Parsi · Indian Cuisine

Laganu Custer

Name: Laganu Custer
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 1 L full-fat milk; 200 g sugar; 60 g white bread (about 2 slices), crusts removed; 1⅓ tbsp unsalted butter; 3 eggs, beaten; 1 g vanilla essence (about ¼ teaspoon); 2 ml rose water; 1 g cardamom powder (about ¼ teaspoon); 1 g mace powder (about ¼ teaspoon); 50 g almonds or cashewnuts, roughly chopped; 200 ml cream

A Parsi baked bread-and-khoya custard, spiced with cardamom, mace, and rose water

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Jump to Recipe

The name reveals its history: laganu means wedding in Gujarati, and this custard is traditionally made for celebrations. It belongs to the family of baked milk puddings found across Persian, Mughal, and South Asian cooking traditions: reduced milk, eggs, and starch combined with aromatic spices and baked until set. The Parsi version adds bread soaked in cream (for texture and richness) and khoya (reduced, semi-solid milk) for depth, plus rose water and the classic Mughal pairing of cardamom and mace.

What results is a dense, slightly firm custard. Less silky than a French crème brûlée, more substantial, with the bread providing something approaching a bread pudding's body. The nuts on top add texture and mark it as a dish for the table, not the everyday pantry.

At a Glance

Yield

Serves 8

Prep

20 minutes

Cook

45 minutes

Total

1 hour 5 minutes

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

Serves 8

1 qtfull-fat milk
1 cupsugar
2 ozwhite bread (about 2 slices), crusts removed
1⅓ tbspunsalted butter
3eggs, beaten
¼ ozvanilla essence (about ¼ teaspoon)
⅓ tsprose water
½ tspcardamom powder (about ¼ teaspoon)
½ tspmace powder (about ¼ teaspoon)
1¾ ozalmonds or cashewnuts, roughly chopped
⅞ cupcream

Method

1
Reduce the milk. Place the milk and sugar (200 g) in a heavy pot over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20–25 minutes until reduced by roughly half and thickened slightly.
2
Soak the bread (2 slices). Tear the bread into pieces and soak in the cream (200 ml) until completely saturated, about 5 minutes. Add the cream-soaked bread to the reduced milk and stir well, cooking for another 5 minutes until the bread has broken down and the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
3
Preheat oven to 175°C (155°C fan).
4
Add eggs (3) and aromatics. Stir the beaten eggs into the cooled milk mixture. Cool is essential, or the eggs will scramble. Add the butter (20 g), vanilla, rose water (2 ml), cardamom (¼ teaspoon), and mace (¼ teaspoon). Mix well.
5
Bake. Pour into a buttered baking dish. Scatter the chopped nuts over the top. Bake for 25–30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the custard is just set. It should have a very slight wobble in the centre.
6
Cool to room temperature before serving, or serve slightly warm.

Why This Works

Reducing the milk before adding it to the egg mixture concentrates its proteins and sugars, producing a custard that sets firmer and with more flavour than custard made from unreduced milk. The bread and cream provide starch and extra fat, softening the texture and increasing richness.

Cooling the milk mixture before adding eggs is critical. Adding eggs to hot liquid immediately begins to cook them, producing curdled scrambled egg rather than a smooth custard.

Serving Suggestions

Serve at room temperature or slightly warm, cut into squares or scooped into bowls. Parsi celebrations traditionally serve it after a full meal. It is sweet, dense, and a little goes a long way.