Desserts & Sweet Treats

Baked Shahi Tukray — Royal Bread Pudding

The Mughal classic, made lighter — oven-toasted bread soaked in saffron-cardamom rabri, baked until golden and crowned with pistachios. An Eid table showstopper.

Ingredients

• 8 slices of bread, crusts removed, cut diagonally
• 4 tbsp ghee or melted butter (for brushing)
• 1 litre full-cream milk
• ½ cup sugar (adjust to taste)
• ½ cup cream (Olper's/Milkpak)
• ½ tsp crushed cardamom + a pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
• 2 tbsp condensed milk (optional, for richness)
• Chopped pistachios, almonds & silver warq to garnish

Method

1. Toast, don't fry. Brush bread triangles with ghee on both sides and bake at 180°C for 10–12 minutes, flipping once, until golden and crisp. (Traditional recipes deep-fry — baking gives all the flavour with half the oil.)
2. Rabri. Simmer milk on medium-low, stirring often, until reduced by a third (about 20 minutes). Add sugar, cream, cardamom, saffron milk and condensed milk. Simmer 5 more minutes.
3. Assemble. Arrange the toasted bread in a baking dish, slightly overlapping. Pour the hot rabri evenly over, letting every piece soak.
4. Bake. 20–25 minutes at 180°C until the top is golden and the edges bubble.
5. Garnish. Scatter pistachios and almonds. Serve warm or chilled — both are glorious.