Shahi Tukra (The Royal Bread Pudding)-The Easy Baked Way!

I always think of the Shahi Tukra as the Indian counterpart of the English Bread Pudding. Although I've often wondered what kind of bread the Mughals used for this, as they are credited with inventing this dish and I really don't think white bread was available to them then! The name Shahi Tukra literally means "Emperor's Morsel"! Anyway, I'm not about to delve deeper into this already sinfully decadent royally delicious dessert-so if any of you have any idea what kind of bread was originally used for this (back in Mughal times), then do drop in a comment and enlighten me...


Now this recipe is different from the traditional ones because its baked. This means you don't have to slave over the stovetop cooking the milk mixture-truly effortless and easy! Yet, it retains the same rich taste. It can be served for parties (kiddies and grownups both love this) or just as a dessert after a family meal. Also, this is just perfect to make either pre-planned or when you have unexpected guests since all you need to do is throw in all the ingredients into an oven and then forget about it!


My family really enjoyed this today as a dessert after lunch and I will be making it this way from now on. This is something I put together from 2 different recipes, one from the Internet (don't remember the source) and the other from a cookbook by chefs from the Taj group of hotels (thank you Sreejitha chechi for giving me the book and Abitha chechi for reminding me of the recipe and emailing it to me!). Onto the recipe now!

To serve 4 people with really really sweet teeth (will serve 8 with just an average sweeth tooth!)

1. 8 slices of white bread (remove crust and cut into halves to get a triangle)
2. 500 mL milk
3. 6 tablespoons condensed milk
4. 2 tablespoon sugar
5. 1 teaspoon crushed/powdered cardamom
6. A couple of strands of saffron (mixed in 2 tablespoons lukewarm water)
7. 1/4 cup of mixed nuts like almonds, cashew, pista, walnuts (blanched, skin removed, and cut into splinters)
8. 2 tablespoons raisins
9. 1/2 cup ghee (this depends on you though!)

• Heat the ghee and fry the bread slices until golden brown. You can either shallow fry or deep fry them. Keep aside.
• In a bowl, combine the milk, condensed milk, sugar, saffron, and cardamom.
• In a large baking tray, arrange the bread slices diagonally.
• Pour the milk mixture on top.
• Sprinkle the nuts and raisins on top.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes. The milk should be simmering and not dried up.
• Serve cold as it is or with a dollop of fresh cream on top!

Tips

You could increase the milk to 1 liter, but then bake it for 30 to 30 minutes.
I baked it a bit longer this time and the milk got dried up, which should not be the case. There should be enough of the milk to cover the bread slices, so be careful and just check after 20-25 minutes.

Linking this to:
Srivalli's Kid's Delight Party Event