Description
A rich and decadent Indian dessert made with milk, bread, and garnished with nuts.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 litre whole milk (full-fat milk)
- 15–20 saffron strands
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ teaspoon rose water
- 6 slices white bread
- 1 cup ghee (for frying)
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- 2–3 pods green cardamom (crushed)
- 1 teaspoon rose water (or kewra water)
- almonds and pistachio slivers (for garnishing)
- dried rose petals (for garnishing)
Instructions
- Start this recipe by making the rabdi. While the rabdi is cooking, fry the bread and make the sugar syrup, and in the end, assemble the shahi tukda. You can also make the rabdi a day in advance.
- Heat milk in a heavy-bottom non-stick pan over medium heat.
- When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Add saffron strands and mix well.
- Cook the rabdi until it is reduced to half (approximately 20-25 minutes), stirring frequently. Scrape the sides of the pan using a silicone spatula at regular intervals and add the solidified milk back to the pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan frequently to prevent the milk from scorching at the bottom of the pan.
- Once the milk is reduced to half, add sugar and cook for another 10-12 minutes until the rabdi is thickened to a custard-like consistency.
- Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- Cut the corners of bread slices and then cut them diagonally. Discard the corners.
- Heat ghee in a shallow pan over medium heat.
- When the ghee is hot, add a few slices of bread and deep fry from both sides until golden brown. I like to use a tong to hold the bread slices while frying.
- Fry all the bread in the same manner.
- Transfer the fried bread slices to a plate and set them aside.
- Heat water, sugar, and green cardamoms in a pan over medium heat.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring a few times in between.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Add rose water or kewra water and mix well.
- Dip fried bread slices in warm sugar syrup for 10-20 seconds (or more if you like a softer version).
- Keep them on the serving plate.
- Top with 2-3 tbsp of rabdi. Garnish the shahi tukda with slivered almonds and pistachio and dried rose petals. You can also keep some edible silver leaf (varq) on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can prepare the rabdi a day in advance to save time.
- Frying the bread until golden brown gives a nice texture to the dish.
- If you prefer, add more sugar to the syrup for a sweeter taste.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Frying and boiling
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 30g
- Sodium: 60mg
- Fat: 30g
- Saturated Fat: 17g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 10g
- Cholesterol: 90mg