Method

Make rabdi: Boil milk in a wide heavy pan. Reduce to medium heat. Simmer 20–25 minutes, scraping the cream skin back in regularly, until reduced to about one-third. Add sugar, saffron, cardamom, and rose water. Stir 2 minutes. Keep warm. Meanwhile make thin sugar syrup: boil sugar and water for 3 minutes. Keep warm.
About 25 min
Tip: The rabdi must be warm (not hot, not cold) when poured over the shahi tukda — warm rabdi soaks in beautifully.
Remove crusts from bread slices. Fry in generous ghee in a flat pan until deeply golden on both sides (2–3 minutes per side). The bread should be crispy and golden-brown. While hot, dip each fried bread slice briefly in the warm sugar syrup (10 seconds per side) and place on a serving plate.
About 10 min
Tip: Frying in ghee (not oil) is what gives shahi tukda its characteristic nutty, rich flavour. Oil produces a flat, one-dimensional taste.
Pour warm rabdi generously over the syrup-soaked fried bread — be lavish. The bread should be half-submerged in rabdi. Garnish with sliced pistachios and almonds. Add silver varak (edible silver leaf) if available. Serve immediately — the combination of soaked-crispy bread and warm rabdi is best eaten within 5 minutes.
About 3 min
Tip: The ideal shahi tukda has crispy edges but a soft, rabdi-soaked centre — this balance is achieved by not over-soaking in syrup.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

Contains: gluten, dairy