Shahi tukda
AI-drafted · awaiting admin review
Ghee-fried bread soaked in sugar syrup and covered with thick, saffron-scented rabri; a royal Mughlai dessert of Old Delhi.
Region: Old DelhiOccasion: Eid, especially Eid-ul-Fitr; weddings and Ramzan nightsTime: 1 hour 15 minServes: 6Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick white bread, crusts removed, halved
- Ghee for frying
- Syrup: ½ cup sugar, ½ cup water, 3 crushed cardamoms
- Rabri: 1 litre full-cream milk, 4 tbsp sugar, a pinch of saffron, ½ tsp cardamom powder
- Sliced almonds and pistachios, and silver leaf (optional)
Method
- For the rabri, simmer the milk in a wide pan, stirring and scraping the cream from the sides, until reduced to about a third. Add sugar, saffron and cardamom.
- Boil the sugar, water and cardamom for 5 minutes to make a light syrup.
- Fry the bread pieces in ghee until golden and crisp.
- Dip each piece briefly in warm syrup and arrange on a serving plate.
- Spoon the rabri over the bread, decorate with nuts and silver leaf, and serve warm or chilled.
History
Shahi tukda, 'royal piece', belongs to the Mughlai sweet tradition of Delhi; Hyderabad's double ka meetha is a close cousin.
Significance
It is one of the special sweets of Eid in Old Delhi and is sold by eateries around Jama Masjid during Ramzan.