SHAHI TUKDA

It is a popular hyderabadi special sweet, royal treat to taste buds at anytime. Also called as double ka meetha, it is a bread pudding dessert of fried bread slices soaked in hot milk with spices, including saffron and cardamom. The recipe uses bread, condensed milk and dry fruits. It is rich in taste, aroma, flavor and calories.

A rich, royal mughlai dessert of fried sugar syup coated bread topped and soaked with fragrant creamy sweet thickened milk or rabri and garnished with dry fuits.

Course         :    Dessert
Cuisine        :    Indian,Mughlai
Prep time     :    60 mins
Cook time    :    30 mins
Servings       :    3-4

Ingredients

Measuring cup used, 1 cup=250 ml

For rabri

• 1.4 cups milk or 1 litre full fat whole milk
• 2 to 2.5 tbsp sugar or as required
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp rose water or rose essence
• A pinch of saffron strands 

For pan frying bread

• 5 to 6 slices of bread (white or brown)
• 2 tbsp ghee

For garnish

• 12-15 almonds -blanched and sliced
• A few strands of saffron
• 10-12 pistachios -blanched and sliced 

Instructions:

Preparing the rabri

1. In a broad thick bottomed pan or a kadai. Take 1 litre of full fat whole milk and bring its first boil, simmer the milk for some minutes.
2. Remove the clotted cream/malai which forms on top of the milk and add it back to the milk. Also keep on scraping the dried milk from the sides and add them back to the milk.
3. Do stir and scrape often so that the milk doesn't get browned or burnt from the bottom as well as the sides.
4. Keep on simmering, stirring, removing the clotted cream and scraping.
5. Switch off when the milk has reduced and become thickened.
6. Add sugar. Stir well so that the sugar dissolves.
7. Next, add crushed saffron with rose water.

Pan frying the bread slices

1. Cut bread into different shapes using moulds.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a flat pan or tawa.
3. Place the bread slices and on a low to medium heat toast them.
4. When one side is browned, flip and toast the other side.
5. Flip once or twice more to get an even golden color and browning.
6. Drain the bread slices on paper towels.
7. Keep all the toasted bread side.

Assembling the shahi tukra

1. Arrange the bread slices neatly in a serving tray or plate.
2. Pour the rabri on bread slices.
3. Garnish with sliced blanched almonds and pistachios.
4. Serve the rich royal shahi tukra.
5. Serve chilled or warm or at room temperature.

Let me know how you find it, if you try it sometime. you may leave your suggestions for any interesting additions.

Keep Cooking"

-CM