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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Shahi tukde, my way
For JFI- Diwali treats at Vee’s place
and for VCC Q3 at My Dhaba





Sometimes a single problem might result in many interesting solutions, when mankind looked at a stale leftover piece of bread as a problem; many solutions sprang up all over the world as bread puddings of all different sorts. There is of course the English bread pudding, which eventually became universal in appearance , bodding ( what a lovely name !) which is Belgian, and along with many other forms of this pudding there is the Indian version called Shahi tukde (Shahi tukre). “Shahi” is a splendid word, and when you see it as a prefix to the name of a dish, expect a royal treat. Rich creamy gravies, captivatingly perfumed rice preparations, sumptuous desserts topped with edible silver foil (varq), “shahi” is a word to look for in an Indian restaurant menu. .You can find an authentic version of this fantabulous dessert here. The recipe I used is slightly different, and rich in pistachios and cashew nuts. Being a lesser mortal, I do not generally stock up silver leaves; wish I had some to decorate this dessert!
Wish you a very happy Diwali

White bread pieces – 15 (~ 5cm x 5cm)
Evaporated milk – 11/2 cup
Pistachios
Shelled, skinned – 2 tbsp
Crushed – 3 tbsp
Cashew nuts – ½ cup
Milk – 2 1/2 cups
Fresh cream – 2 tsp
Cardamom – crushed 3 pods
Rose water – ¼ tsp
Ghee or oil – for shallow frying bread pieces.
Sugar – 1 cup + 2 tbsp + 1 tsp
Water – 1 cup

Soak Pistachios and cashew nuts in 1 cup of milk for 1-2 hrs. Mix sugar and water, boil till a thick syrup forms. Add rose water and keep. Shallow fry bread slices till the edges are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. To the soaked nuts, add 1 cup of milk and grind to a fine paste in a blender. Add ½ cup of evaporated milk and 2 tbsp sugar to the mixture. Cook in a thick bottomed pan with constant stirring till the mixture thickens (takes 5-8 minutes). Add crushed cardamom, cool. In a bowl mix 1 cup evaporated milk,1/2 cup fresh cream ,1 tsp sugar and 1 crushed pod of cardamom Dip bread slices in sugar syrup quickly and arrange 5 pieces on a plate , top with the nuts+ milk mixture ( use a pastry bag so that you can easily pipe a blob on to the bread piece). Cover with bread and repeat layering till you get 5 neat stacks of 3 bread pieces each with the milk mixture in between. Drizzle the cream + milk mixture on top and decorate with crushed nut mixture. The above directions are for individual plating of this dessert, can be arranged in a baking dish as a single layer of bread pieces and milk mixture. Chill and serve

47 comments:

  1. oh wow....these look so yummy. I remember I liked them cold from the fridge...in Hyderabad, this pudding is called double ka meetha...I think the name stems from the fact that bread is called double ki roti there(since the dough doubles up from yeast is my guess)

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  2. Archana...how do you manage such magnificent photos! They are not only appealing to my eyes but also my sense of taste! I also make a 'double ka meeta' but I don't think I can make it look as delicious as you manage!
    Praveena

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  3. Anonymous4:00 AM

    archana...u are gonna kill us..with such exquisite snaps of food. This one is irresistable, can resist sweets.. if someone offers such lovely stuff... fantabulous.. and keep them coming.. no one is complaining.... except the weighing scales..(groan)

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  4. Archana,
    oh so adorable your Shahi tukde! I appreciate your thought in scale down the big dessert to an individual portion which is more practical (to me anyway) since we have such a small family now. That green color (pistachios) looks absolutely gorgeous on the white cream! Is that toffee (sugar) by the side? I just love this candy, every pattern is one of the kind!
    I had bread pudding once only which was made by my friend, oh so delicious!

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  5. Gorgeous presentation as always ! Looks delicious !

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  6. Looks divine!
    Wish you a very happy Diwali!

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  7. Anonymous6:06 AM

    I couldn't believe what i'm seeing..What a treat to my eyes ...
    how do u come with such mouth watering dishes?My god..and the photographs are just brilliant..great work as always,Archana..
    And hey,I loved that caramel work..Its perfect...

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  8. Anonymous7:01 AM

    I simply love Shahi Tukda and your photo of this decadent dessert, how very appropriate for the festivities of the season!

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  9. Man that looks beautiful!

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  10. Anonymous7:09 AM

    You never ever fails to impress all of us here. How do you manage to do all these? Happy Deepavali to you.

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  11. Anonymous7:44 AM

    Hmmmm. You tease my tongue with your pictures. I love the caramel drizzle thing you have made (it is caramel rite?). Thanks for the treat anda very happy diwali to you and your family

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  12. Anonymous7:55 AM

    Oh yeah all Indian restaurants serve "Shahi" items but only "Spicyana" serves these fabulous items :-) I just wish I get a chance to see your creativity in person. Could learn many things from you. You have amazing talent my dear CakeGirl :-)

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  13. wow....thats cool..i am drooing...nice presentation archana...happy diwali to u too.

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  14. Your way is fabulous, very festive ! Excellent entry!! Have a very merry Diwali!!

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  15. Archana
    Absolutely love the way you presented this dish. Assembling bread like a cake is a neat idea. Almost looks like Tiramisu(Indian version)

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  16. great pix, archana. was that a mesh of caramel on the side? it looks like one of those interesting, beautiful microscope pix that we see from time to time!

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  17. wow!..nice pictures as well as nice recipe as well as nice presentation as usual archana...:-)) Happy diwali to u and your family members...Enjoy!!

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  18. Anonymous12:17 PM

    I have no words to say how good that looks! I have never tasted this before.

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  19. Amazing....You have a great art Archana.

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  20. Anonymous1:44 PM

    Have never had Shahi Tukde before, Looks delicious Archana !

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  21. Anonymous4:43 PM

    Looks Absolutely gorgeous!!! I like your version. as for the silver foil, oh...we live and we dream!!!

    Thank you for participating and A Happy festive season to you and your family!!

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  22. Really delicious looking tukda. its a oxymoron.. to call such a scrumtious dessert a tukda (meaning morsel). hwo do u do the sugar candy decoration?Happy Diwali to u.

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  23. Anonymous6:20 PM

    Archana, it looks and sounds so decadent! I don't think any decoration, silver or otherwise, could make it lovlier.

    Wishing you a happy celebration :)

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  24. Happy Diwali to you too archana! Love your blog. You've got some of the best photograps on any food blog that I've visited. Love your recipes and the layout of your blog too. Keep tempting us with those pics and recipes!!

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  25. Anonymous8:50 PM

    Wow!what a wonderful presentation! Nicely done.Sounds yummy too. I've added this to my must-try list. Thanks for this virtual treat.
    Rg.

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  26. Anonymous8:55 PM

    Archana, by the way, I've another question abt another recipe. Sorry to ask that doubt here. Could the mango mousse be made without eggs? If yes,what do I substitute and most importantly, how much of the substitute should be added? This is for preparing it for a vegetarian friend of mine (for her diwali potluck party).Thanks...:)
    Rg.

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  27. Nabeela
    Thank you. That is an excellent guess Nabee, very reasonable, I never even thought about it. I love it chilled too.

    Praveena
    Thank you for these kind words.


    Anonymous
    Thank you so much


    Gattina
    Thank you friend. Yes, that is sugar, I love working with caramel, as you know very well it is fun.

    Krithika
    Thank you.

    Chandrika
    Thanks a bunch, happy Diwali to you too.

    Annita
    Thank you so much Annita, you are almost making me go head over heels.

    Monisha , WheresMM
    Thanks a lot.

    Tanya
    Thank you. Happy Diwali to you.


    Hema
    Thank you, yes, that is caramel. We wish you the same, thank you.


    KeralaGirl
    Ahha, I would love to meet you too. Do let me know whenever you are in pacific NW. You will have to tell me your name though. Happy Diwali.


    Maneka

    Thank you. Enjoy a happy diwali.

    Foodie's Hope
    Thank you
    What can be more festive than that fabulous spread that you are planning for Diwali, enjoy!

    KrishnaArjuna
    Thank you dear, hope your work schedule slows down soon to let you celebrate a fabulous diwali.

    Saffron
    Thank you. I will happily exchange these ST for a couple of pieces of Kaju kathli for sure. Happy Diwali.


    Sra
    Thank you. It is caramel, it sure does look like a tissue section under a microscope.


    Meena
    Thank you friend, Diwali greetings to you too.

    RP
    Enthnikilum onnu parayoo ente RPeee. Enthayalum njan oru thanks paranjekkam. Thank you.

    Shilpa , PriyaS &S
    Thank you so much.

    Vee
    Thank you for hosting the event, I can hardly wait to see the round up. Do you know if we can buy Varq online from somewhere? Enjoy a happy diwali.


    Shaheen
    Thank you so much. I always feel that this dessert is too “shahi” to be called a “tukde”. It is just plain caramel. Cup or less of sugar + 1 tbsp water, caramelize and drizzle on to a parchment paper.


    Linda
    Thank you so much for these kind words, alright I am going to let go off silver.


    Smitha
    Thank you so much, and welcome to Spicyana. Thanks again for writing all these nice words about this blog, I do appreciate it.

    RG
    Thanks a bunch. You can ask, anytime, please….. To substitute eggs. Boil ½ cup of water or orange juice, turn of the heat. Dissolve sugar in it. Add 1 ½ tsp of plain gelatin, and stir to dissolve. Cool it to room temperature. Consider this as your substitute egg cream. Proceed to the nest step as directed in the original recipe. Hope this helps. Enjoy a fantastic Diwali, go party RG !

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  28. archana, what a beautiful picture, absolutely gorgeous! Happy Diwali to you and your family :)

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  29. Anonymous11:08 AM

    Hi Archana,
    Your photo is sooo sweet. I can taste the sweet from your picture.Yum Yum:->

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  30. Archana,

    Happy Diwali to you! Looks amazing and I hope you eat one extra for me too.

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  31. Archana,
    Lovely as always! Happy Diwali to you and your family!

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  32. That is one fabulous treat! Happy Diwali to you and your family Archana

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  33. As always your dessert looks out of the world. Happy Diwali

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  34. Anonymous8:18 PM

    So simple to prepare yet so gorgeous! Looks mouthwatering, Archana. Great entry to JFI event.

    Wish you a happy and subha Deepavali!

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  35. Hi Archana,
    Lovely pic... Just seeing your pic I forgot to comment. Good entry .
    Wish you and your family "Happy Diwali".

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  36. Hi Archana, a very happy diwali to u and u'r family...aapne hamare dil ke tukde ko itni khoobi se saja rakhi hey ki hum kya kahe...masha alla...la jawaab!!

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  37. Hey....You have a great site. Wow the fotos are amazing!

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  38. Anonymous4:51 PM

    All I can say is WOW!. Happy diwali to you and your family( sorry for the belated wish)

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  39. Archana,

    Am swept away by your mind boggling photography and presentation. Keep Up!!

    -Divya

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  40. You have a good photo presentation girl:-))) Keep going..

    Belated diwlai wishes to you.

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  41. Anonymous11:26 AM

    Archana...what a presentation!
    I'm visiting ur blog after a long time and I must say u r a brilliant photographer too.

    Radhika

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  42. Mandira,Meeta,Ashwini,Shankari,Faffer,
    Thank you, I am glad that you liked it. Hope all of enjoyed a happy diwali.

    Lakshmiammal
    Thanks a bunch.

    Indira,MT,Lalitha,
    Thank you so much for these kind words, and again for your greetings.

    Indianadoc
    Thank you. Good to see you back Shynee, we missed you here.


    Malar Gandhi
    Welcome to Spicyana, thank you.


    Divya
    Thank you so much.


    Priya
    Thanks Priya, hope you celebrated a happy diwali.

    Radhika,
    Welcome back; hope you are settled at your new place. Thank you for these kind words.

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  43. yours is a great idea of shahi tukde.
    nice pics and good presentation .:)
    be around.
    -Pooja

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  44. Hi
    very different version of shahi tukde. Would make a wonderful dessert for a party night.
    Chk here for another version of the same recipe here:
    http://www.indusladies.com/forums/19889-post86.html

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  46. Wow this looks so good. the Sh. Tukda looks so.. great. Just chanced upon ur blog and I couldnt but comment on this recipe

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