Shahi Tukra is an indulgent and delicious Pakistani/Indian Bread Pudding. Made with fried bread soaked in milk flavored with cardamom and saffron, enjoy it warm or chilled for a royal treat!
Shahi Tukda literally translates to Royal (Shahi) Piece (Tukra). And it really is a royally indulgent dessert.
It is made with fried bread soaked in milk flavored with cardamom and saffron.
It can be enjoyed warm or chilled for a royal treat!
Shahi Tukra is a great make-ahead dessert, perfect for entertaining or to bring to a dinner party!
Ingredients for Shahi Tukra
Bread – This recipe is perfect for a simple loaf of white bread. Nothing fancy here. Each slice of bread is typically cut into 2 triangles diagonally, but that’s a personal preference.
Ghee or oil – Traditionally the bread is fried in desi ghee, but you can also use a neutral cooking oil to fry the bread.
Milk – We use a combination of sweet condensed milk and regular 2% milk in this recipe. But you can also whole milk, or a combination of whole milk and sweet condensed milk.
Sugar – The recipe listed below uses 1/2 cup of sugar, but you can increase or decrease that depending on if you are using condensed milk, or if you like your desserts a little sweeter.
Nuts – Chopped almonds and pistachios are traditionally used in this dessert. You can use whatever you have on hand, or experiment with other nuts like walnuts and pecans.
Saffron – For this recipe you only need a few strands of saffron. It adds a floral flavor to the Shahi Tukra!
Cardamom – the cardamom added an earthy flavor to the milk that really pairs well with the saffron and the nuts. You can use either ground cardamom or crush 1-2 pods of green cardamom if you prefer using whole cardamom pods.
How to make Shahi Tukra?
#1: Fry the bread
Add ghee or oil to a frying pan. Make sure to coat the pan with about 1/4 inch of oil. For this dessert, you do want to fry the bread so that it is golden brown, not just toast the bread.
#2: Make the flavored Milk
In a medium pot, add the milk, sugar, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, saffron and sweet condensed milk.
Heat the milk on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, continuously stirring to make sure the milk does not burn.
#3: Assemble and Bake
Once you have prepped the bread and milk, the last step is to assemble the dessert.
A simple baking dish like a large Pyrex dish is perfect for this recipe, especially if you’re planning to bring it to a dinner party!
Mom’s Tip
You can prepare this dessert ahead of time. Assemble the dessert in a baking dish, and bake it right before you want to serve the dessert.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Use a baking dish in which you can lay the bread triangles in a single layer.
Top it with the flavored milk.
Sprinkle with chopped nuts.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, to allow the bread to soak the milk mixture.
How to serve Shahi Tukra?
Shahi Tukra can be served both warm or chilled, this is a personal preference.
We really enjoy Shahi Tukra as a simple yet indulgent warm dessert in the winter!
If you’re looking for other traditional Pakistani desserts:
- Kheer – a rice pudding recipe made with sweet condensed milk
- Gajar Ka Halwa – a traditional carrot pudding perfect for when carrots are in season!
If you give this recipe a try, we’d love to see it! Tag us on Instagram @thespicemess
Ready to make Shahi Tukra?
Shahi Tukra
Ingredients
- 6 slices of bread
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder or 1-2 green cardamom pods, crushed.
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg powder
- pinch saffron 4-5 strands
- 1-2 tablespoons ghee or neutral cooking oil
- 10 almonds chopped
- 10 pistachios chopped
Instructions
Flavored Milk
- In a large heavy bottom pot, add milk, sugar, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, saffron sweet condensed milk.
- Heat the milk on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, continuously stirring to make sure the milk does not burn.
- Remove from heat and set aside. Remove cardamom pods if whole cardamom was used.
Fried Bread
- Remove crusts from the slices of bread, and cut each slice diagonally into two triangles.
- In a frying pan add ghee or oil, about ¼ inch to fry the bread.
- Add bread triangles to the pan in a single layer, frying 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Repeat for remaining bread as required.
Assemble and Bake
- In a baking dish lay the bread slices in a single layer. Pour milk mixture, and sprinkle with chopped pistachio and almonds.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Bake in the oven at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes.
- Enjoy Shahi Tukra warm or cold, as preferred.
Notes
- Shahi Tukra can be made ahead of time. Assemble the dessert in a baking dish, and bake before serving.