Shahi tukda recipe - bread fried in ghee, dunked in sugar syrup and covered in a creamy condensed milk blend

Shahi tukda means "royal pieces" and you better believe it, they are!

Bread fried in ghee, dunked in warm sugar syrup and coated with a creamy concoction of saffron condensed milk. They are crunchy and soak in just the right amount of sweetness and creamy milk, they literally melt in your mouth! If you have bread and condensed milk in your pantry, you can make this right now!

Serves 8
( I made it for 16 bread slices, but will share the recipe for half of it)

Ingredients:
8 white or brown bread slices, crust trimmed and cut into triangle halves
10 Tbsp oil-ghee mixture(both in equal quantities)
1/2 cup crushed pistachios/almonds for garnish
A few fresh or dried rose petals for garnish

For the Rabdi/creamy milk blend
6 cups milk, preferably full fat
1 cup condensed milk
A few strands of saffron
2 tsp almond powder or badam mix

For the sugar syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
A few saffron strands

Method
Lets first get started on the rabdi/creamy milk.
In a heavy bottom pan, add milk and saffron strands. Bring it to a boil and then on low for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until it reduces to 1/3 of its original quantity.

To this add condensed milk and almond powder. Set aside to cool.

Next the sugar syrup, mix the sugar, water and saffron strands. Bring it to a rolling boil and cook on low for 5-7 minutes. Pour a few drops onto a plate. When its a little cool, test it with your thumb and forefinger, if it has a sticky strand consistency, we are good. Turn off the heat. Set aside.

Now we shallow fry the bread. For this take a wide, shallow pan, add a few spoons of the oil-ghee mixture, set it on low-medium heat. In batches of 4 or 6, fry the bread slices until golden brown on both sides. Set them on a plate. Repeat the process until all the bread slices are fried. The bread slices tend to soak up all the oil-ghee, so use a limited quantity for each batch.

Dip each bread in the warm sugar syrup for about 5 seconds each side, remove and arrange it on to a serving dish. Pour a generous serving of rabdi/creamy milk.

Garnish with crushed pistachios and rose petals. Serve warm. They store well in the fridge, and can be eaten as a chilled dessert as well. Enjoy!