Naan is a type of bread which originated in the South Asian subcontinent but which has gained immense popularity in the west over the past few decades. Traditionally naan is made using a clay oven called “tandoor”. It is made with flour, yeast, yogurt and salt. According to the palate/taste choices, one can make naan using different spices like cumin, nigella/onion seeds, sesame or even using herbs such as parsley, dried fenugreek leaves, corainder, garlic etc. There is often a mis-conception that naan is difficult to make at home but that is not true. One can easily make naan at home even without a tandoor using your oven. Try making your own version of naan for the next get together party at home and see how you & your guests will love these delicious Indian naan bread! 🙂
Ingredients
Instructions
- Put warm water in a large glass bowl and add the dry yeast & sugar. Mix well & leave it aside for 10 minutes until it bubbles & the mixture turns frothy.
- Meanwhile, sift flour, whole wheat flour, salt together in a bowl.
- After 10 minutes, add the flour & salt to the yeast mixture, then mix in the yogurt, herbs, garlic & half of the melted butter.
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Knead everything together into a soft pliable dough, adding a little water only if necessary. Put a dash of melted butter into the glass bowl & toss the dough around on all sides. Cover & leave it aside for atleast 3 hours.
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After 3 hours, the dough would have doubled in volume. Punch down the dough and knead it again. Divide it into 8 to 10 equal sized portions and with the help of your palms make golf sized balls of the dough. Cover & leave it aside again for about 20 minutes till the balls double in size.
- Preheat your oven to the highest temperature possible - about 450 degrees F should work fine.
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Roll out each of the balls of dough into an oval/tear shaped naan about 8*4 inches. Then place them on a baking sheet without overlapping because as it cooks the naan will puff up. Roll out as many as would fit into the tray.
- Place the baking tray in the oven & let the naan cook for about 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, flip the naans & let it cook further for about 2 to 3 minutes (at this point you can set the oven to broil for about 20 seconds but be careful or else you will end up having burnt naan!)
- Take the naan out of the oven, brush the top with melted butter & then wrap it in clean kitchen towels. Proceed to bake the remaining naans. Serve the naan warm with accompaniment of your choice. Our family favorite is butter chicken or paneer tikka masala. Enjoy!