Amma's Recipes: Hyderabadi Double ka Meetha ( Bread Pudding with Nuts and Raisins) - Revisited

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Amma's recipes is a column on this blog, which is very close to my heart. These are the recipes which my mother perfected over many many years and reflects how awesome a cook she is. It is also fun to just photograph once in a while, without thinking about what and how to make a recipe, worrying whether it would turn out well or not. She Cooks, I Photograph. That is the deal. :-) If you guys have any question, do drop in a line or comment on this post. My mom will be more than happy to answer all of them.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

Such is the case with photography too. You see the same vegetable, do the same chore, visit the same place, but every single time you will find something new, something unique to photograph - the same notion with which I did Project 365 last year. Though, I find little time these days to pick up my camera and click random shots, I do miss Project 365 terribly. That's when, I secretly admire all the lovely shots by fellow 2012 Project 365-ers - Sharmi, Smitha, Lubna, Nithya, Usha and many others. They are doing a splendid job by posting something new everyday. All the very best to all of them and Hope to see you till the very end. :-)

Hyderabadi Double Ka Meetha

Milk Bread from our nearby bakery

There is a certain charm in revisiting the classics. Isn't it. Especially today's recipe is quite old made new, history scrubbed of loads of nostalgia. Ask any Hyderabadi about their favorite dessert and guaranteed most of them will say - Double Ka Meetha. Such is its legacy and a gastronomic delight devoured by all, forgetting about counting calories for a moment.  Even today, no Hyderabadi dawat is complete without a generous serving of meetha at the very end.

Fresh Khoya

When in US, atleast in places where I stayed fresh khoya is a rarity, hence my previous version makes use of heavy cream. But, now that we are in India and almost every nook & corner has a doodhwala, my mom's version is rich, creamy and sinfully indulgent.

Bread slices, shallow fried in ghee

the Ensemble - bread, milk, fried dry fruits, sugar syrup and milk with khoya

{ Recipe} Hyderabadi Double ka Meetha ( Bread Pudding with Nuts and Raisins)

Ingredients:

1 loaf milk bread
ghee - for shallow frying
3 cups milk
1/2 cup khoya
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
a pinch of cardamom powder
saffron strands or orange food color (as I was out of saffron)
1/2 cup or more dry fruits and raisins - I used cashews, raisins and almonds

Preparation:

1. Slice bread into thick pieces.

2. Heat ghee in a wide pan and shallow fry bread pieces until slight golden brown. Drain them on paper towels. In rest of ghee (add more if needed), fry the dry fruits.

3. In a sauce pan, boil milk and add khoya. On a low heat, reduce it to half. Add saffron (or food color) and cardamom powder.

4. In another sauce pan, add water and sugar. Boil for 12-15 mins to make sugar syrup.

5. In a wide bowl, arrange the bread slices, sprinkle dry fruits, pour sugar syrup and reduced milk. With hand gently break the bread into small pieces while mixing everything. Make sure its not too mushy.

Serve warm or chilled with vanilla ice cream.

Note: Refrigerate if any leftovers. On the next day, heat up some milk, add the meetha and then serve.

until next time,