Good morning my fellow tea lovers! I’m thrilled to introduce the first tea-inspired recipe on my blog. Today we’re making Dilmah’s Rose with French vanilla tea-infused Shahi Tukra. It’s the most delicious easy dessert recipe that you’ll want to keep coming back to again and again!
Dilmah’s Rose With French Vanilla Tea emanates an intoxicating aroma of sweet roses blended with a hint of vanilla. As I sipped on this indulgent tea for the first time, it conjured thoughts of a luxuriously rich, creamy dessert. So naturally, I was inspired to make the Shahi Tukra.
A rich, creamy dessert made for Royal Emperors
Shahi Tukra literally translates to Royal Pieces/ Bites and is thought to be of Mughal origin. This delicious, creamy dessert is the Southeast Asian version of the English bread pudding and the Middle Eastern Um Ali. It was popular among Mughal Emperors, especially during festive times like Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr.
The golden crisp-fried bread bathed in the luscious pink rose vanilla-flavored, creamy sauce will create magic in your mouth. Moreover, the rose petal garnish and colorful nuts on top of that make it a feast for the eyes as well!
You can whip up this easy, creamy dessert recipe for weekends or gatherings with friends and family. Rest assured, this Shahi Tukra recipe is bound to impress.
So without further ado, let’s get into it!
Dilmah’s Rose French Vanilla Tea Infused Shahi Tukra Detailed Recipe
The Sauce (40 mins):
Milk, cream, and sugar: All the good things!
For the sauce, add ½ cup of powdered milk and ½ cup of sugar to 3 cups of warm milk in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. Add 3 lightly crushed cardamom pods to infuse flavor.
You may adjust the sweetness to your preference. You can alternatively add honey instead of sugar.
Next, add a tin of sterilized unsweetened cream (170g). Stir the cream in a small portion of milk and beat it until it becomes uniform before you add it to the sauce, a little at a time.
The sauce thickens!
Completely dissolve 1½ tsp of cornflour in cold water or milk. Add in a little at a time and stir well to avoid clumps. This will thicken the sauce.
Boil the sauce until it has reached your desired consistency. Remember, when you refrigerate the sauce, it will become thicker. To give you an idea. I started with 3 cups of milk. Then added another cup of tea. When I took the sauce off the stove after about 40 minutes, the final volume was a little over 2.5 cups.
While the sauce is cooking, you can prepare the tea, juice the beet, and cut the bread!
The tea that truly makes this easy creamy dessert special:
Dilmah’s Rose with French Vanilla Tea truly takes this dish up a notch. In Southeast Asian countries, rose water is commonly used in desserts and even in biriyani to add a royal flavor to the dish. But I have never been a fan and found it to be too overpowering.
However, Dilmah’s Rose with French Vanilla Tea provides a subtle rose aroma, beautifully complemented with sweet notes of vanilla. This most delicious easy dessert recipe becomes exceptional with the tea flavor.
When the sauce is almost ready, add in Dilmah’s Rose with French Vanilla Tea (brewing instructions below). You don’t want to add the tea too early on as this could make the sauce bitter. Cover the saucepan with a lid for about 5-10 mins allowing the luxurious tea flavors to infuse into the sauce. Then take it off the heat.
Brew Dilmah’s Rose with French Vanilla Tea (5 mins):
For the tea, steep one teabag of Dilmah’s Rose with French Vanilla Tea in 250 ml of boiling water for 5 minutes. This provides a subtle yet enticing rose flavor without being overwhelming. If you’re a big fan of the rose flavor, you can add an extra tea bag, but avoid longer brewing times to prevent bitterness.
Optional Pink Color (5 mins):
Now the pink color is completely optional. The Shahi Tukra will still taste and look great without it. But the pink sauce just takes it up a notch. And after all, we do eat with our eyes first!
Juice one beet for about 2-3 tbsps of juice. The more juice you add, the more intense color you’ll get. So add a few drops at a time to get your preferred shade of pink. I went for a soothing shade somewhere between a delicate rose and carnation pink.
Once you’ve added the color, refrigerate the sauce in an airtight container for at least an hour. Now, you can go ahead and fry the bread.
The Bread (5 mins):
And finally, the bread.
For the bread, use 8 pieces of white bread diagonally halved to make 16 triangular pieces. You could of course get creative and opt for more interesting shapes like circles and squares. I, however, didn’t want to waste the bread, and I like the crispiness of the crust when it’s fried. So I kept it.
Deep fry the bread pieces in ghee or butter until they turn lightly crisp and golden, taking about 10 seconds per side. Ghee is the South Asian form of clarified butter with a beautiful rich aroma. If you can’t find ghee, butter also works. You can also make your own homemade ghee.
If you accidentally over-fry the bread, fear not; soaking the bread in the sauce for a while will restore its softness.
Assemble (5 mins):
Arrange the bread on a plate and generously drizzle the creamy sauce. If you fry the bread right before serving, the warm crispy bread in contrast to the cool sauce will be an added delight. But the dish served cold will taste great nonetheless.
As I’ve said before, soaking the bread in the sauce for a while, will make it soft again. The classic, traditional Shahi Tukra that I’ve grown up eating usually calls for soft, mushy bread swimming in sauce.
But I like to pour the sauce over the bread in a way that it’s not entirely submerged. That way you get some crisp bites and some mushy ones — a whole mix of delicious textures in your mouth.
Garnish:
Next, you want to add your choice of mixed nuts. I went with almonds and pistachios. But you can add walnuts, pecans, raisins, and whatever else you like. Finally, garnish with rose petals to add a magical touch.
That’s it. Congratulations! You’ve prepared the Shahi Tukra, a regal dessert fit for Mughal emperors and, undoubtedly, yourself. Savor the royal experience!
Please rate the recipe and let me know how you liked it in the comments below. And feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback. If you’ve tried the recipe, you can also share it on Instagram and tag us!
Notes:
- For a healthier version, you could try glazing the bread with ghee/butter and frying in an air-fryer. I have not tried this myself, but if you did, I’d absolutely love to hear about it!
- The traditional recipe of the Shahi Tukra calls for dunking the bread in warm sugar-water syrup with a sprinkle of lemon juice after frying. This will sweeten your bread and add a subtle citrus flavor as well.
However, this will make the bread mushy and not crisp. You are welcome to try it if you don’t think the bread is sweet enough for you. You can of course re-fry the bread or pop it in the air fryer to gain back some of that crispiness. Let me know if you try it!
Dilmah’s Rose French Vanilla Infused Shahi Tukra Recipe:
Ingredients
For the Tea:
- 1 teabag Dilmah Rose with French Vanilla tea
- 250 ml Boiling water
For the Sauce:
- 3 cups Milk
- ½ cup Powdered milk
- 3 Cardamom pods lightly crushed
- ½ cup Sugar adjust to taste
- 170 g Sterilized unsweetened cream
- 1½ tsp Cornflour dissolved in milk or water
For Pink Color (Optional):
- 1 Beet for juice
For the Bread:
- 8 slices Bread halved diagonally (16 triangular pieces)
- Ghee or butter for deep frying
For Garnish:
- Mixed nuts
- Rose petals
Instructions
Make the Sauce (40 mins):
- In a saucepan, bring 3 cups of milk to a boil over medium heat.
- Add ½ cup of powdered milk and 3 lightly crushed cardamom pods for flavor.
- Dissolve ½ cup of sugar in the milk, adjusting sweetness to your preference. Alternatively, use honey.
- Incorporate 170g of sterilized unsweetened cream, ensuring a smooth mixture.
- Gradually add 1½ tsp of cornflour (dissolved in cold milk or water first) to thicken the sauce.
- Simmer until the sauce reaches your desired consistency, stirring every 5-10 minutes.
- While the sauce is cooking, brew the tea, juice the beet, and cut the bread.
Brew the Tea (5 mins):
- Steep one teabag of Dilmah Rose with French Vanilla in 250 ml of boiling water for 5 minutes. Avoid over-brewing to prevent bitterness.
Infuse with Tea (10 mins):
- Add the brewed tea to the sauce and allow it to infuse for an additional 5-10 minutes with a lid on. This enhances the tea flavors.
- Take the sauce off the heat.
Optional Pink Color (5 mins):
- Juice one beet and add the juice drop by drop to achieve your preferred shade of pink. Stir well. Refrigerate the sauce in an airtight container for at least 1 hour.
- In the meantime, fry the bread and prepare the garnish.
Fry the Bread (5 mins):
- Halve 8 slices of bread diagonally to create 16 triangular pieces.
- Deep fry the bread pieces in ghee or butter until they become lightly crisp and golden, taking about 10 seconds on each side. If they become a little burnt, don’t worry; the sauce will soften them.
Assemble (5 mins):
- Arrange the fried bread pieces on a plate.
- Generously drizzle the creamy sauce over the bread.
- Add your choice of mixed nuts (e.g., almonds, pistachios, walnuts) and garnish with rose petals for a beautiful finishing touch.
- Serve and Enjoy!:
- Congratulations! You’ve made the most delicious easy dessert, the Shahi Tukra. Savor the royal creaminess!
- Rate the recipe and tell us how you liked it in the comments below!
- Take pictures and tag us on Instagram!
oooh, this looks so delicious!! Definitely trying this for my next tea-party!
Thanks Talita! Let me know when you do! ^_^