When two desserts from Hyderabad meet .... they explode with flavors...

I have never been to Hyderabad and have never tasted an authentic Double ka meetha which is a ghee fried slice of bread soaked in sugar syrup and topped with fresh cream...an Indian version of bread and butter pudding , called shahi tukda in the north of India ..

 Khubani ka meetha (stewed apricots in sugar syrup) comes in a ready to eat pack so i have had no complaints about that . The comparative ease to make this khubani ka meetha is another positive point .

About this Double ka meetha i knew so little i realized a few days back, till then i just thought it is our very own shahi tukda as we call it in the northern parts of the country ....and it is so in real technical terms too. But recently someone from Hyderabad enlightened me that this dessert is mostly served in the form of a bread halwa there. So the recipe becomes more complex as there is mashing to be done and frying will require some accuracy of a different kind. I prefer my own shahi tukda over this halwa version but i would still love to call it Double ka meetha as and when i please as some of my Hyderabad friends identified it as a DKM when i posted about it long back...

On my table both these desserts can be served on top of each other . Why not ?

The stewed apricots are so fridge friendly and bread slices can be 'fried' and sugared any time making a double sweet treat ... topped with the good old home made malai of course...

Now i come to the real reason of posting this double dessert .

I have been getting a lot of queries since i posted shahi tukda about how to shallow fry the bread slices without them getting all soggy in the syrup . The problem is , when you deep fry the bread , it soaks huge quantity of ghee and when you shallow fry it on a flat base pan it retains some of it's moisture and gets soggy and mushy when served . The texture of the fried bread plays a critical role in it's taste too as a crisp and a lil' chewy texture make the bread taste really different , it complements the topping of a rabri or malai too . A soggy bread just tastes plain sweet and that kills this dessert.

I apologize for being so late in coming with a reply , I do not make such rich desserts very often and was kinda forgetful too . This time i had half a can of sugar syrup to be used , leftover sugar syrup from a can of Amul gulab jamun. This consistency of sugar syrup is just perfect for a shahi tukda and i decided to make it instantly one Sunday morning as a rich breakfast for us.... Shallow frying the bread this time...

So the trick is to press the bread slices (edges removed and cut into triangles) on the frying pan while frying them....smear ghee on both sides of the cut bread slice , place on a medium hot flat base frying pan ( i use an iron tawa) and keep pressing and letting it brown on a medium low flame. The idea is to let the bread slice dehydrate while it gets crisp with ghee. You use a little ghee , about 2 tsp per triangle of bread this way . Toast the bread both the sides till it gets crisp and hard but do not let it become brittle like a rusk , the bread should resist to break and should fold a bit too....

You do not have control over the quantity of ghee being soaked when you deep fry the bread and that is the reason why many people detest this simple and quick desert. I use brown bread for shahi tukda always and that makes the shallow fried slices a bit more chewy , the way we like it.


Another thing to keep in mind is , do not soak the slices and keep them for long , especially if the syrup is a bit thin....using a dense syrup works better as this leftover gulab jamun syrup... Hot toasted/shallow fried  bread and cold syrup works best, assembled at the time of serving....

Place the shallow fried slices on a plate , drizzle the cold syrup over it . Spoon the apricot jam or coulis or khubani ka meetha (or any other fruit preserve) over it , top it with fresh homemade malai or rabri or whipped cream and serve immediately...

Do not blame me for all the sugar cravings you get at this hour :) .....