A Shahi Tukra Recipe

By
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Food writer Petrina Verma Sarkar is a native of India with extensive knowledge of the country's regional cuisines.
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Updated on 07/13/21
Indian bread pudding

 

Sergio Amiti / Getty Images

Prep: 75 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 75 mins
Servings: 6 servings

This is truly a royal dessert, as its name suggests, shahi tukra or shahi tudra is a rich bread pudding with dry fruits, flavored with cardamom. It's simple to make and a great dessert for times when you're in a hurry. This Indian dessert is a Mughlai favorite that combines fried bread slices soaked in hot milk and spices including cardamom and saffron. It is similar to double ke meetha, which has roots in Hyderabad, Telangana. 

Popular Indian Desserts

There are several other desserts that are common in India. Many Indian desserts incorporate cream as well as spices such as saffron and cardamom. Then there's sugar, which was originally refined in India.

  • Gulab Jamun: This recipe combines khoya that is fried and dipped into a saffron-infused sugar syrup.
  • Gajrela: This pudding-like treat is made from carrots and ghee that are cooked with sugar, concentrated and caramelized milk, and mawa (khoya). Some varieties include cheese. 
  • Cham cham: These are made from flattened paneer, which is a form of curdled milk solids that are sweetened in ​a syrup.
  • Modak: Modak also uses saffron along with coconut and nutmeg into sweet flour dumplings that are often served during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.
  • Ras Malai: Balls of dough are soaked in a cardamom-flavored cream and cooked in a sugar syrup.
  • Gajar Ka Halwa: In Pakistan, this is a common winter food that is made from condensed milk, nuts, golden varq and grated carrots.
  • Sandesh: Cottage cheese, saffron and cardamom combine into this cookie-like dessert.
  • Payasam: A creamy rice and milk pudding that also includes raisins and carrots.

Ingredients

  • 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) cream

  • 1 3/4 cups (400 grams) sweetened condensed milk

  • 1 teaspoon cardamom

  • 6 to 8 slices raisin bread or toast

  • 1/2 cup raisins, or sultanas

  • Ghee, for deep frying

  • 1/4 cup blanched almond slivers, to garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Mix the milk and condensed milk in a thick-bottomed pan and boil it until it reduces to half its original volume. Stir frequently to prevent from burning the milk.

  2. When it is done add the cardamom, mix well and remove from the heat.

  3. Cut the crusts off from the slices of bread/raisin toast and quarter the slices.

  4. Heat the ghee on a medium flame. Deep fry the pieces of bread in it till they are crisp and golden. Drain them on paper towels.

  5. In the same ghee, sauté the raisins till they puff up. Remove from the ghee and drain well on paper towels.

  6. Put a layer of bread pieces at the bottom of a flat serving dish and top them with the thickened milk mixture. Keep adding layers of bread and the milk mixture alternating as you go, till all the bread and milk mixture is used up.

  7. Garnish the dish with the raisins and almond slivers, chill for an hour and serve.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1036 Calories
74g Fat
83g Carbs
16g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 1036
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 74g 95%
Saturated Fat 45g 227%
Cholesterol 226mg 75%
Sodium 281mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 83g 30%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 63g
Protein 16g
Vitamin C 4mg 19%
Calcium 406mg 31%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 699mg 15%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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