MOHANTHAL

Mohanthal is one of my favorite sweets! Its sweet, dense and full of flavor. It fills my house with a warm inviting aroma when I make this. The procedure when written down may seem a bit tedious but make it a couple of times and you'll be surprised how quick and uncomplicated it is. Not to mention the melt in the mouth flavor of this sweet is a great motivator.

Ingredients:

Mohanthal/Besan/Chickpea Flour, 2 cups

Clarified Butter, 3 tbsp + 1 cup

Milk, 6 tbsp

Cardamom Powder, 1/4 tsp

Saffron Strands, a few

Sugar, 1 1/4 cup

Silver Warq (Optional)

Note: I have used Mohanthal flour instead of regular besan as I was able to get it at my local Indian grocery store but regular besan will work just fine, if you cant find this. The difference between the two is that the Mohanthal flour is ground a bit coarser than our regular chickpea flour. 

Procedure:

1. Take Mohanthal/Besan flour in a big bowl.

2. Add 3 tbsp of clarified butter and milk. Mix well rubbing the mixture between the palms of your hands until it resembles a coarse powder ensuring there are no lumps.

3. Sieve the mixture by running through a sieve with big wholes. Set aside.

4. Heat the remaining clarified butter in a thick bottomed pan. Add the sieved flour mixture and cook stirring continuously for 5 minutes. The mixture will start emitting a delicious aroma of ghee and besan and will get brown. Do make sure to do this on medium heat. Set aside till the mixture cools down to room temperature.

5. In a separate pan take sugar and add 1 cup of water. Cook for 2 minutes stirring continuously. Lower the heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. This should take about 5-7 minutes. We need to achieve 1.5 threads. Add the saffron strands. 

6. Add the prepared sugar syrup to the besan mixture and stir to blend well. This will take 3-5 minutes to come together. Add the cardamom powder. The mixture needs to be of pouring consistency. In case it is thick, add some warm milk to thin it down, as needed.

7. Pour the mixture on to a greased barfi tray or thali. Apply the chandi warq. Allow it to cool. 

8. Cut into squares of desired size. Once it cools completely, store in an airtight container. This stays good kept outside for about 2 weeks and longer if refrigerated.