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Shahi tukda
Fried bread in saffron syrup
शाही टुकड़ा: Old Delhi's ghee-fried bread soaked in saffron syrup and crowned with thick rabri
IndianShahi tukda, the 'royal piece', comes from the Mughal kitchens of Old Delhi, and you'll still find trays of it around Jama Masjid during Ramzan, eaten after the evening meal, and at Eid feasts. Thick slices of bread are fried in ghee until crisp and golden, dipped briefly in cardamom and saffron syrup, then covered with rabri, milk slowly reduced until thick and full of creamy flakes. The bread stays crisp at the edges and soft in the middle. It's rich, so small pieces go a long way. Chef's tip: start the rabri first and let it simmer while you fry the bread; it takes the longest and needs only an occasional stir.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the rabri
- 4 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 ¾ oz sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
For the syrup
- 4 oz sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 3 green cardamom podslightly crushed
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 1 tsp rose water
For the bread
- 6 thick-sliced white breadslices, crusts removed, halved into triangles
- 2 ⅞ oz gheefor frying
To garnish
- ½ oz pistachiosslivered
- ½ oz almondsslivered
- 2 edible silver leaf (vark) (optional)vegetarian-certified
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Bring 4 ¼ cups whole milk to the boil in a wide, heavy pan over a medium heat, then lower the heat so it simmers steadily. Every few minutes, push the skin that forms on top to the sides of the pan.
10 minStep 2: Simmer for 40–45 minutes, stirring the bottom now and then and scraping the creamy layers from the sides back in, until the milk has reduced to about a third and is thick and flaky. Stir in 1 ¾ oz sugar and ¼ tsp ground cardamom, cook for 2 more minutes and leave to cool.
45 minStep 3: Meanwhile, for the syrup, simmer 4 oz sugar, ¾ cup water, 3 green cardamom pods and 1 pinch saffron threads over a medium heat for 5–6 minutes until slightly sticky between finger and thumb (no thread needed). Stir in 1 tsp rose water and keep warm.
6 minStep 4: Heat 2 ⅞ oz ghee in a frying pan over a medium-low heat. Fry 6 thick-sliced white bread a few pieces at a time for 1½–2 minutes each side until evenly golden and crisp right through. Too hot and they brown before crisping inside. Drain on kitchen paper.
12 minStep 5: Dip each piece of fried bread into the warm syrup for about 10 seconds, turning once, then lift it onto a serving dish. Leaving it in longer is the common mistake: the bread turns soggy and falls apart under the rabri.
3 minStep 6: Spoon the rabri generously over the bread, scatter with ½ oz pistachios and ½ oz almonds, and lay on 2 edible silver leaf (vark) if you like. Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shahi tukda take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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