My take on the beloved traditional Indian dessert is a healthier version which uses multigrain bread, a spoon of ghee, a handful of nuts, and toned milk to make this royal dessert!
A millennial confession: I’d never heard of shahi tukda till I saw Bon Appetit’s new Indian contributor Priya Krishna make her family version of it. A month later, I had a budget version in a buffet here: deep fried sliced white bread dunked in a saccharine sweet milky base? It was too greasy, too sweet. I didn’t have any urge to make it myself, till today, when I realized I have a loaf of bread past its prime, tons of saffron which does not find much use in my house, 1/2 L of toned milk, and boxes of nuts and spices as ghosts of Diwali gifts past!
Traditional shahi toast uses white bread, and a thin milky sauce resembling a basundi. However, I wanted my version to have a thick rabri-like, fragrant, creamy, nutty base that would be topped on crunchy, multigrain bread toasted with ghee – but not soaked in it. I wanted it to retain its indulgent feeling without too much sugar or fat. One time-saving hack was to toast the bread in the oven (OTG) on a pan greased with ghee, rather than fry it on a pan. The oven also removes the moisture from the bread, leaving it crunchy as well as crispy. For such low effort, the result is pretty spectacular. Just be sure to assemble the dish at the time of serving or max. 30 mins before, else the bread will begin absorbing all the creamy liquid, leaving a sludge of nuts behind! If this happens, simply add in more milk to the dish. Arguably leftovers the next day are even better, when the bread soaks up all the milk and flavour, and becomes soft and spongy like rasmalai!
Trust me, your uncles and aunties with their high BP, cholesterol and diabetes won’t miss the fat or sugar when you serve it to guests at your lunch or dinner party!
Here’s how I made my shahi tukda.
Ingredients:
Bread, 3 pieces sliced diagonally in half
Ghee, 1 tbsp
Milk, 500 ml
Saffron, 6-7 strands to a pinch.
Cardamom powder, 1 tsp (Alternatively, grind 5-6 cardamom pods. Leave out the dried green cover, and only collect the black and brown seeds within)
Pistachios, 4-5
Almonds, 4-5
Cashews, 4-5
Sugar, 2 tbsp (20g)
Salt, 1/2 tsp
Recipe:
1. Over a stove, boil milk over 30-60 mins on a medium high flame till it reduces to 1/3rd or 1/4th of its original volume, and thickens. Keep stirring to ensure that milk does not scorch the bottom of the pan/boil over/.
2. Keep removing the skin (malai) that forms over the milk from time to time. This will be added back later.
3. Pulse the nuts to tiny pieces or chunks.
4. Toast the bread either in the toaster, OTG or pan using ghee. Make sure it has a good browning and crunch to it, else it will become soggy.
5. When the milk thickens, add the sugar and saffron, stirring for a couple of minutes.
6. Add the nuts and the salt.
7. Arrange the toasted ‘tukdas’ on a serving dish and spoon over the fragrant rabdi.
Garnish with some more nuts and a few strands of saffron, if desired. Enjoy!
Note:
1. If making in a jiffy, you can add condensed milk for a rich, creamy sweet taste.
2. You can add more nuts (like I did) for a thicker rabdi.
3. I used a mixture of chunky nuts and powdered nuts, which is how my mixer-grinder pulsed it rather than using sliced dry fruit.
4. You can thicken the milk using a cornflour slurry: make a paste of 1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch in 1 tbsp water, and add it to the milk. Boil only for 1-2 mins before taking it off the flame.
5. The bread absorbs all liquid very quickly, so you will need to keep adding milk to any leftovers.
The Gourmet Food Journal 
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