How to make double ka meetha, the Hyderabadi dessert of ghee-fried bread soaked in saffron-cardamom syrup and topped with thickened milk and nuts.
Double roti is the everyday Hindi-Urdu name for sliced bread, usually explained as bread that “doubles” as it rises, and meetha means sweet. The result is a rich, saffron-scented bread pudding that turns up at Hyderabadi weddings and celebrations, often next to biryani.
Make it richer
Many families soak the fried bread in syrup and then bake it for 10 minutes before adding the milk, for a more set texture. A few drops of rose water in the syrup are traditional too.
Recipe
Double ka meetha, Hyderabad's bread pudding
Ingredients
Bread
- 8 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed, each cut into 4 triangles
- 4 tbsp ghee
Syrup
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- ¾ cup (180 ml) water
- 4 green cardamom, crushed
- A pinch of saffron
Milk topping
- 3 cups (720 ml) whole milk
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp sliced almonds and 2 tbsp chopped pistachios
Method
- Reduce the milk. Simmer the milk in a heavy pan, stirring often, until reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Stir in the sugar.
- Make the syrup. Boil the sugar, water, cardamom and saffron for 5 minutes until slightly syrupy.
- Fry the bread. Fry the bread in the ghee over medium heat until golden and crisp on both sides.
- Soak and top. Dip each piece in the warm syrup and arrange in a dish. Pour the reduced milk over the top and scatter with nuts. Serve warm or chilled.
Home-style recipe from the Biryani Pot Indian Bar & Grill Journal. It is not our restaurant's own recipe; for that, visit us.