Shahi Tukray

Ingredients

• 8 white bread slices, crusts removed and each slice cut into 2 triangles
• 250 ml ghee or oil, for shallow frying (use a mix if you like)
• 1.5 l full-fat milk
• 150 ml cream (malai), or 100 g khoya, crumbled
• 120 g sugar, for the milk
• 200 g sugar, for the syrup
• 250 ml water, for the syrup
• 5 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 pinch saffron strands, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
• 1 tsp kewra water or rose water
• 2 tbsp pistachios, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp almonds, blanched and thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp edible silver leaf (varq), optional

Instructions

1. Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to medium-low and simmer, stirring often and scraping the sides, until it has reduced to about half, around 700 ml. It should coat the back of a spoon.
2. Stir in the cream or crumbled khoya, 120 g sugar and 2 crushed cardamom pods. Simmer 5 minutes more, until thick and pale cream in colour. Add the saffron milk and kewra water, then take it off the heat to cool slightly. It will thicken as it cools.
3. While the milk reduces, make the syrup. Put 200 g sugar, the water and the remaining cardamom into a small saucepan. Boil for 6–8 minutes until slightly sticky but still thin, like a light one-thread syrup. Keep it warm over the lowest heat.
4. Heat the ghee in a wide pan over medium heat. It is ready when a bread corner sizzles gently on contact. Fry the bread triangles in batches, 1–2 minutes per side, until deep golden and crisp.
5. Lift the bread out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on paper towels. Dip each piece into the warm syrup for 5–10 seconds, turning once, so it soaks in without turning soggy.
6. Arrange the syrup-dipped pieces in a single overlapping layer in a serving dish. Spoon the warm thickened milk evenly over the top.
7. Scatter pistachios and almonds over the top, and add silver leaf if using. Serve warm, or chill for 2 hours and serve cold.

Tips

• Use slightly stale bread. Fresh bread absorbs too much ghee and goes limp.
• Keep the syrup thin. If it is too thick the bread turns hard and sticky, and if it is too thin the slices go mushy.
• Stir the reducing milk often and scrape the base so it does not catch. A heavy pan helps a lot.
• Pour the milk topping just before serving if you want some crunch. Leave it to sit for 20–30 minutes for a softer, more pudding-like texture.