Shaahi Tukda

That famous Hyderabadi bread pudding

Back to blogging after a much needed vacation!! my sister and brother live in US and I went to visit them and spend some quality time together. The best was having mom and dad also along with us, so it was like one of the best holiday I could ever ask for.

I have been to US before and instantly fell in love with the country. More than the beautiful places, I was touched by generosity and kindness among people. Everyone is so kind and polite with each other I kept asking my brother why is everyone so nice??!

Though I hesitate trying different cuisines, my family took me to some of the best places around and I ended up trying Mexican, Thai, Mediterranean, Italian and lots of street food. And US is like a paradise for people with sweet tooth, so many choices and so many varieties….I can go on and on about my holiday!! This is all of us in the pic below.

Today I am sharing recipe for an amazing desert. Shahi tukda is one of the most famous and loved hyderabadi dessert that is a major hit with everyone. This is a rich and high calorie delicacy which tastes like heaven….one of the shaahi (Royal) dish which you can indulge once in a while to cheer you up!

Also this is one of the top favorites for a dinner party over the festive season, a decadent Mughlai bread pudding made with saffron sugar syrup, crushed cardamon and soaked in rich milk and this whole lot is topped with any of your favorite nuts…

Ingredients:-

Bread Slices
Sugar-1 cup
Water as needed
Nuts of choice for garnishing
Ghee/Oil for deep frying
Few saffron strands soaked in milk

For Rabri:
Milk-1 litre
Condensed milk(1/2 tin)
Cardamom powder

Method:-

Make rabri first, bring the milk to boil on low flame for 30 minutes until it reduces to its 1/3rd volume, then add condensed milk and let it simmer for another 10 mins until it becomes thick and creamy.

In another vessel make sugar syrup with boiling equal quantity of sugar and water until it becomes thick. Add some saffron strands soaked in milk and cardamom powder.

Cut the brown edges of bread and cut in triangle/ round or square shape. Deep fry them clarified butter/ ghee/oil until nice and golden brown. Keep them aside.

Now its time to assemble this beauty. Dip the bread slices in sugar syrup and place them on a wide bowl or a plate. Pour the creamy rabri on top of the breads and let the bread soak all the goodness.  Garnish with your favorite nuts tossed in some ghee to make this the ultimate over indulgent desert.

Serve it chilled and enjoy this and make your day the happiest 🙂

For cheat version:-

I made this desert for my sisters friends in US for a get together, and I was told to try to make it healthy, as everyone there is super health conscious. So I toasted the bread slices on a pan with little butter to make them golden and instead of soaking the bread in sugar syrup, I just poured it all over the bread slices before the rabri directly in the serving bowl. It tasked equally good, but honestly if you want to enjoy the richness of this desert go for it full on and don’t be skimpy 🙂