By Aditi Saraswat
November 6, 2026
Mohanthal is a festive Gujarati dessert that is loved for its crumbly texture. It gets its unique texture from a simple step: rubbing besan with ghee and milk to make coarse crumbs before roasting it. Once the mixture is thoroughly cooked with sugar syrup, the mixture is left to set and then cut into squares, garnished with cardamom and chopped nuts.
2 cups coarse gram flour (besan) ¾ cup ghee ½ cup milk 1 cup sugar ½ cup water ¼ tsp cardamom powder 2 tbsp chopped almonds 2 tbsp chopped pistachios A few strands of saffron (optional)
In a bowl, mix gram flour with some melted ghee and milk. Rub it gently to get a coarse texture.
In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the remaining ghee and add the flour mixture to it. Roast on a low flame and stir constantly until it turns aromatic and appears golden.
Continue roasting until the mixture releases ghee and you get a nutty aroma. Do not keep the flame very high, as besan can turn brown quickly while still being raw.
In a separate pan, boil sugar and water to make a one-string consistency sugar syrup. Add cardamom powder and saffron to this, and mix the syrup with the roasted besan.
Stir until everything is combined, then spread evenly in a greased tray. Garnish with chopped nuts, cool completely and cut into squares.