Mohanthal

Welcome the Spring Season with the celebration of "Vasant panchmi".  Basant/vasant means "spring".This festival is celebrated each year on the fifth day(panchmi) in the month of magh(between January and February) of the Indian calender.This day marks the beginning of spring season  in India. In Punjab, the day is celebrated with kite flying events. 

 On this  day Goddess Saraswati( Goddess of knowledge, art and music) is worshiped and lot of prayers and celebrations are held in schools and educational institutes which is called" Saraswati pujan".People wear Yellow/saffron colored clothes ,prepare and consume meals &sweets which are yellow/saffron in color.
 It is also considered that the young ones are taught their first letters on this auspicious day with the blessings of goddess saraswati for their successful academic life!!

For the celebration of Vasant panchmi i had prepared a special sweet which is from Gujrat  "Mohan thal". This sweet is specially prepared for this as saffron and gram flour both the ingredients are rich in yellow colour!! so prepare this specialty and enjoy!!
This preparation makes 12-14 pieces
Ingredients:
1 cup gram flour(besan)
1/2 cup ghee+ 2 tablespoon
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup whole milk solids(khoya/mawa)a little more
1/4 cup water
10-12  pieces cashew nuts
10-12 pieces almonds
10-12 pieces pistachios
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
Method:
In a bowl, take the gram flour and add 2 tablespoon ghee to it.

Gram flour and ghee

Using hands, mix the ghee properly with the flour so that granule texture(like breadcrumbs) appear.

granule texture

Add the milk to this mixture and knead it into a soft dough. Keep it aside for 10-15  minutes in order to moisten  the gram flour.

soft dough of gram flour

Prepare the sugar syrup by adding the sugar and water in a pan. Boil the syrup till the sugar dissolves completely in the water.

sugar and water

The syrup should be little dense such as that when you put a drop of the syrup on your thumb, a single thread formation happens between your index finger and thumb.

Semi thick sugar syrup

Cut/slice the dry fruits, add half of them into this syrup and leave the remaining for garnishing.

In a non stick Kadahi(wok), heat the remaining ghee and add the kneaded gram flour. Break them into pieces before adding for ease.

sauteing the gram flour

Saute it on low- medium flame till it starts to change its color slightly. Keep on stirring continuously to avoid the burning of the flour. Add the saffron strands and mix.

Add the crumbled/grated khoya to this and saute the mixture again for another 6-10 minutes till a nice aroma and dark golden color appears. Keep stirring till the mixture gets a little dry.

after adding the khoya  and sauteing for 6 more minutes

Add the sugar syrup to this and mix properly. Add the cardamom powder and mix well.

adding the sugar syrup

Grease a big tray or thali and place this mixture on it. Using a spatula spread it evenly.

Let it cool. Will take 2-3 hours at room temperature.
Finally garnish this with the dryfruits and few saffron strands.Cut them into desired shape and size after it had set properly.

Mohanthal is ready for offering to Goddess saraswati!!