Shahi tukda, the royal piece, is bread fried crisp in ghee, dipped in cardamom syrup and covered with thick saffron rabri. The bread stays a little crisp at the edges under the creamy milk, and nuts finish each piece. Makes 4 servings in about 2 hr 10 min.
Prep10 min
Cook60 min
Cooling1 hr
Total
2 hr 10 min
Servings
4
Ingredients
Adjust yield
servings
Scales from a half to a double batch; give a bigger batch a little more time.
4 ¼ cups (1000 ml)whole milk
¼ cup (50 g)sugar, for the rabri
1 pinchsaffron threads
½ tsp (1 g)ground cardamom
5 ½ oz (160 g)white sandwich bread, 4 thick slices, crusts removed
Make the rabri: bring the whole milk to a boil in a wide heavy pan, then simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often and pushing the cream that forms to the sides, until reduced to about 350 ml, 40 to 45 minutes. Stir in the 50 g sugar and saffron threads, simmer 3 minutes, scrape the cream from the sides back in and stir in the ground cardamom. Keep warm.
While the milk reduces, make the syrup: boil the 100 g sugar and water in a small saucepan until slightly sticky but short of one-string stage, about 215°F (102°C), 4 to 5 minutes, then stir in the rose water and turn off the heat.
Cut each slice of white sandwich bread diagonally into 2 triangles.
Heat the ghee in a skillet over medium-low heat. Fry the bread in batches until crisp and evenly golden, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on a rack.
Dip each fried triangle in the warm syrup for about 10 seconds, turning once, and arrange in a single layer on a serving dish.
Spoon the warm rabri evenly over the bread and scatter with the pistachios and blanched almonds.
Serve warm right away, or refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Tips
Slightly stale bread absorbs less ghee and fries crisper than fresh bread.
Fry over medium-low heat; bread browns fast and burns in seconds if the ghee is too hot.
Check the bread label if you avoid egg, soy or milk; many sandwich breads contain them.
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How long does it take to make shahi tukda (fried bread with rabri)?
Plan on 10 minutes of prep and 1 hour of cooking, plus 1 hour to chill. The recipe makes 4 servings.
How should I store shahi tukda (fried bread with rabri)?
Refrigerate covered for up to 1 day; the bread softens as it sits.
Can I make shahi tukda (fried bread with rabri) ahead?
Yes. It needs time to chill and set, so it is a good one to make the day before you serve it.
A Mughlai dessert of North India in which ghee-fried bread is dipped in syrup and covered with saffron rabri.
Variations
Rose and pistachio: increase the rose water to 2 tsp (10 ml) and the pistachios to 25 g (3 tbsp). Time unchanged.
Orange and cardamom: add 1 tsp (2 g) finely grated orange zest to the syrup with the rose water. Time unchanged.
Baked bread: brush the triangles with 30 g (2 tbsp) melted ghee and bake at 350°F (175°C) until crisp and golden, 12 to 15 minutes, instead of frying.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 4 servings this recipe makes.
508Calories / serving
20.2gFat
70.9gCarbs
12.9gProtein
52.9gSugar
Whole recipe (4 servings):
~2032 cal ·
81g fat ·
284g carbs ·
52g protein ·
212g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
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