It has been a while since I participated for the Indian Cooking Challenge.A lot has been going on since the past few months and this made it difficult to participate.I was on a break for nearly three months , I was sad to miss the challenges but at the same time happy because there is lot of good news.My daughter was blessed with a baby girl, my son got married and with so much hustle bustle it was practically impossible to work on these challenges.All the events went well , and I am back to the challenges.Hurdles never leave right?..this month I did not have my camera, but still decided to go ahead and click with my cell phone .
Anyway coming to Mohanthal,This is a sweet which is very common in our state and all my Gujarati friends make it so well. I have always had my reservations where Indian sweets are concerned.The reason is I hardly make them as no one is interested in sweets. Number two, we always have lots of sweets stocked up.The Sindhi custom is such that for every occasion sweets are distributed and hence the stock!! Back to Mohanthal..I called my friend to ask the perfect way of making it.I was glad that she explained me with her tips, only by the end of conversation she left me all jittery saying it is rather tricky, you may land up with either with a hard or a over soft mohanthal. I was so nervous!I built up courage and entered the kitchen, while making I called her twice .The final product turned out absolutely gorgeous, I was happy to see a well made delicious sweet.Here comes the recipe…
1 cup gram flour
100 gms mawa / unsweetened khoya
1/2 cup ghee
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp milk
Garnish
Almonds
Pistachios
Take the flour in a thali.
Make a small well in the center.
Add 1tb sp milk and 1tb sp ghee.
Rub in with your hands, add another tbsp of milk and ghee, rub again.
leave it for 20 minutes.
Sieve the flour to get coarse flour.
Add ghee in a pan and roast the flour on slow fire, till it is golden and lends a wonderful aroma.
Add the grated mawa and roast for a few minutes.
Remove from fire .
Make sure to stir at intervals even though it is off fire.
Syrup
Add just enough water to the sugar and place it on fire.
let boil, till you get a 1 1/2 string consistency.
remove from fire, keep stirring to bring it to room temperature.
once both the flour and sugar have cooled down mix them, without keeping them back on fire.Mix thoroughly and pour into a greased tray.
sprinkle nuts and let set.
cut into required size.
Important tips..
The milk and ghee added to the flour has to be a slow procedure, do not add in one go.
It’s important to give a standing time after rubbing in ghee and milk.
Work on the roasting of flour first, once done then start with the syrup.
After the flour is roasted and off flame, stir constantly, the heat can make it dark in co lour.
To test the syrup, put a drop in a saucer, if it runs very lightly it is ready.
Mixing of flour and syrup should be off fire, and once mixed do not put back on fire.
Always pour in a greased tray or a low rimmed tray, I poured in a loaf tin, and as a result it was difficult to remove neat pieces.
If it does not set , place it in the frig for a while.
Variations..
You could add..
Poppy seeds
Saffron
Yours have come out so well Vaishali..I am making mine again!
Excellent, they came out simply prefect;;
Looks very yummy and perfectly made
Interesting and informative one,,,thanks for share the blog,,interesting and informative one!!i liked your blog,,,awesome collection!!!best food in panama
Tempting mohanthals…l