Mohanthal is a Gujarati dessert made from besan. Although the ingredients are similar to MysorePak, but it is very different in taste and texture. This difference in texture is mainly due to a pre-processing step that involves soaking besan with a milk-ghee mixture. This makes the besan resemble a coarse rava-like texture.
Upgrade my Mohanthal
I have 2 main upgrades for you:
- Save effort
- Use a food processor to make the initial mixture. I tried the original method of rubbing the besan with my hands and passing it through a sieve. My god!! -does it take time!! There are always these stubborn little clumps refusing to pass through the sieve and then I am stuck feeling guilty throwing them away after putting so much of arm muscle in trying to pass it through. Whiz it through the food processor – Evenly distributed, no clumps!! Yay!!
- Cook the besan in a low-slow oven. The original version requires you to slave over the pan constantly stirring it to ensure it does not burn. Use the oven to your advantage and cook the besan without the direct heat and fear of burning.
- Use healthier forms of fat and sweetener
- I have used some coconut oil (only 1/4 cup) for entire recipe and walnuts and dates. This makes the dish vegan and gives you healthy fat (walnuts) and provides sweetness with added fiber and iron (dates). Note, this is not a low calorie recipe, but at least you get some nutrition in bargain for the calories you end up consuming.
- The other advantage of using dates is that you don’t have to worry about sugar syrup and string consistencies.
Step by step pics
Add besan, coconut milk and coconut oil to food processor and give it a whirl
Pour the besan contents to an oven proof dish
Preset the oven to 300F and pop in the besan for roughly an hour.
Add 1 cup walnuts to a tray and pop in the oven in the last 10 minutes of cooking the besan.
Add roasted walnuts to the food processor and powder it. Add dates one by one using the top tube and run it till dates and the walnuts become a soft base together.
Add the oven roasted besan, remaining coconut oil, elaichi and run the food processor again.
Press the combined mixture into a rectangular pan (I used 8in x 6in ) and pop it into the freezer for an hour to harden.
Take it out, cut into pieces and serve.
Recipe
- 2 cups Besan (Chickpea flour)
- 1/8 cup coconut milk
- 1/8+1/8 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup Walnuts
- 1.5 cup Dates ( comes to about 30 Deglet Noor type of date)
- 1/2 tsp Elaichi powder (Cardamom)
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Preset the oven to 300F.
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Add besan, coconut milk and 1/8 cup of coconut oil to food processor and give it a whirl. Let it sit in the processor for 5 minutes.
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Pour the besan contents to an oven proof dish and pop in the oven for an hour. Every 15 minutes, just give it a stir. Once the timer is done, check if the flour is well-cooked and has a reddish tinge in color.
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Add 1 cup walnuts to a tray and pop in the oven in the last 10 minutes of cooking the besan
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Add roasted walnuts to the food processor and powder it. Add dates one by one using the top tube and run it till dates and the walnuts become a soft base together.
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Add the oven roasted besan, remaining coconut oil, elaichi and run the food processor again.
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Press the combined mixture into a rectangular pan (I used 8in x 6in ) and pop it into the freezer for an hour to harden well. Cover with a plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn.
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Take it out, cut into pieces and serve.
You may be tempted to forgo the coconut oil to save calories. But I would like to warn you against it. The hardening of the coconut oil is what gives its firm and chewy texture.
If you used just the physical pressure from walnuts and dates, you will get a crumbly ladoo like texture and not a fudgy texture.
Conclusion
Have you made Mohanthal in the past? What has been your experience? Share your comments down below. As always, I love to hear from all of you!!
Looking for more Healthy Dessert Recipes?
Try these:
Healthy kalakand (no ghee, no sugar)
Healthy Rava laddu (no ghee, no sugar)
OMG, you are truly living up to the reputation of upgrading traditional recipes and making them more figure friendly and let’s not forget much easier to make too. I have always wanted to make mohanthal but I never have because of the sugar content and also because it takes so much time to cook it on the stove. Now I am hooked to your blog, especially the sweets category LOL. I was curious to see if you have your own YouTube channel but I guess you don’t. Needless to mention, I will be a frequent visitor to this blog moving forward.
Thank you!! Very happy to hear your feedback!!
I do not have a Youtube channel currently. I hope to start one in the future. Thank you for encouraging and taking the time to post your feedback – it springs me further.
Just made this today- was craving mohanthal but needed a healthier version. Yours was perfect! So yummy. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you Bina…I am so happy to hear that!!
I made these exactly as you wrote. They’re really good!
Yay!! That’s great!!
Thank you! What about using a cashews instead of walnuts (and perhaps some raw coarsely ground almonds and pistachio powder as well) and adding maple syrup or even coconut sugar syrup and using bit less date-plant milk paste (about 21 dates blended in with a cashew-almond milk and a good amount of coconut cream)….for more sweetening and complexity in it’s flavour profile as well as a more traditional feel….cardamom, saffron, rose water and nutmeg for spices/flavouring…
I’m going to make this mohanthal with the aforementioned changes…
Wonderful recipe! 🙂
Sounds great!! 👍