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Lagan nu Custard, Lighter

The Parsi wedding custard: milk and eggs baked with nutmeg and cardamom until set and golden on top. This version uses milk powder instead of hours of reduction, and less sugar.

Region

Maharashtra (Parsi community, Mumbai)

Status

Adaptation — milk powder replaces long reduction; sugar reduced by over half

Diet label

Contains eggs

Time

Prep 15 min · Bake 45 min · Chill 2 h

Serves

6 (about 140 g each)

Difficulty

Easy–moderate

Good for

Weddings and navjote celebrations, make-ahead dessert

Tags

Good source · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free · Meal-prep friendly

Allergens

Eggs, milk, tree nuts (almonds or charoli)

Nutrition (estimated)

Calories

195 kcal

Protein

11 g

Carbs

19 g

Fat

9 g

Fibre

<1 g

Headline values are per serving, as written.

Good source. Traditional lagan nu custard uses condensed milk or about twice the sugar. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 15 Oct 2026.

Ingredients

• 750 ml toned milk · 30 g skimmed milk powder
• 4 large eggs · 60 g sugar
• ½ tsp nutmeg · ½ tsp cardamom powder · 1 tsp vanilla
• 10 g almonds or charoli, sliced · 3 g ghee for greasing

Method

1. Whisk milk powder into the milk and warm it until just steaming. Do not boil.
2. Whisk eggs and sugar until the sugar dissolves (about 1 minute; no need for froth).
3. Pour the warm milk slowly into the eggs, whisking constantly. Add nutmeg, cardamom and vanilla.
4. Strain into a greased 20 cm baking dish. Scatter nuts on top.
5. Set the dish in a larger tray of hot water. Bake at 170 °C for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden and the centre has a slight wobble.
6. Cool, then chill at least 2 hours before cutting.

Protein optimisation

• Eggs supply 5 g per serving, milk 4 g, milk powder 2 g.
• Boost: use 5 eggs (+1 g protein, +12 kcal per serving), or increase milk powder to 50 g (+1 g protein, +12 kcal).

Variations, serving and storage

• Regional: Goan-Portuguese pudim style — with a thin caramel layer (adds about 30 kcal and 8 g sugar per serving).
• Substitution: jaggery powder for sugar (darker, caramel-like).
• Storage: 3 days refrigerated, covered.
• Food safety: bake until set; the centre must reach at least 71 °C. Chill within 1 hour.
• Meal prep: excellent.

Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com