Hello again!

Can anyone tell me how to make naan bread taste like it has been cooked in a tandoor by only using a conventional fan oven or grill?

I am always very disappointed with bought naan or home made naan as I can never seem to get the wonderful charred bubbles with the light and fluffy centre. Mine either come out very doughy or overcooked like a biscuit!!

Is there a 'never fail' recipe or tip that anyone uses, or can anyone recommend a single pre-packed brand that stands out?

Thanks

James.

I've only made naan at home once, but it was the best naan, even best bread I have ever tasted, like eating a silk tie, if that were possible.

Naan in a tandoor, I think, would be cooked by three different kinds of heat. As you know, the naan is slapped onto the inside wall of the tandoor to cook. The face that sticks to the wall is heated by conduction, whereas the other surface is heated by convection and radiation. To mimic this, I would suggest an oven is not suitable, but a grill (or salamander) is, IMHO. To do this, one would use a stone placed under the grill to heat up, to mimic the tandoor wall, onto this very hot stone would be placed the naan, and grilled at the highest setting. This is similar to the way pizzas are cooked, and I think a suitable stone is made to cook pizzas this way, although probably in an oven.

What this method doesn't provide is the smokiness obtainable from a tandoor, from the excess fat or other food that drops down onto the charcoal at the bottom of the tandoor. Although, while in Bangalore, I was able to look around a restaurant kitchen, and found two tandoors in use. My Indian friend was looking at ways to produce tandoori masala that had the smokey flavour incorporated, and we spent a little time discussing tandoors with the head chef. I wanted to smell the aroma coming from them (they were not cooking any food in them at the time), one was aromaless, but the other smelt strongly of ammonia, and I was told that one was used for cheese! So maybe forget the smokiness, or incorporate a little 'liquid smaoke' in the mix or a little splash just before grilling.

HTH

For what it's worth, in the Naan Recipe here, Mamta says she "tends to make them on an old frying pan or a tawa these days, instead of an oven and they come out perfect."

Haven't tried it that way myself (I've just used our oven turned up full, on a pizza stone) but I intend to do so, the next time I'm making them.

I tend to make mine in the frying pan and they come out very well but not quite the same as tandoor done ones...

Steve

In the past I have always made my home-made 'naan' from a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey's old BBC cook book (published in about 1973) though I have jiggled the quantities to make 8 breads rather than 6. I then used to cook this under a pre-heated grill, flipping half-way through. This gives a good result if you have a good hot grill but naturally you have to watch it like a hawk or you end up with a very burnt offering!

Anyway last time I was making them my grill overheated (the oven was on maximum warp making 'Tandoori' chicken and that may have had something to do with it) so I remembered having looked at Mamta's recipe and finished cooking my breads as per her advice in a frying pan. They came out very well - soft on the inside and crisp on the outside.

I would like to try Mamta's recipe but so far I have been intimidated by the terrifically long raising time in the recipe. I am not sure if it takes longer in Britain, but here (in Aus) my dough only takes an hour or so to rise, and I just use regular plain flour (though I think our flour is made with harder wheat).Otherwise the recipes arn't that different, except that Ms Jaffrey's has an egg and Mamta's doesn't.

As it is going to be 34 degrees C here tomorrow and we have a new barbecue I am thinking of trying one of the marinated leg of lamb recipes but I thought I might butterfly it before marinating.

I am actually going re-visit this old recipe one day soon and perhaps use the no-knead method that I predominantly use for making my everyday bread loaf these days. I use very little yeast compared to what I have said in my naan recipe, 1 tsp for 500 gm. flour, just bring the dough together, make it more floppy that I used to and leave it to ?mature? for as long or as little it takes. I have to leave it longer to rise because of less yeast, but it is worth the extra time, much better flavour. Watch this space.

Mamta

What about adding some extra sugar to the mix to give it more "burnt" blisters ?

Steve

I cook them in the oven with a tray of boiling water in the bottom. Once they are cooked I place them under a really hot grill for a few seconds until they blister on top. To retain the moisture and softness I stack them on top of each other and cover them with foil. I have tried Mamta's peshawari naan recipe but what I tend to find is that the peshawari naan is harder - probably due to the dried ingredients inside -, the garlic and coriander naans and all other naans turn out fine for me. I like to add some dry roasted black cumin seeds into the naan dough.

Stacking to keep them moist is halfway to my chappati shuffle that everyone thinks I'm mad for... lol

Steve

My dough is now sitting in the kitchen for it's second rising, I will make the naans tonight!

More sugar may give a 'sweet...ish' taste Steve, which may not be ideal for eating with curries, but no harm in trying.

I have made a chickpea curry to go with it and my OH has some lamb curry from before that i have defrosted for him. He is meat-eater and doesn't like purely vegetarian food.

I am thinking of getting a Pizza stone for the future. Any suggestions anyone?

Someone mentioned, somewhere unglazed quarry tile. Has anyone used them? Are they any good?

Whenever I have used water in the oven, i spill it all over the floor :-(!

Mamta

I've not invested in a pizza stone / quarry tile myself (never needed one as the bottom of my old oven used to have the heating element under it, rather than the sides like most other ovens)...

People have suggested buying a tile rather than a proper pizza stone but be very careful where you get it from..

Some stone tiles will have been treated with chemical sealer (even if they say they need treating once layed, they will normally have one coat to stop them getting stained while being displayed etc)So if you go down that line you need to make sure it hasn't been treated and will stand the heat (no cracks, no fixing filler etc)

Steve

The problem is that most pizza stones are round and one or 2 rectangular ones look rather flimsy. Round ones are not ideal for making 3-4 naans at a time!

you need one like this - http://www.amazon.com/Old-Stone-Oven-14-Inch-16-Inch/dp/B0000E1FDA

Jamie Oliver says it must be Granite as other stone types might crack or explode in the oven, however another site says Natural unlglazed terracotta tiles are they way to go. They suggest being porous helps it to keep the base dry and crispy when making pizza...

Steve

Naans came out pretty good today. I made them 3 ways, in a pan, on an upturned pan and in an oven pre-heated to 300C (maximum temperature in mine). the ones made in a pan were the softest and the best. I will update the recipe soon and put some fresh pictures. I have to ask Pete to delete the existing ones first, after I have checked out the new ones.

I must admit when I do mine in a red hot dry frying pan, they seem to come out the best ! When you think about it, its like sticking it to the red hot side of a tandoor, it just doesn't have the heat from both sides (and probably not as hot...)

Steve

Hi Mamta,

About the yeast and rising time, I use one sachet of dry yeast to 600 grams of flour. This may be what I have sometimes seen called instant yeast, it is just the ordinary dry kind sold in supermarkets here. I add it straight to my wet ingredients, mix it and then add it straight in with the flour. I do give it a good knead but not for hours or anything. The dough then generally rises in an hour or so. This is a method I've evolved over a long time of making this kind of bread at home and it works well for me. I will be very interested to read your update.

I have updated the recipe, pictures will take longer. I hope it is easier to follow now.

Mamta

Thanks for the update Mamta - I will try your recipe now as it allows for the possibility that it could rise faster, and so I feel much less intimidated by it. In the hot weather we are having (when yeast doughs tend to rise quickly) I may also try using less yeast and see how it goes.

Wow!

Seems to have been a popular topic!

Thanks to all who have added input.

The ideas have given me an idea I hadn't though of before. I have a work top 'pizza oven' which is like an oyster shell with stone base in bottom and grill element on the top. I think this may be ideal. I will give it a go with Mamta's new recipe and see how I get on!

Thanks for all the tips!

James.

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