About the Recipe
Shahi Tukda (meaning "Royal Piece" or "Royal Morsel") is a traditional dessert from Mughlai cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. It is made by deep-frying slices of bread in ghee until crisp, soaking them in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom and saffron, and topping them with a layer of thickened, sweetened milk (rabri) and garnishes like almonds and pistachios. It originated in the royal kitchens of the Mughal Empire. It is served as a celebratory dessert, particularly during festivals like Eid and Ramadan.
Ingredients
2 litres whole milk
6-8 tbsp thandai Powder (see note)
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
½ tsp rose water
¼ cup water
¼ tsp cardamom powder
4-6 stale white or wheat Bread Slices
½ cup ghee
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp slivered pistachios
2 tbsp almonds
Preparation
Step 1
For the milk reduction: Add the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. Keep the heat medium and slowly bring it to a boil. Keep stirring frequently to avoid any burning. Once the milk comes to a boil, add the Thandai powder to the milk and mix well. Reduce the heat to low and let the milk cook until it reduces to almost one-fourth of the original quantity and becomes thick. Keep stirring every few minutes so that the milk does not stick or burn. Also, while the milk boils, keep scraping the sides of the pan to remove the milk solids and add them back to the pan. Do also note that the rabdi will thicken once it cools down as well. Once the milk has reduced to a desired consistency, add the sugar and rose water and cook for a couple of minutes more. Remove the pan from heat and let the rabdi cool for about half an hour. Once cool, refrigerate the rabdi for around 4 hours or until chilled well.
Step 2
For the sugar syrup: Mix sugar with water in a pan. Keep the heat low and let the mixture come to a boil. Cook the mixture till you get a one thread consistency in the sugar syrup. Switch off the heat when done. Add the cardamom powder and mix well.
Step 3
For the fried bread: Slice the crusts of the bread. Cut them into squares, triangles, or even neat circles. Heat ghee in a frying pan. Fry the bread slices until golden brown on both sides in batches of two. You may flip once more more to get an even browning. Remove the bread slices on paper towels on a plate. Repeat the same for the remaining bread slices
Step 4
For assembly: Dip the fried bread slices in the sugar syrup. With the help of a pair of tongs, coat both the sides well with the sugar syrup. Arrange the sugar syrup soaked bread slices on a serving platter or individual serving plates. Next, pour the rabri on the the arranged bread slices. Garnish with raisins, pistachios, and almonds.
Note: To make the thandai powder, simply grind 1/4 cup almonds, 1/4 cup cashew nuts, 1/4 cup pistachios, 2 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 2 tbsp poppy seeds, 2 tbsp dried rose petals, 1/4 tsp saffron strands, and seeds of around 8-10 green cardamom pods. Store the powder in an airtight glass jar.