Not a huge fan of desserts in general, but will make an exception when something looks THIS PRETTY! Look at it. Obviously, I can’t take credit for any of the presentation part of this recipe. If anything, I’ve made it look slightly worse than the original one- a few Google searches of the term “Junoon Shahi Tukda” will verify your suspicion. Although I will take credit for figuring out the measurements for the 3 components in the recipe: Brioche bread, saffron sugar syrup, and instant rabdi. Luckily for this recipe, there are not many critical crunch points, so you can relax your nerves…..but ONLY JUST!
Ingredients:
For the Brioche:
- 300 gms of Flour
- 30 gms of Milk
- 180 gms of Eggs
- 4 gms of Instant yeast
- 6 gms of Salt
- 60 gms of Sugar
- 160 gms of Softened Butter
For the Saffron Sugar Syrup:
- 1 cup of Sugar
- 1/2 cup of Water
- 1 tsp of Saffron strands
For the Rabdi:
- 1 tsp of Ghee
- 2-3 Cardamom pods (Crushed)
- 200 ml of Full-fat milk
- 1 tsp of Dried rose petals
- 70g of Condensed Milk
For the garnishes:
- 1 tbsp of Butter
- 1 tbsp of Chopped Cashews
- 1 tbsp of Chopped Pistachios
- 1 tsp of Chopped Pecans
- 3-4 dried rose petals
- A few popped sorghum
- (Optional) 1 tsp of Oil
Procedure:
Making the Brioche:
- Combine all the ingredients for the brioche in a bowl, except the flour, salt, and butter.
- Sieve the flour along with the salt into the wet mixture, and combine everything until a dough is formed.
- Knead for 5-10 mins to develop gluten strength. The dough should be smooth.
- Spread the dough using your hands on the worksurface. Add the softened butter in the middle, and spread it to all sides.
- Fold the dough into itself, trapping the butter, and squeeze the dough using you fingers until all the butter is incorporated.
- Knead for a couple more mins until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to a greased bowl, and let it rise for 1 hour.
- After the first rise, knock back the dough and shape it into an oval shape. Transfer it to a greased bread tin (preferably one with a lid), and let it rise for 45 mins or until it occupies 3/4th of the height of the tin.
- Preheat your oven at 200 C for 10 mins. Close the lid of the tin (if you have one), and bake it in the oven for 25 mins until done.
- If you are using a tin with a lid, remove the lid after 25 mins and bake for 5 more mins uncovered to develop colour on the top.
- Once done, remove from the tin and let it rest on a wire/cooling rack until completely cooled.
Making the Rabdi:
- In a saucepan, add the ghee and cardamom, and let it fry for a couple of seconds.
- Now, add the milk, dried rose petals, and let it reduce for at least 10 mins. Keep stirring in between to prevent burning, and to mix the ‘malai’ to prevent it from forming a skin.
- Once reduced and thick, add the condensed milk and let it reduce for 5 mins. It should coat the back of a spoon.
- Strain the cardamom and rose petals using a sieve, and let it cool completely in the fridge before using. Note: The consistency might need to be adjusted later with a teaspoon of milk.
Making the Sugar Syrup:
- Heat up a saucepan on low heat. Add the saffron strands and roast for only 5-10 seconds. Remove into a bowl and crush them (they should be brittle), and add room-temperature water to let them bloom.
- In the same pan, add the sugar and water. Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let it reduce until slightly thick. Turn off the heat and add the saffron water. Mix until combined.
Making Popped Sorghum:
- In a pan, add some oil (optional) and sorghum seeds. Let them cook on medium-low heat to prevent burning (keep stirring in between). Put a lid on top to help them pop. (like popcorn)
- ANOTHER WAY: Place the sorghum seeds in a bag made of parchment paper by folding all the sides to form a pouch and let it cook in the microwave for 2 mins until popped.
Assembling the dessert:
- Cut up a 1-1.5 inch thick slice of bread either vertically (square slice) or horizontally (rectangle slice).
- Toast both sides of the bread in a pan with some butter or ghee until brown.
- Dunk the bread in the sugar syrup and remove it onto a plate, or place the bread slice onto a plate and pour the syrup onto it using a spoon. Let it absorb for a while before adding more.
- Now, add the rabdi onto the bread, starting from the centre and moving to the edges. Cover all sides.
- Top the bread with the nuts, popped sorghum, and dried rose petals. Serve.