Double Ka Meetha
Double Ka Meetha, also called as Dabal Ka Meetha, is one of the classic Nizami desserts ~ an eggless bread pudding, that hails from the city of Hyderabad, India. It also happens to be my miya‘s most favorite dessert. Atleast every once in a month I get a request from Ir saying, ‘Aaj double ka meetha banao na!’ (which means ‘Could you prepare Double Ka Meetha today?’). So, this weekend it was Double Ka Meetha at my house.
Clockwise from right ~ Fried Bread Triangles, Simple Sugar Syrup,
Thickened Milk with Saffron+Khoa, Fried mixed nuts
Some of you might wonder why this sweet dish is called as ‘Double Ka Meetha‘. Milk bread, also called as double roti, is especially bought from Rose Bakery in Hyderabad, and this bread is used to prepare this famous meetha . The bread is called as double roti or dabal roti, because the dough expands to double its size due to the action of yeast, and roti in Urdu language means ‘bread’. So its double roti, and the meetha is called as Double Ka Meetha or Dabal Ka Meetha. This dessert is also referred to as a ‘King of Bread Puddings’. It is served usually at weddings in Hyderabad and is an important dessert reserved for festivals, celebrations and on other special occasions. This meetha is an evolved version of the Lucknowi Shahi Tukde, which is more rich and heavier kind of this meetha.
Fried bread striangles soaking up the sugar syrup and flavored thickened milk, garnished with dry fruits and nuts
You can serve this meetha when warm, some even prefer it chilled, it is up to ones own liking.
Hyderabadi Double Ka Meetha – Milk Bread Pudding with Nuts
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
Milk Bread Slices – 4
Canola Oil – to deep fry (traditionally ghee is used to deep fry)
Dry fruits and Nuts (cashewnuts-halved, raisins, pistachois, deseded dates, walnuts-chopped, almonds-chopped, pinenuts-chopped) – 4 tbsp
Milk – 2 cups
Homemade Khoa – 1/4 cup, grated (khoa is also available in most of Indian stores in the refrigerated section)
Cardamom Powder – 1/8 tsp
Saffron threads – a pinch
Water – 1 cup
White Sugar – 1 cup
Double ka Meetha
Method:
1. Fry bread slices and dry fruits and nuts: Cut off the corners of the bread slices and slice them into triangles. Deep fry them both sides in oil till they are dark brown but not burnt. Remove the fried crisp bread slices using a slotten spoon onto a wire mesh strainer for the excess oil to drip off. In a small frying pan, in about a teaspoon of oil, stir fry the dry fruits and nuts till they are browned. Do not burn them. Keep aside.
2. Prepare reduced spiced milk mixture: In a milk sauce pan, pour milk and let it boil once on high heat. Once it has come to a boil, add khoa, lower the heat, and let it cook till it has reduced to half its original quantity, throw in the saffron threads and cardamom powder and keep aside.
3. Prepare sugar syrup: At the same time in an another small saucepan, pour the water and the sugar. Stir to dissolve and let the water boil on high for 10-12 minutes.
4. In a wide non-stick pan, arrange the fried bread slices, and sprinkle the stir fried dry fruits and nuts all over them. Gently pour the prepared warm simple sugar syrup and the warm reduced spiced milk into all over the arranged fried bread slices in the pan. Cook on high until boiling, then reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the liquid has been evaporated. During this time, you can very gently move the pieces whithout breaking them. Some people like to have this meetha warm, and some like it chilled. I let it cool down and then refrigerate it for a while and serve it chilled.
Oven Method:
1. Follow the step 1 to step 3 above.
2. In a wide baking dish, arrange the fried bread slices, and sprinkle the stir fried dry fruits and nuts all over them. Gently pour the prepared warm simple sugar syrup and the warm reduced spiced milk a little at a time one by one into the baking dish with the arranged fried bread slices. Now keep the dish aside for about 2-3 hours, until it has completely cooled down and the bread has almost absorbed all the milk. If there’s still some milk around the bread slices, and the bread has not completely absorbed it, then put the baking dish in the oven at 350°C for about 10-15 minutes, uncovered, in the middle rack. Some people like to have this meetha warm, and some like it cool. I let the baking dish cool down and then refrigerate it for a while and serve it chilled.
Note: In step 2, instead of boiling milk to half its original quantity, you can simply use 1 1/2 cup half and half, or light cream and add khoa, cardamom powder and saffron threads and boil it for a few minutes to dissolve the khoa. Keep stirring and do not burn. Continue with next step.
Enjoy this authentic Hyderabadi Bread Pudding.
This recipe is also being featured in the HomeAway.co.uk Travel Cookbook.
Luv,
Mona
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December 17th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Mona,
Thats one lovely looking Double Ka Meetha dear.. being a hyderabadi, just love this dessert since childhood..:) Do drop my blog to peek thru my version of Double Ka Meetha…:D
http://siri-corner.blogspot.com/2007/11/hyderabadi-double-ka-meetha-bread.html
take care and cya
~ Siri
December 17th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Hi,
I am from Hyderabad . My family loves good food and encourage me to cook a lot varieties. I have made food for years, and still am interested. I have alos gone through a number of cooking blogs, but found very few authentic ones.
Your writing , presentation and the clairty is amazing. I liked your recipes very much. They give lot of tips in the cooking process. Thanks a lot .
I enjoy reading your recipes, and also trying them out.
god bless
December 17th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Your blog simplified menu planning in my house. My own hubby is also very fond of this sweet dish. I am off to make this now! Thanks for posting it.
And oh, Eid Mubarak!!
MJ, I am sure this meetha is a favorite with all Hyderabadis. Eid Mubarak to you too! ~Mona
December 17th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Mona, the recipe pics are awesome , makes me miss hyderabad sooo much!
December 17th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
hey Mona, I really enjoy this dish, only we call it the bread pudding:) you know, the picture with the nuts on it, you can actually send it to Jugalbandi.info for their “Click” event!
December 17th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I certainly DO have a sweet tooth and that sounds soooo good! You have very lucky loved ones 🙂
December 18th, 2007 at 12:03 am
lovely one.. i make it almost the same way,, but im sure yours tasted even great!!
December 18th, 2007 at 12:26 am
that is a mean thing to do to a wheat addict like me. i want some now.
December 18th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
hey mona i have had this dessert a few times n i absolutely love it, but am really scared of the fact that teh bread slices are fried in it. do you think toasting the bread would be good enough?? YOur pics are so very tempting
Shella, you can try this dessert with toasted bread, but the traditional method is to deep fry the bread until dark brown. Actually, the bread is deep fried in Ghee in traditional Hyderabadi households. ~Mona
December 18th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Hey Mona this recipe looks delicious! It is similar to a British bread and butter pudding I bet this recipe tastes so good. 🙂
December 18th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Thanks for dropping by my blog Mona..:)
~ Siri
December 19th, 2007 at 12:51 am
Mona dear,
Eid Mubarak! What are you going to prepare as Eid spcl?
The recipe and pictures looks amazing, your blog provides a real hyderabadi cooking course..
December 20th, 2007 at 5:07 am
I love how they call sliced bread double roti and then shorten it to double too. lol.
Thank you for the greeting and well wishes. Eid mubarak to you too.
I had been traveling a bit and hence far away from my kitchen 😀 Just touched home base a few days ago and starting to get back into the groove. starting a new job soon so thats got me a bit tied up too.
PS: I’ve only been making disasters, hence no updates 😉
December 20th, 2007 at 7:08 am
[…] makes Hyderabad’s famous Double ka meetha. I love this sweet, and if you haven’t tried this yet, this is your […]
December 27th, 2007 at 1:56 am
Hi Mona,
Stumbled upon your recipe at DesiPundit. Had invited some friends for dinner (who are from Hy’Bad) so thought this might be a good time to try it out.
I love white bread dipped in just sweet cold milk so I was sure that Double Ka Meetha was a winner. It turned out quite well.
Thanks!
Pankaj
December 29th, 2007 at 2:47 am
Hi Mona, Thanks for stopping by my blog. This looks really interesting as I would never have thought of doing this sweet version. (I do something similar with cheese and ham). Tell me about the cheese you add coah is it I think I saw that it is something like ricotta. Will it work with ricotta? Happy New Year to you and your family.
Ivy, you can prepare home-made khoa(just follow my recipe), or instead use milk powder. ~Mona
January 6th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
That looks fantastic. Awesome! I’m going to have to try this!
March 11th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Hi..
I came across this recipe accidentally and checked out other authentic hyderabadi recipes like mirchi ka salan and hyderabadi biryani…
Im a student here in canada and haven’t had these yummy dishes for 4 yrs now.. except when I tried to make Biryani last semester and it turned out mushy like khichdi!!
Plus I live in a small city in Ontario where there is only one desi store and its very hard to find most authentic items..
But looking at your posts, and the pictures I’m going to try making this after my finals in april..
Thank you so much anyways. .. 🙂
June 20th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Oh my God you made my mouth watering……
November 18th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Hi Mona,
Thanks for the awesome recipe. I generally make crispy shaahi tukde but this looks so delish I’m wanting to try it!
I just wanted to check with you what type of Khoa you’ve used?
Also, me and some friends have recently started a food blog of our own…mostly just to keep track of things we like…so I was wondering if you’d allow me to replicate your recipes there (after i make them and have my own inputs of course)…
Thanks!
I use whatever Khoa I have on hand, the store bought Batti Khoa, or home-made Chikna Khoa.
Meow, you can definitely try my recipes and replicate them on your blog, as long as you link back to my blog and give credits to the original recipe. ~Mona
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Thanks Mona 🙂 And ofcourse I’ll link back to you 😀
March 29th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Hi mona,
I am planning to make double ka meetha for a party this weekend. Want to know if this can be made the previous day and chilled overnight…
Nandini, you can makeahead and chill it overnight. ~Mona
March 30th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
thanks mona… ia m sure its going to be a super hit provided i make it right!!!!
August 26th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Mona….You might want to think about using different ingredients for USA….like unsliced italian bread and slice yourself thicker slices, fry in pure butter…use leftover sweets like burfi, qalaqund , chum chum, rus malai etc…in place of “khoya”…saffron + orange/red food coloring looks good….instead of milk, use of half n half and whipping cream is good…. your recipe is excellent..
August 30th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Salam. I have leftover cinnamon bread. Would this recipe work? Any ideas what to do with it?
WaAlaiKumAsSalaam Naaz, you can prepare English Bread Pudding using the leftover bread. I have never tried making Double ka Meetha with Cinnamon Bread though.
August 31st, 2010 at 6:09 am
Thanks mona. Yea I’m not sure if the flavors will compete with the cinnamon bread. By the way, I have been trying to be a good cook. It’s so frustrating to do all the work and it doesn’t taste right. I’m looking forward to following your recipes!
September 19th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Mona,
For a party of 20 people could you provide me the basic ingredients amount for dubal ka Metha? Your recipe sounds awesome! How about a receipe for Kubani Ka Metha the hyderabadi way? I miss my mummy’s kubani ka Metha, she was from Hyderabad & created marvelous dishes including her famous kubani ka Metha.
Thanks & Love,
Shama
WaAlaiKumAsSalaam Shama, the current recipe for Dabal ka Meetha serves around 6-8 people. That way you can double or triple the recipe according to your needs. You can always store the leftover meetha in the refrigerator and finish it off by the next day or so.
The recipe for Khubani ka Meetha is posted here on my blog.
September 24th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I enjoy reading your recipes. I am from hyderabad too. check my blog for the same recipe.
http://www.hephziskitchen.blogspot.com
September 27th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Mona, Salaams from Bello Virginia! Hope this email finds u well. I am wondering if u could spare a recipe for Nankhatai & I am unable to fin your mon in law’s recipe for Roat. Have I missed the posting or perhaps I am not looking in right spot,
Thank you very much indeed,
Cheers,
Shama
WaAlaiKumAsSalaam Shama, You can find the recipe for Dum Ke Rote here on my blog. Your request for Nankhatai has been noted.
September 28th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Mona, thanks for being so prompt. You are awesome! I appreciate your timely feedback. yep I have the dum roat recipe but before I venture that I would like your mum in law’s recipe to compare notes & see which is the easier one, between work , travel & love of being creative Gourmet cook I am always hunting for new ideas.
Two minor request, I have started a nankhatai recipe with 2 cups of Rava & 1/2 cup of maida, one cup of sugar & unsalted butter but I am unable to formulate the dough & I am stuck so I need some emergency rescue assistance if you could provide some advise:)!
Secondly, any tips on Murg Mutanjahn for 20 people, I am always concerned about quantity with the number of people.
Have a marvelous day,
Ciao, Ciao,
Shama
Shama, Inshallah I will post my mother in law’s recipe in the coming months inshallah.
To prepare Nankatai, you can try this recipe, I havent tried it, but I trust her recipes.
I have no idea about Murg Mutanjahn. Please let me know about it too when you get a recipe for that delicious sounding dish.
October 1st, 2010 at 9:59 am
Dear Mona, just got back in town & frantically preparing for our annual dinner for tomorrow evening. I believe in cooking from scratch, & very fresh. The many has many unusual including Behari Khebab, Murg Mutanjan..& of course your double ka Metha. I have an idea on making Mutanjahn on a small basis but for a party of 25 people I am a tad bit hesitant.
Just one final quick inquiry, hopefully you will respond ASAP, I need clarification for tomorrow. Is it possible to perpare anythin a day before for the Double Kah Metha. I will check my mail later this afternoon & be on the look out for your response.
Thank you very much indeed,
Buon Weekend,
Shama
Shama, you can prepare this meetha a day ahead if you want, and store it covered once thoroughly cool in the refrigerator. However, it is best if you prepare dabal ka meetha the day you want to serve. To make the preparation a bit quicker, you can use store bought unsweetened condensed milk.
November 11th, 2010 at 11:56 am
asak Mona,
how about adding evaporated milk instead of khoa? will it be ok and if i want to keep the fried bread pieces a little crisp, not too mushy…how to go about it?
WaAlaiKumAsSalaam Humera, if you want to keep the fried bread pieces a little crisp, add milk powder or grated khoa thoroughly dissolved in milk to the meetha. This way there will less liquid. You can also use evaporated milk or condensed milk if khoa is not available.
November 11th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
thanks a ton mona….
December 29th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Hi Mona,
I just had a query.I have guests coming tommorow afternoon.Should i make it tont or tommorrow morning?Again,How long does it take to prepare the dish?Hope you will respond fast
Lakshmy, you can prepare this meetha a day ahead if you want, and store it covered once thoroughly cool in the refrigerator. However, it is best if you prepare dabal ka meetha the day you want to serve. It takes about 1 hour to fry bread slices and boil milk and make sugar syrup, then all you have to do is leave it aside for the bread to soak up the liquid.
January 9th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Assalamu alaikum,
what would be the measurements, if i wanted to substitute milk powder (nido) for the khoa?
WaAlaiKumAsSalaam Mariyam, you should use 1 cup of milk powder for 1 cup of khoa; i.e, use equal amounts.
August 1st, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Dear Mona,
Will be obliged if you could answer the following:
1. Can we stack the bread slices one over other? I want to cook for 10 people – thats 10 slices – but do not have a non stick pan that wide!
May the season give you happiness and peace…
Aseem
Aseem, you can stack the bread slices.
August 2nd, 2011 at 8:55 am
Can we use Whole wheat bread or is it made only with White bread?
Juveria, white bread is recommended for this sweet preparation.
August 4th, 2011 at 9:34 am
iam in abu dhabi…
pls provide me the location map for rose bakery..
can they courier the bread?
Shahi, I do not think they will courier the bread. However you can contact them if you want. You can use any white bread instead.
August 20th, 2011 at 6:09 am
Hi..have got absolutely carried away by this post…thnx dear..I shall b making this Double ka Meetha n posting on my blog!!..oh yes will send for the Ramadaan Festival:))
August 29th, 2011 at 12:02 am
hey Mona – loved your blog, first time here 🙂 the Double Ka meetha is absolutely stunning 🙂 Do visit me when time permits ! Happy to follow you too !
Ramzan wishes in advance to you and your family !
Cheers
Kalyani
July 14th, 2012 at 5:07 am
[…] Zaiqa » Blog Archive » Double Ka Meetha […]
July 29th, 2013 at 2:34 pm
I want to make and refrigerate this meetha today (Monday) for a dinner party on Sunday. Will that be okay, if I store it until Sunday evening? Alternatively, can I make it and freeze it? In that case, I would take it out of the freezer Sunday morning and let it sit on the kitchen counter until evening. In the evening, I would put it in the oven on low temperature to warm it up just slightly. I do need to make it today, so please let me know if that would mess up the meetha.
Zayna, I do not recommend you freeze the meetha. But you can prepare it and store it covered in the refrigerator for upto a week.
June 5th, 2016 at 7:53 am
lovely one.. i make it almost the same way,, but im sure yours tasted even great!!
October 17th, 2016 at 3:11 am
ASSALAMWALIKUM TO ALL OF YOU
As I remember back in HYDERABAD always I saw the bread is dried for few days before making of DOUBLE KA MITTHA & a special big size MITTHE KI BREAD was brought for the purpose.
November 8th, 2017 at 5:55 pm
If I make the fried slices and milk/sugar/dryfruits separately , say a day in advance. And then, put them together an hour or two before serving and heat a little? Will that work? Would it taste the same?