolutely amazing! I really love discovering new recipes here on your blog Swathi 🙂
Daniela Anderson says
I love reading about recipes from different parts of the world. We only use wheat flour when baking, so the use of chickpea flour would be new to us. Pistachios are always great with desserts, a lovely recipe for sure.
Molly Kumar says
This looks so good Swathi. I'm a huge fan of mohanthal or any chickpea dessert. They are just so delicious and flavorful. I love how simple your recipe is and for the detailed instructions.
Megan Marlowe says
The flavors in this fudge sound amazing. I gotta admit, I didn't know there was chickpea flour but I should have assumed as there is every other flour on the Planet these days! I love the saffaron and I'm a huge cardamom fan. can't wait to give this a try!
Christine McMichael says
This recipe is right up my alley! Love that the fudge is made out of chickpea flour. I've actually never tried chickpea flour, the photos look amazing!
Byron Thomas says
I often run into the same issue when researching recipes from my heritage as well. It's hard to nail-down an authentic recipe because everyone seems to adapt the recipes to their own tastes and preferences. It would be interesting to see what you find when you visit those sweet shops in India. 🙂
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
I love the research you did to make this recipe the best! This looks really delicious, and something I'd really enjoy making AND eating. It's so pretty, too!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
I am really unfamiliar with Indian cuisine but I'm slowly learning. The fudge sounds delicious and I really like the addition of those spices. Your dessert looks fantastic. I would love to try it.
Reesa Lewandowski says
There are so many delicious flavors here! What a great fudge recipe. I love using chickpeas in different ways!
Cliona Keane says
I've never cooked with chickpea flour before but I think I might have to try it! This looks amazing!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh these do look delicious.
I haven't really made anything like this before, I can't wait to give it a go!
Just Jo says
I haven't had any Indian sweets in years and I've never made my own. I was just reading about Holi on another blog and I can see these wold be a perfect way to celebrate it. They look so delicious, I must have a try of your recipe!
Hanady @ Recipe Nomad says
This looks absolutely delicious! Im always so intrigued and tempted by the flavors of Indian desserts!
Luci's Morsels says
What a great idea! This fudge seems pretty guilt free too!
Srivalli Jetti says
I love mohanthal and your have turned out so yum!..the last time I made it turned out little crumbly. Will make it again.
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
Ok, this sounds very interesting. My husband happens to love fudge. I enjoy working with chickpeas, so using chickpea flour sounds intriguing.
Meg | Meg is Well says
I've loved doing so many different things with chickpeas so I would love to add this recipe to my experience! And I would love to use saffron in a dessert! I saw another sweet recipe that used it to so it's been something I've wanted to try for a while.
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says
I've never heard of Mohanthal but it sounds Yummy! I like that you used chickpea flour in this. This sounds like something I need to experiment with..Yumm!
Sia | Monsoon Spice says
I have had a good fortune of learning to cook Mohantal from my aunt who lived in Baroda for 3!decades and always found it as close cousin to Mysore Pak. What you have posted here looks absolutely delicious and perfect mithai for Holi.
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
What a delicious looking dessert! I'm always looking for new ways to use chickpea flour.
Anya says
Such an interesting treat. I always hesitate to add saffron because of it's price point but it does look like a little goes a long way.
Veena Azmanov says
I have not eaten Mohanthal in years. But I must admit I have only ever purchased it at the mithai shop. Never made my own. This looks so perfect. Yum.
Veena Theagarajan says
Mohanthal look great! I heard lot about it.. Happy holi Swathi
Simintini Patil says
Thanks for documenting your experience of preparing Mohanthal. I had undertaken a similar exercise few months back to welcome my daughter-in-law- downloading recipes, viewing youtube videos. Finally I settled for a recipe on Colors Marathi TV show Mejawani Paripoorna Kitchen by Mrs Umatai Amrute .However my experience and process was not systematically documented as yours, therefore, your efforts are commendable. The end result of my first effort in making Mohanthal was very good. Sourcing quality ingredients and following the steps diligently resulted in an Mohanthal that was liked and appreciated by most of the persons who tasted it. I am providing a link herein https://www.voot.com/shows/mejwani-paripoorna-kitchen/1/368541/recipes-for-rasaval-and-mohanthal-/431908 . I have followed you on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram. I have shared photographs of some of my recent dishes on facebook ( Simintini Patil), Twitter (@Simintini_Patil) & Instagram (@simintinipatil) . Thank you