Shahi Tukra (Bread & Butter Pudding)

In the interests of speed (and greed) I decided to convert it into a brioche bread and butter pudding, so you get a crisp topping along with the wonderful flavours of saffron and cardamom within the dish – blackberries and pistachios are my left-field addition. My mother serves the original with clotted cream on the side, and so as not to break with tradition, I give it as a serving suggestion here.

MAIN

• 50ml milk (whole or semi-skimmed)
• 3 medium free-range egg yolks
• 85g caster sugar
• 300ml single cream
• 400g sliced brioche, cut into quarters
• 150g blackberries
• Handful chopped pistachios
• Clotted cream, to serve

STORE CUPBOARD

• Generous ½ teaspoon good saffron threads
• 6 cardamom pods, seeds ground

Preheat the oven to 150°C fan/170°C/gas 3.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan and add the saffron. Turn off the heat and let it infuse.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the caster sugar, single cream and ground cardamom seeds. Arrange the sliced brioche and blackberries in a buttered roasting tin or flan dish and pour over the eggy custard.

Use the back of a teaspoon to mash the saffron into the milk (this will release more colour), and then carefully drizzle this all over the pudding. Scatter with the pistachios and then transfer to the oven to bake for 25–30 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top. Serve immediately with clotted cream.

NOTE: Do use the best saffron you can find: I find the Belazu brand consistently good and wonderfully aromatic, but other supermarket brands of saffron less so.