Monday, May 18, 2009

A Date With A Broken Heart

In my previous post, I mentioned how we ran away from home two Sundays ago and finished off the day in a restaurant where the service was very slow. For that meal, I had ordered a 'health salad' - fruits in a citrus-honey dressing topped with dates, a tender coconut drink with lime and mint and Dil Ke Tukde, the restaurant's fancy name for Shahi Tukda, the Hyderabadi dessert of fried bread topped with cream and nuts.

Dil Ke Tukde is a curious name for something that should give you joy, but it turned out to be rather apt because it broke my heart into several pieces. On the rare occasion that I eat dessert, did I have to be confronted with stale, fried bread fried in rancid, re-used oil, most of it so toughened I couldn't cut it with a spoon? And whatever substituted the cream on top, did it have to be so warm? The entire dish was neither cool nor cold nor hot, and only my maturity stood in the way of my pronouncing the entire day a failure because of the failed dessert.

I was determined to right the wrong, however, and this past Friday evening, bought some bread and condensed milk to make my own Shahi Tukda. However, when Saturday morning rolled around, the thought of frying bread, pounding nuts and such tasks made me weary. The Net had some recipes for a quick paneer burfi so I added to all that and came up with my own stuff. At the end of it all, there was more condensed milk than paneer in that recipe. It was extremely sweet and that kept me from eating more than one piece at a time.



Condensed milk, sweetened: 400 gm (1 tin)/ 19 tbsp
Paneer: 200 gm
Dates, seedless: A fistful
Bread: 4-5 slices, crusts removed
Ghee - to grease the baking dish

Whiz all the above in a blender. Pour into a greased baking dish, cover with foil and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 C for 30-40 minutes or till a toothpick/knife inserted into centre comes out clean. Let cool completely and cut into pieces. It gets much harder after you put it in the fridge, and it's tougher to cut, but it is more burfi-like.

I'm sending this off to Valli's Mithai Mela.

28 comments:

  1. My heart will also break if i had to eat stale bread dessert whch i as looking forward.
    This one i am sure is far better.
    Hope your broken heart is better after eating this dessert :-)

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  2. This was how I felt when I tried that peach concoction Qubani ka meetha in Hyd. Anyway, this seems like a nice dish for me to try.

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  3. I know, one bad dish can ruin an entire meal, glad you didn't let it ruin yours. Dil ke Tukde is a cute name and I am glad it gave you a clever name for the post too :)

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  4. This looks really good! Loved the idea of bleding everything together and baking it.

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  5. The blend of all ingredients is something unusual....Good one..

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  6. love the post title! Dil ke Tukde sounds sad for the name of a dessert, but your recipe is so simple and yum!

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  7. I am not fond of shahi tukra at all.. may be i ate he wrong one like you, but could never make myself try one again... your version sounds a little better ...:-) glad u came up with something different.

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  8. Love how simple this dessert is to make!
    Too bad about the 'dil ke tukde". It really annoys me when I pay for food that turns out bad.

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  9. Oh that sounds so disappointing.. I've been dreaming of Shahi Tukde the past few days and am definitely going to make it this week. This dessert sounds fabulous and quick - am sure it helped mend your broken heart.

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  10. Aiyyo, this ssounds exactly like the bhapa sondesh except that I use ricotta and no bread. Orig recipe does use home made paneer though

    Please make shahi tukdas again, love them

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  11. A simple dessert!
    Like the title of your post.:D

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  12. I am so glad that you baked! Awaiting more of such recipes :)

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  13. Happy, well, it was just too sweet for me - not that I dislike sweet things, but this was just too much, so I had to eat it in small bites and at long intervals :-)
    Vidya, they made it with peaches? It's usually with apricots. This dish is really easy!
    Sig, The entire meal, except the nan and chicken curry the spouse had, was bad. When I asked the waiter where the mint and honey in the drink was, he said, Madame, the mint is only for decoration, if you want, I will get you some!!!
    Homecooked, thank you, it was inspired!
    Prathibha, yeah, there are several recipes on the Net - my addition was the dates and more and more bread :-)
    Shreya, maybe they thought it was romantic, like "a piece of me is with you" or some soppy thing like that! :-)
    Soma, there is a certain right temperature for these desserts, you know - I've eaten good shahi tukda but firmly believe it should be chilled just right or when it's hot, served without the cream, at which point it becomes double ka meetha, I guess. Even phirni is not tasty if it's not at the right temp.
    Vani, yeah, bummer! But it happens often!
    Laavanya, well, if anything, I'm sure it enlarged it, and added some plaque to the arteries. Guess we'll see shahi tukda on your blog then!
    Bong Mom, the original recipe asked for paneer from 2 lt milk and 1 slice of bread, I just subverted because I had only 200 gm of paneer!
    TBC, I had to think quite a bit for this one!
    Rachel, now I'm wondering about the various permutations and combinations!

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  14. Is Shahi Tukda same as Double ka Meeta? I can never get myself to make it at home - I find the idea of deep-fried bread unappetizing, but will gladly eat it at restaurants. I like your baked version. Without the dates and with less condensed milk, I'm sure your burfis soaked in flavored milk will double as ras malais.

    Dil ke tukde IS a funny name for a dessert!

    Mamatha

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  15. That is sad Sra. I hestitate a lot before ordering anything with bread back home, the bread is stale no matter how fancy the restaurant. The paneer burfi on the other hand sounds good.

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  16. Wow, this dessert looks so easy and delicious. Love those cute pieces of the dessert. Bookmarked to try. :)

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  17. You should have thrown it in the bin right before the restaurant people's eyes. The ingredients all are looking interesting. Sra, if you don't want our bread to be fried just toast them golden brown on a pan in low flame which will make the slices very crispy. I once made it that way as me too not vary favoring the oil soaked bread slices!

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  18. Oh wow, this doesn't look like the Shahi Tukda I have seen and trust me, its a good sign.

    I hate Hyderbadi sweets fro the amount of sugar in them :| I love the flavour in them but cannot eat more than a bite. This looks so firm, Sra!

    Thanks to the bread challenge, I think this dessert is not far in the horizon for us :P

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  19. oh my thats sad to read...heheh..but atleast that prompted you to make a sweet dish right!...thanks sra..

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  20. I've had quite a similar exp with shahi tukda & I've never tried it again .. mebbe I must make some on my own

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  21. Got one today

    "how to make a air tight bong"

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  22. I should love this sweet except the bread make me ponder how it will turn the final product! What a cute name:)

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  23. Sra,
    the sweet looks so great and yumm..
    Dil Ke Tudke ,hmm quite a name but then it also reminds me of this famous Hindi Film song "Dil ke tudke-2 kar ke muskara ke chaal diye"
    hugs and smiles

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  24. Mamatha, no, not same. Shahi Tukda has cream in it, not so Double ka Meetha. Should try it will less condensed milk, sans dates and bread - my aunt in the US keeps saying she makes rasmalai from ricotta.
    Indo, I don't eat much bread but I've not had many complaints with what's served in restaurants. The loaves in stores are quite another story.
    Uma, do let me know how it turns out.
    Ni, It was 11 at nite, and I had already protested about the other items! Yeah, I know about toasting the bread, I'd have toasted it too - not fried it.
    A_and_N, it was never meant to be Shahi Tukda! :-) I mean, that was the original intention but it got changed. Will look out for a similar bready post on your blog.
    Valli, my pleasure!
    DEESHA, I'm sure it will turn out well.
    Bong Mom, HA HA HA! Enjoy!
    Cham, thanks. I have plans to make various versions of this.
    Jaya, yeah, I know this song. :-)

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  25. This looks lovely! A different n unique post. Love the look of the dessert.

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  26. this looks simple and delicious.love the title :)
    thanks
    prajusha
    www.icookipost.com

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  27. I think the condensed milk made it too sweet ... but once in a while that much sweet is ok. :-)

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  28. never had a good shahi tukda.:)
    i wonder what role the bread plays in this recipe.Sra, its similar to the burfi i make too but i don't add bread. i do add coconut to it and it becomes coconut burfi then.

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