Naan, Plain 2 - Leavened Flat Bread
Nan Sadi 2 (Without Yoghurt)
Naan is a popular Indian bread that is traditionally made in a ‘tandoor’, an Indian clay oven. Tandoors cook food at very high temperatures. It is impossible to have that high a temperature in a domestic oven, but if you cook them on a heavy bottomed pan/tawa, or on maximum heat or under a preheated grill, the results are pretty good. In fact, I tend to make them on an old frying pan these days, instead of an oven or grill and they come out perfect.
Naan, though Indian, can also be used with non-Indian meals, like with soups or dips. Either cut up a large Naan into strips or make very small Naans. This recipe is slightly different from Nan 1, it does not require yoghurt or strong flour. Makes approximately 16.
Ingredients
| • | 4 cups or approximately 600 gm. plain flour or maida |
| • | 1-1 1/2 tsp. salt |
| • | 1 tsp. sugar |
| • | 180 ml. hand warm water |
| • | 180 ml. hand warm milk |
| • | 2 level tsp. Instant Active Dry Yeast*. Use less yeast if you have more time for the dough to rise naturally. Once a packet is opened, the leftover yeast will last for only 3-6 months or so, unless kept in a freezer. |
| • | 1 tsp. salt |
| • | 2-3 tbs. flour, for dusting during rolling out |
| • | 2 tbs. nigella seeds (kalonji/kalaunji) |
| • | 3-4 tbs. ghee or oil for serving (optional) |
| • | *Instant Active Dry Yeast, does not need to be activated/proofed, it can be added directly to the flour. |
| • | *Active Dry Yeast has to be activated. Mix warm milk, water & sugar in a jug. Sprinkle yeast, 2 tbs. of flour on top of the water & stir. Ignore lumps. Cover & keep aside at room temperatur, until frothy. This is called 'Sponge'. |
Instructions
| 1. | Sift flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add Nigella seeds. |
| 2. | Make a well in the centre of the flour and add either Instant Active Dry Yeast. Add the liquid a little at a time, using only the required amount to get a soft dough. Don't be afraid to add a little more or a little less water than the recipe states. You are looking to get a soft but manageable dough. |
| 3. | Knead it enough to bring it 'together'. Cover with an oiled cling film or a plastic shower cap and leave to 'mature' in a warm place for 2-6 hours. It takes less time in a hot room and more in a cold room. Time is not important, the dough should rise to approximately double. You can make dough in a bread maker too. Simply place all ingredients as per your machines instructions and switch to ‘dough’. |
| 4. | Knock the dough back down and make it into a smooth ball. Leave it to rise again, covered, until it to double in size again. Thie dough is now ready to make naans. |
| 5. | Rolling out naans |
| 6. | Divide the dough into 16 portions, rolling them into balls. Keep covered with a moist cloth. |
| 7. | Dust and roll out one ball at a time, into to an oblong/large tear shape, approximately 20-22 cm. or 8-9 inches in length, one end narrower than the other. You can also make round naans if you wish. |
| 8. | Cooking: Naans are traditionally cooked in a very hot Tandoor. At home, Indians often cook naans on an upturned wok, but I find that they cook okay in an ordinary frying pan/griddle or under a grill, or in an oven, just as long as they are hot and the naans cook quickly. Slow cooking makes them leathery. |
| 9. | Cooking naans on a griddle or a heavy bottomed pan or tawa: |
| 10. | Place 1-2 naans on a heated griddle/pan. When a few blisters appear, turn over. After about 30-40 seconds, turn over again and gently coax them to balloon up by pressing with a kitchen towel. Cook until a few blisters appear on the other side too. See picture. You can turn them over a few times to get even cooking. |
| 11. | Cooking in an oven or under a grill: When cooking under a grill or in an oven, roll out 3-4 naans at a time, as many as will fit on your oven tray easily. You can roll out the next batch of naans while the previous batch is baking. |
| 12. | Heat grill to maximum and oven/ to around 300°C, or the maximum you can get. Remember, a Tandoor is very, very hot! Leave the tray under the grill or inside the oven so it is really hot. Naans placed on a cold tray will stick and you will get stiff/hard/leathery naans! |
| 13. | Place 3-4 naans at a time on the pre-heated tray quickly, so it doesn’t cool down. Place the tray back in the oven/ under the grill. The naans will puff up fairly quickly. If cooking under a hot grill, you need to turn them over to cook the other side. When ready, they will have a few brown blisters scattered on each surface. |
| 14. | Whether you brush it with ghee or not, is your personal choice. I don’t. |
| 15. | Serve hot, with a curry/dal of choice. |
| 16. | Crisp and hot naans can be eaten with a little cheese and salad or served with soups. Tiny naans can be served with dips. |
Notes
| • | Variations: |
| • | Topping: Before cooking, you can sprinkle the top of the nan with a few 1) chopped, blanched almonds or 2) cumin seeds or 3) fennel seeds or 4) chopped green chillies or 5) broken up red chillies or 6) grated/chopped garlic and/or chopped coriander leaves and a drizzle of ghee or olive oil. Topping should be gently pressed into the nan with a rolling pin. |
| • | Stuffings:; 1) Kemah Nan, 2) Peshawri Nan, 3) Shredded tandoori or other cooked/leftover chicken. Add extra spices to the chicken, because it will be inside an un-spiced bread, 4) A teaspoon of cooked and spiced spinach/fenugreek leaves. Squeeze and dry the water out completely before stuffing. 5) Spiced mashed potatoes. See Aloo Paratha recipe. 6) Grated paneer cheese, mixed with spices. |
| • | Additions to the dough: 1) Chopped mint or 2) a mix of chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic or 3) other herbs of choice. |
| • | Experiment with other fillings/toppings. To stuff a nan, roll out the ball, place a heaped teaspoon of the stuffing in the centre, pull edges in, to make a ball again. Continue as in plain nan. |
| • | Kalonji (nigella/onion seeds), can be spelled as Kalowunji on some packets. |
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