Naan Recipe

[AlohaDawg]

Yes, I finally remembered. This is Madhur Jaffrey's recipe but it's easy as anything and pretty authentic. If you have a wood or coal fire clay oven to stick them to, they will be that much better.

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Make's 6 Large Naans

2/3 cup (150 ml) hand-hot milk
2 tsp extra-fine sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
3 3/4 cups (450g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs vegetable oil plus a little extra
2/3 cup (150 ml) plain yoghurt, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Put the milk in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of the sugar and the yeast. Stir to mix and set aside for 15-20 minutes or until the yeast has dissolved and the mixture is frothy.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the remaining 1 tsp sugar, the yeast mixgture, the 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, the yoghurt and the egg. Mix and form a ball of dough.

Empty the ball of dough onto a clean work surface and knead it for 10 minutes or more, until it is smooth and satiny. Form into a ball. Pour about 1/4 tsp oil into a large bowl and roll the ball of dough in it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in bulk.

Preheat your oven to the highest temperatiure it will g0 and put the heaviest baking tray you own to heat in the oven. Preheat your broiler.

Punch down the dough and knewad it again; divide into six equal balls. Keep five of them covered while you work with the sixth. Roll the ball into a tear-shaped naan about 10 inches (25.5 cm0 in length and ahout 5 inches (13 cm) at it's widest.  Remove the hot baking tray from the oven amd slap the naan onto it. Put it iimmediatly in the oven for 3 minutes. It should puff up. Now place the baking try and naan under the broiler about 3-4 inches (7.5-10 cm) away from the heat for about 30 seconds or until the the top of the naan browns slightly. Wrap the naan in a clean napkin.

Make all the naans thisway and serve hot.

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You can also cook the naans on a cast iron skillet on the stove if it gets hot enough (you may still want to brown under the broiler)  or even the grill. Grill-marked naan look great and taste great too.

Edit: you can also add some flavors to the naans with kalunji (black onion seeds, I think)and white or black sesame seeds. Some recipes also add garlic to the dough; you would just want to be careful about the consistency and rising of the dough with what you add. One time I actually painted them with a small amount of molasses and stuck the sesame seeds to them. That wasn't too bad either.

[Turbo Ninja]

Sweet, thanks.  I have one of them cast-iron grill tops for my stovetop so I'll have to try it that way.  Grill-marked naan?  Yes, please!

[andalucia]

Do you think they sell skillets at the Salvation Army?
Would buying a used skillet be a really bad idea?

I really want to make naan.

[CortJstr]

Actually A.B. says your grandma's cast-iron skillet will actually work better than a new one. I think because it's already been seasoned.

[AlohaDawg]

Actually A.B. says your grandma's cast-iron skillet will actually work better than a new one. I think because it's already been seasoned.

True! And if you buy one secondhand that was mistreated, it will stick and burn things horribly, very much like a badly treated Wok. You can season it and start over, but it takes awhile for them to be awesome again.

Cast Iron Skillets should never wear out so finding a good one at a thrift store would be awesome indeed. It should feel VERY heavy for it's size. If you find one with a layer of rust but in otherwise good condition, take the steel wool to it and get the rust off. I season my new ones by rubbing them all over (inside and out) with crisco and putting them in the barbecue grill with a hot fire going for like an hour. It should smoke a lot. Once cool, they go inside and on the stove, get heated up again and the inside gets rubbed with oil. Then cooled. Extra oil wiped out and ready to go.

Don't stack any other pans on or in your cast-iron stuff, it will make them rust. I keep a paper towel in the cast-iron pots and pans to absorb any moisture that might get in there. Once they are nice and black and shiny you will be very happy with them.