Peshawari Bread and Butter Pudding
This inspired recipe reimagines a classic bread and butter pudding with the sweet and fragrant flavours of a Peshawari naan - sultanas, coconut and almonds.
From the book
Desi Kitchen
A celebration of British Indian food culture.
Featuring desi recipes from across the UK.
Packed with recipes, stories and authentic voices.
Introduction
Peshawari naan from Peshwar, in north-west Pakistan, is a popular sweet bread, filled with sultanas, coconut and almonds. So it got me thinking, what it would be like to transfer these flavours on to a very British pudding? I designed this dish with Eid in mind; a rich, sweet and decadent treat to look forward to after breaking a fast, which comes from a humble slice of stale bread. The rose water really lifts this pud to another level and brings in the Mughal influences, but be careful, as it can easily overpower. Adorn with dried rose petals for an extra special touch as part of the feast.
Ingredients
| spreadable butter or margarine | |
| 8 slices of | stale white bread |
| 50g | sultanas |
| 50g | coconut flakes |
| 50g | almond flakes |
| 200ml | whole milk (semi is fine) |
| 300ml | double cream |
| 60g | caster sugar |
| 3 | eggs |
| zest of ½ an orange | |
| 2 tsp | rose water |
| 1–2 tbsp | demerara sugar |
| grated nutmeg (optional) |
Essential kit
You will need: a 1 litre ceramic pie dish or similar.
Method
Set your oven to 160°C fan.
Grease a 1 litre ceramic pie dish or similar with butter. Butter the sliced bread on both sides and cut diagonally into quarters, so you have little triangles.
Arrange these in your dish, overlapping and ensuring you have lots of pointy bits sticking up, as these will go lovely and crispy during baking. I don’t ever remove the crusts, as these go EXTRA crispy.
Scatter the sultanas, coconut flakes and almond flakes all over, tucking them into the crevices to prevent them burning during baking – though I do like a few gnarly sultanas and toasted nuts in my pudding, I confess.
Make the custard by whisking the milk, cream, caster sugar, eggs, orange zest and rose water together. Pour over the bread. Allow to soak for 30 minutes (ideally you should do this, but you can bake straight away if you’re in a hurry).
Sprinkle all over with demerara sugar and a little grated nutmeg, if using. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until crisp and golden on the top and the custard has set.
Serve with honey drizzled figs, and cream or custard.
COOK’S NOTE You can brush the top of the pudding with an apricot glaze if you want to be extra fancy. You will need to wait for the pudding to cool to room temperature. Melt a couple of tablespoons of jam with a splash or two of water in a small saucepan, and brush over the pudding before serving.
