Zafrani Shahi Tukray

My absolute favourite traditional Pakistani dessert has to be Zafrani Shahi Tukray!

Golden deep fried bread, soaked in a saffron flavoured and cardamom scented milk base, garnished with edible silver warq and chopped nuts – what’s not to love about this comforting desi style bread pudding?

I almost always get a recipe request whenever I serve this at a dinner, party etc.

If you’re serving a traditional desi menu and thinking of a really smashing dessert to go with it, Zafrani Shahi Tukray are a pretty great choice. Pakistani desserts and sweets are lovely but I’ve noticed that not everyone likes every traditional meetha.

For example, I’m not a fan of Kheer but love Firni. I know people who absolutely adore Gajar Ka Halwa and there are others who don’t care for it at all.

As far as I know, Shahi Tukray are one of those traditional desserts enjoyed by almost everyone – both kids and adults alike.

Everyone seems to love my Zafrani Shahi Tukray so here’s the easy recipe that I initially found on FoodViva. Zafrani Shahi Tukray

 

Recipe Type: Dessert    Author: Alice In Eatland

Prep Time: 30 Minutes   Cook Time: 30 Minutes    Total Time: 60 Minutes

Serves: 4

 

Zafrani Shahi Tukray, a traditional Pakistani bread pudding made of golden fried bread soaked in thick saffron flavoured & cardamom scented milk.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4 – 6 green cardamoms
• Good pinch saffron strands
• Oil for deep frying*
• 4 – 6 white bread slices**
• Chopped pistachios & almonds
• Edible silver leaf / warq

 

METHOD

1. In a stainless steel pan, stir together the whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, cardamoms and saffron strands.
2. Place over medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring frequently.
3. When milk mixture reaches the boil, reduce the heat to medium-low.
4. Let mixture cook uncovered until almost reduced by half – this can take anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes.
5. When mixture has reduced and seems a bit thick, remove from heat.
6. Cool completely to room temperature.
7. Either pick out the cardamoms or strain the mixture to get rid of any seeds that may be lurking in the milk.
8. Get oil ready for deep frying in a roomy pan.
9. Line a couple of trays or flat plates with paper towels / kitchen paper.
10. Trim the crusts from all four sides of the bread slices and then cut each slice into quarters so that you have 4 triangles.
11. When the oil is hot enough, deep fry bread triangles on both sides a few minutes in batches, until golden all over.
12. Remove golden fried bread triangles to lined trays / plates.
13. After about 5 minutes, when the paper towels have absorbed as much oil as possible, remove fried bread to another tray or plate lined with fresh paper towels / kitchen paper, placing bread triangles the other side down.
14. This step ensures that you remove as much excess oil as possible from the deep fried bread.
15. When ready to assemble Zafrani Shahi Tukray, using tongs, dunk each bread triangle in the cooled milk mixture, making sure both sides are soaked thoroughly and arrange in serving dish.
16. Pour about 3/4ths of the remaining milk all over the arranged bread, reserving the rest.
17. Place edible silver leaf / warq over the bread triangle points.
18. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts, cover with cling film and chill at least 30 minutes to an hour – the longer it chills, the better.
19. Let Zafrani Shahi Tukray come to room temperature 5 – 10 minutes and drizzle over the remaining milk before serving.
20. Store leftovers covered with cling film in the fridge for up to 2 days.

 

NOTES

*I’ve come across recipes that recommend shallow frying the bread in very little oil or even toasting it to cut down on the fat.

I deep fry my bread because it is not possible to get an overall golden crust without it, plus I feel deep fried bread holds up better when it comes to absorbing the milk and doesn’t get too mushy.

Since this is usually a special treat and not made on a daily basis, I don’t feel too guilty about deep frying the bread.

You can try the shallow frying or toasting method but I cannot guarantee if the results will be the same because I’ve never tried those methods with my Zafrani Shahi Tukray.

 

**The number of white bread slices you will need for this recipe depends on the size of your slices and that of your serving dish.

In these photos, I have made double this recipe and used 11 bread slices to fill up my rectangle Pyrex dish.

The bread slices I’ve used here measure about 3.5″ x 3″ (with crusts) and the dish measures around 9″ x  5.5″.