Homemade Naan

Naan is a traditional flatbread eaten in South Asia. It's made in a Tandoor Clay Oven, puffed and blistered by the direct fire to leave you with deliciously soft and puffy flatbread. Eaten with stews and curries or enjoyed plain or stuffed.

Here I will show you a more Persian Style Naan and also a variation of a stuffed Naan.

Ingredients:

2 c. Flour

1 tbsp Dry Milk Powder 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Yeast 1 tsp Sugar 1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 c. Milk

1/2 c. Water

1 Egg (beaten)

2 tbsp Oil (divided)

Garnish:

1 tbsp Melted Butter/Ghee

1 tbsp Sesame Seeds

In a mixer or by hand in a bowl, add all the dry ingredients and give it a good mix.
Add your egg, leaving about a tbsp aside along with 1 tbsp of your oil to the dry flour mixture.
Give it all a mix, now heat your milk and water over the stove or in a microwave just until slightly warm.
Slowly add in your warm milk and water mixture. The warm liquid will help activate the yeast.
DO NOT add ALL the milk/water mixture. Only add enough to form a dough. I only used 3/4 of the mixture and it was more than enough.

Now take your other tbsp of oil left aside and rub it all over your dough and around the sides of your bowl. Cover your dough with a damp cloth or damp paper towel and leave it to rise for 4 to 5 hours or over night.

Once your dough rises double in size, knead and split your dough into 4 even balls, with the help of some extra flour. The dough should be slightly sticky and elastic. Now leave it to allow the gluten to form, covered for 10 minutes. Then just roll out each one.

If you are stuffing it with meat. Just marinate your ground meat of choice with any seasoning. I use garlic/ginger paste, salt/pepper, cilantro, Cumin powder, Coriander powder, Red chili and Turmeric powder. Give it all a mix and add some of your raw meat mixture to the center of your slightly rolled out dough. Then just connect all the edges to the center to cover the meat, roll it into a ball then roll it out gently using a rolling pin to form the flat naan shape. Use some extra flour if the dough gets slightly sticky.

If you are stuffing your Naan then once rolled out, gently prick a few areas on top with a fork to allow even cooking and the steam to escape.

On a cast iron or flat fry pan, heat one side of the naan flatbread for a minute just until it holds the shape of the naan and you see a few bubbles about to form uptop. (Below picture shows bubbles on top in the left and the back cooked side on the right)

Place them on a parchment lined sheet pan cooked side down, uncooked side up.

Brush with your reserved 1 tbsp egg along with a sprinkle of Sesame seeds (omit Sesame if allergic or add black seeds). If you run out of egg or have egg allergies just brush with water or milk and omit the egg in the dough batter.

Bake them on a 500'F oven just until golden brown ontop. Keep an eye on them, they go quick and take anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes (the meat ones take slightly longer, just cook them until the meat cooks through, it shouldn't take more then 5 to 7 mins).