Flan or Caramel Custard Pudding

Cooking time: 15 minutes + 45 minutes baking time | Difficulty level: Easy

This sweet dish is a specialty of all Iranian restaurants in India. Not overly sweet, this dessert is a perfect treat to top off the kebabs, biryani or pretty much any food! For me, it is an all-time favorite treat even on an empty stomach.

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar 
3 large eggs
2 cup whole milk
butter for greasing moulds
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract


Method

1. Grease the mould or pudding cups with a little butter
2. To make the caramel, take 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan. Add a teaspoon of water to it and heat it on a medium flame till the sugar melts and turns light brown
3. Pour this into the moulds and swirl to coat the inside of the moulds with it.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F
5. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and mix the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in them till it completely dissolves.
6. Add in the milk and vanilla extract to this mixture and blend well
7. Pour this into the moulds, but not to the brim
8. Place the moulds in a baking pan filled with water till the level of the water is about an inch below the rim
9. Bake for 45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the flan comes out clean
10. Once done, take the moulds out and let the flan cool. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
11. To serve, turn the mould over on a plate so the caramel is on top.

Helpful tips:

• Do not let the caramelized sugar turn any darker than light or golden brown as this will make it taste bitter and hard
• Flan can also be made in a pressure cooker instead of the oven. In case of a pressure cooker, cook it for half an hour and perform the toothpick test
• Your baking time needs to be adjusted according to the size of your oven. This recipe assumes a 30" gas oven, but if you are using a smaller (counter-top) oven, you may need to bake the pudding for about 25-30 minutes. Perform the toothpick test to check if it is done.
• For added zing, you can add powdered nutmeg, pistachios or cinnamon to the mixture
• Using a water bath for baking the flan helps it set perfectly by slowing down the cooking process.