Shahi Tukdaشاہی ٹکڑا

Name: Shahi Tukda
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mughlai
Ingredients: 6 thick slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed; 4–5 tbsp ghee — for frying; 3/4 cup sugar — chini; 3/4 cup water; a generous pinch saffron — kesar; 1/2 tsp cardamom powder — elaichi powder; 1 tsp rose water — gulab jal; 1 litre full-fat milk — poora doodh; 4 tbsp sugar — chini; a pinch saffron — kesar; 1/2 tsp cardamom powder — elaichi powder; 1/2 tsp kewra water — kewra jal; 2 tbsp almonds, slivered — badam; 2 tbsp pistachios, slivered — pista

⏱ Prep 15m🍳 Cook 65m🍽 Serves 6🌿 Vegetarian

Video: Hebbars Kitchen (YouTube)

Shahi Tukda is the celebratory bread pudding of the Mughal kitchen — thick slices of bread are fried golden in ghee, soaked in saffron-scented syrup, and then blanketed with rabri, the reduced milk that takes patience to make but nothing else can replace. In Hyderabad the same dish is called Double Ka Meetha, named after the double roti (bread loaf) that local kitchens made entirely their own.

📍 Make it in Plano

This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.

Finding Desi spots near Plano…

Ingredients

▪white sandwich bread, crusts removed6 thick slices
▪ghee — for frying4–5 tbsp
For the sugar syrup
▪sugar — chini3/4 cup
▪water3/4 cup
▪saffron — kesara generous pinch
▪cardamom powder — elaichi powder1/2 tsp
▪rose water — gulab jal1 tsp
For the rabri
▪full-fat milk — poora doodh1 litre
▪sugar — chini4 tbsp
▪saffron — kesara pinch
▪cardamom powder — elaichi powder1/2 tsp
▪kewra water — kewra jal1/2 tsp
For garnish
▪almonds, slivered — badam2 tbsp
▪pistachios, slivered — pista2 tbsp

🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions

Method

1Start the rabri first as it takes the longest: bring the full-fat milk to a boil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer, stirring every couple of minutes and scraping the cream skin from the sides back into the milk, for 45–55 minutes. The milk will gradually reduce to about a third of its original volume and turn thick, with a slightly grainy, layered texture. Stir in the sugar, saffron, cardamom powder, and kewra water. Cook for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
2While the rabri simmers, make the sugar syrup: dissolve the sugar in water over medium heat, add saffron, cardamom, and rose water, and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened but still easily pourable. Keep warm over the lowest possible heat.
3Trim the bread slices into triangles or neat rectangles. Heat ghee in a flat frying pan over medium heat and fry the bread pieces in batches, turning once, until both sides are a deep even gold. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
4While the fried bread is still warm, dip each piece into the warm sugar syrup for about 10 seconds per side, letting it absorb some sweetness without turning completely soggy. Arrange the soaked pieces in a single layer on a wide, flat serving dish.
5Pour the cooled rabri generously over the soaked bread, covering the pieces fully. Scatter slivered almonds and pistachios over the top.
6Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving — the bread softens slightly and the flavours settle. Serve chilled.

A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.