Shahi Tukda Recipe | How To Make Shahi Tukda At Home

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Shahi Tukda is a celebrated dessert not just in Asian and Indian Sub-continent region but all over the world. Shahi Tukda Recipe (Shahi Tukra Recipe) is an easy to make recipe at home however it might take a little bit more time than other desserts such as Rice Kheer, Suji Halwa, Banana Kheer etc. This is mostly due to the time taken to prepare Rabri, which is another popular dessert on its own. There is another similar recipe called Double Ka Meetha which may look similar to Shahi Tukda recipe.

In India, Shahi Tukda recipe is believed to be linked with the arrival of Mughals. Shahi Tukda is one of the Mughal era dishes which are quite popular in the modern culture. The literal meaning of Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra) would mean – “Royal Piece” or “Royal Bite” and it is indeed royal both from appearance and taste. It is one of the celebrated vegetarian Mughal era dishes which are popular all over the world.

Shahi Tukda in short is prepared by frying small pieces of bread in Clarified butter, followed by dipping into Sugar Syrup and finally topping it with Rabri (a popular dessert prepared with condensed milk). In Indian sub-continent, Shahi Tukda is also very popular especially during Ramzan and Eid festival. Many people who observe fast during Ramzan would like to have this hearty dish. We recommend you to try Shahi Tukda at home and we are sure you will fall in love with this sweet and tasty dessert.

Refer recipe card and detailed steps to follow our Shahi Tukda Recipe. Make these Soft and Tasty Sweet Shahi Tukda at home and enjoy this festive season.

Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra)

Shahi Tukda Recipe as we mentioned already take a little bit more time however the end result is just awesome. The steps required for Shahi Tukda recipe are straightforward but most of the time consumed in making this dish is the time it takes to make Rabri. In this section let us go into more details of making Shahi Tukda at home.

Shahi Tukda requires you to make three different things before you can mix them together to make it. These three things are – Rabri, Sugar Syrup and Fried Breads. Also, since making Rabri will consume most of your time let us first start with making Rabri but even before that let’s make more ingredient that would be used in making Rabri, and that ingredient is – Milk Masala Powder. Let’s check how to make Milk Masala Powder in the preparation step for Shahi Tukda.

Ingredients for Shahi Tukda

Here is the list of all ingredients that you need to make Shahi Tukda. Most of the ingredients as mentioned in this Shahi Tukda recipe should be easily available in nearby grocery or local supermarket. If you are living outside, many of these ingredients are now-a-days readily available in major supermarkets due to their extensive use in cooking.

Spices

This dessert requires very less ingredients. Primary Ingredients are Bread, Milk, Sugar and Clarified Butter. Spices such as Cardamom pods, Cardamom powder, Almond and Saffron threads are used to flavour the dessert. All of these spices are easily found in local food store or supermarket especially under Asian spices section. Even if you are living in countries outside India such as United States or United Kingdom you can easily find all the ingredients in supermarkets.

In case you are not able to find Saffron threads, you can replace them with food colour. Rest of the ingredients and spices are required for better flavour.

Bread

White Bread which is commonly found in local and superstores is mostly used to prepare the dish. Use medium sized bread to make the dish. Do not use very soft bread as it will dilute easily with Rabri however if you plan to consume it immediately you can go with it.

Ghee

You can find this ingredient as Clarified butter in most stores. If you are in India we recommend using Amul Ghee for great taste. Outside India you can get different brands of Clarified butter. Usually the packaged Clarified butter contains some amount of Vegetable oil to keep it fluent in low temperature.

Pure Ghee is more granular and not fluent especially in low temperature. If you can get hold of pure Ghee the flavour and Aroma is just awesome and is best for cooking. In case you are out of luck and do not have Clarified butter, you can use some pure butter instead.

Preparation Steps to make Shahi Tukda

To make Shahi Tukda you require Milk Masala powder which is very easy to make at home. Milk Masala powder will basically give the flavour that you find in Rabri. It is mainly a mixture of dry fruits and Cardamom. Here we will be using three different types of dry fruits but you are more than welcome to add any other dry fruit to get that extra special flavour you need. So, lets get started –

To prepare Milk Masala Powder take 6-7 Almonds, 6-7 Cashews and 5-6 Pistachios and 3-4 Cardamom pod in a blender and mix it for a minute. This will finely chop/blend the dry fruits and Cardamom pod. This fine mixture is what we call the Milk Masala powder as it gives the flavour to Rabri.

For this Shahi Tukda recipe you will just need 1 tbsp of this Milk Masala Powder in Rabri, remaining you can store and keep it for sometime. You can keep remaining Masala powder for a couple of weeks however do not keep it for too long. Especially if you are from places with extreme temperature you may need to be careful about any spoilage that you may see while storing any food item for long.

If you are wondering on what other items you can use this Milk Masala powder, then here are few ideas from us – use it in pudding or even in Smoothies or Shakes such as Banana Shake and Strawberry Milkshake. This masala will give some added flavour to your desserts.

How To Make Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra)

To make Shahi Tukda you basically need to make three things – Rabri, Sugar Syrup and Fried Breads. After preparing these we have to use them to make Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra) dessert. If you prepare these things in advance you can use them later to quickly prepare the dish.

This recipe is to make Shahi Tukda without condensed milk. However there is not much difference if you want to use condensed milk. If you are using condensed milk you will require lesser amount of Milk to make Rabri. Since Rabri is an important ingredient for this recipe, so let us start by making it first.

Steps to make Rabri

Now, once you have prepared Milk Masala Powder, you are ready to make Rabri.

To make Rabri, let us take Whole Milk in a Big Utensil (Deep Frying Pan) and first bring it to boil on high flame. As the milk starts boiling you should simmer the gas flame and let us keep heating the milk. The idea here is to get the milk thicker and reduced to approx 1/3 its initial quantity.

Once gas flame is simmer, add Saffron threads, Sugar and Cardamom powder to the milk and stir it gently.

Remember, for rest of the recipe you need to keep simmer flame. Also gently keep stir the milk from time to time.

This will ensure that the milk just doesn’t start to overflow the utensil.

As the milk boils you will start seeing a thin crust of milk cream forming on top. Once you see enough of crust, take it out using a spatula. Gently stick it on the sides of the frying pan or utensil.

Repeat this process as you cook until you have reached 1/3 of the Milk quantity.

Do not worry, as you see the cream crust getting a bit harder and a little burnt on the sides of the frying pan. This is meant to happen. Later you will be using this hardened cream to prepare Rabri. Adding cream crust gives you the creamy flavour as well as make Rabri thick. It will also give required texture to Shahi Tukda.

Meanwhile, take 1/2 tsp Cornflour in a small bowl and mix it with 2 tsp of milk. You can use same milk which you are boiling in the frying pan.

Mix it well, so there are no lump formations in it.

Once, the milk is 1/3 it’s original quantity, mix the Cornflour syrup in it. This will thicken the boiling milk. Do not add too much Cornflour syrup else milk might become too thick and will just spoil everything. So stick to the proportions.

Stir it for 5 minutes. Now, add Milk Masala Powder and stir again. Milk Masala powder will give the extra flavour to Rabri. Turn off the gas. Your Rabri is almost ready.

Pour the boiled milk in a bowl. Now, scratch off the thick creamy crust layer formed on the sides of the frying pan. This is what will make it more thick and bring flavour to the dessert.

Now, add the creamy crust to the boiled milk in the bowl and mix it gently.

Your Rabri is ready. Before using it with Shahi Tukda it is better to keep it in refrigerator for sometime – 30 mins or so.

How to make Sugar Syrup for Shahi Tukda

Moving on to the next item in our Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra) Recipe i.e. preparing Sugar Syrup. To make Sugar Syrup, take 2 cup water in a wide pan and add equal amount of Sugar to it. Now switch on the flame so that water starts boiling.

Now put the flame on medium and add Cardamom pods, Saffron threads and Lime juice to the Sugar Syrup. The Lime juice will help reduce crystallisation of Sugar Syrup. Do not add more than few drops of Lime juice else it will change the flavour.

Now keep the Sugar Syrup on simmer flame for 3 – 4 minutes until the Sugar Syrup starts becoming slightly sticky. Do not go beyond this else it will make breads too sticky and crystalline.

Turn off the flame and cover the pan with a lid. Sugar Syrup will be used to dip fried bread pieces once they are cooked.

How to fry bread to make Shahi Tukda

With everything ready you are now ready to make the fried breads. To make fried breads, take two white breads and gently slice off the hard edges. Now take each slice of bread and cut it diagonally into 4 pieces.

You can choose any other shapes but we prefer triangular shape from presentation perspective. Now, put some clarified butter in a frying pan and as soon as it gets hot, add bread pieces to it.

Since, the Clarified butter is hot, quickly toss the breads to other side so it does not burn. Within few seconds it will turn golden brown in colour.

Now take the fried breads and put them on a kitchen towel or a tissue paper to soak extra clarified butter.

By now, if your Sugar Syrup has turned cold, put it on gas flame until it becomes lukewarm (moderate warm), after which you can turn off the gas. You do not want to make it too hot or else you will loose the crispiness of the fried bread.

Now take the fried bread and dip it into the Sugar Syrup for few seconds and take them out in a dessert plate for serving. Do not keep them dipped in Sugar Syrup for long as the breads will loose their crispiness.

Now, in the end pour few spoons of Rabri on top of the sugary fried breads to make Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra).

Your Shahi Tukda is ready to be served but before that don’t forget to garnish it with some chopped Pistachios. Enjoy the dessert. Consume it fresh for better flavour.

You can serve it hot or cold as per your personal preference.

Serving Ideas for Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra)

Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra) is an excellent dessert that goes well with Spicy food. After a spicy meal this dessert will give a great sense of fulfilment and satisfaction. Shahi Tukda is an excellent side for spicy dishes such as – Dal Makhani, Palak Paneer, Shahi Paneer etc.

Since the dessert takes sometime to prepare it is a good idea to keep Rabri, Sugar Syrup and Fried breads ready before-hand. This will help you later as you can then warmup Sugar Syrup, dip fried breads in it and use the chilled cold Rabri on top before serving.

This will save you sometime especially if you are preparing the dish for guests.

Shahi Tukda (Shahi Tukra) can be served both hot and cold. It is a matter of personal preference however we personally like the dessert chilling cold.

Chef Recommendations for Shahi Tukda

• You can use skimmed milk in place of Whole Milk.
• You can also use ready made Milk Masala Powder available in market.
• If you plan to make your own Milk Masala Powder, you can make some of it and easily keep it for few weeks. It won’t spoil easily but do watch out for any signs of spoil when using next time.
• If you don’t want to deep fry the breads, then you can just apply some Clarified butter on both sides of the bread pieces and roast it on a frying pan however as you can imagine, this might be a little different in taste.
• Rabri prepared this way would be good enough for another few servings. You can also consume Rabri on its own, topped with some more chopped dry fruits. Rabri in itself is a dessert.
• If you want to consume hot Shahi Tukda, then as soon as you take out the fried breads, you then need to dip them in Sugar Syrup and top it with warm Rabri.
• Do not keep fried breads topped with Rabri for long as it will loose its crispy texture. Always dip fried breads in Sugar Syrup and top with Rabri just before serving.
• You cannot make Shahi Tukda in advance however you can prepare fried bread, Sugar Syrup and Rabri in advance and just mix them when needed. Rabri is a milk product and will spoil easily so when we say that you can make Rabri in advance, it means that you should consume it same day. You can keep Rabri refrigerated for few days before it spoils.
• Fried bread will not spoil easily and neither will the Sugar Syrup which you can keep refrigerated. You would need to however gently heat the Sugar Syrup next time you plan to make Shahi Tukda.
• You can consume Shahi Tukda both – hot or cold. It is a matter of personal preference. We usually like it chilling cold and for that we refrigerate Rabri for sometime before preparing Shahi Tukda.
• You can use condensed milk while preparing Rabri, just reduce the quantity of whole milk to approx 1/2 or 3/4 quantity mentioned. Remember the more better your Rabri is – more better your Shahi Tukda will be.

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Discover More

And that is not all folks! Shall we take this opportunity to invite you to discover more tasty and yummy recipes in our food wonderland.

• Check more such desserts in our Dessert section.
• Why not try few more sweets and desserts this Summer. Check these out –
  • Sweet Rice
  • Gulab Jamun
  • Sabudana Kheer
  • Gajar Ka Halwa