Soak the dried fruits in the hot tea till it swells up. I soaked up for around three hours.

Slightly squeeze the fruits off excess liquid and reserve the tea. Set the fruits aside.

Put the flour, instant yeast, sugar, spices and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk them together till combined.

Add the beaten egg and butter and rub it in to the dry ingredients.

Pour the tea into a measuring cup and fill with enough warm milk to make the quantity 1/2 cup. The mixture must be warm enough to activate the yeast.

Add the milk tea mixture to the dry ingredients and start to knead till you get a slightly sticky and elastic dough, adding additional flour as necessary. I added almost 1/2 cup more.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and flatten it out.

Sprinkle the drained fruit over this and fold it in. Knead again to incorporate the fruit in. The dough may become slightly squishy, so handle it lightly.

Oil a bowl and transfer the dough into it. Keep it covered and undisturbed for around an hour and a half till the dough is doubled.

Once the dough has doubled, punch the dough and shape like a loaf.

Grease a 5 x 8 loaf tin and keep the dough in it for an hour till the dough rises.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake for around 35 to 40 minutes (I baked for 35 minutes) till the top turns golden brown and when tapped, the bread sounds hollow.

Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning onto a wire rack, to cool completely.

Slice and serve with butter.