Shahi Tukda: A Royal Piece of Dessert From Mughal's Kitchen

As the name suggests, the dish has its Connections with the royals. Having its roots in the Mughlai cuisine, Shahi Tukda is a rich and creamy royal dessert, made up of bread, condensed milk, and dry fruits. It is particularly prepared during the festive month of Ramzan and on Eid. the dish, although started with Mughals, and a must during Ramzan and on Eid, it also have its importance in Hindus as well. For almost all the major Hindu festivals, the dessert is a must in every household, be it Holi or Diwali.

- Nivedha Singh

Fried, sugar syrup coated-bread topped and soaked with fragrant creamy sweet thickened milk or rabri and garnished with dry fruits, the dessert is rich in taste, aroma, flavor and calories. The meaning of the dish's name is very simple, 'Shahi' meaning royal and 'Tukda' meaning piece, so the name literally means the Royal Piece. For those who love the dishes, a piece of the dessert gives a feeling is no less than that of royalty. The dish has changed a little to fit the pockets and presently health conscious population. Instead of deep fry, the breads are now toasted to avoid the extra calories and cardamom has replaced the costly saffron.

Some believe that it was brought with Babur when they arrive in the 16th century, while some believe that it was a result of the British East India Company's arrival to India and Mughals converted the pudding according to their taste and style. It can also be a result of using the left over breads and to avoid the leftover breads, chefs created this innovation. A good number of people feel that it evolved from Um Ali, the ancient Egyptian bread pudding.

The story behind the Um Ali legend tells that a Sultan along with a group of hunters was near the Nile River, when he stopped at a nearby village for some food. Um Ali, the locally available cook, was called to cook for the hungry guests. The cook mixed stale bread, nuts, milk and sugar, and baked it in the oven. The dish, which came out of the oven was named after the cook and called Um Ali. Another story suggests that it was a victory dessert, which was made by the kings winning the battles.