As far as I am concerned a curry needs flatbread and these simple homemade naan are the perfect answer!
The King Of Indian Flat Bread!
To begin with calling naan bread ‘the King of Indian flatbreads’ may sound odd.
But I am from Birmingham and if Brum was a country Balti, Naan bread and onion bhaji would likely be the national dish!
Unlike Chapati or Roti, naan is a leavened flatbread that has a chewy crust.
As far as I am concerned there ain’t anything better for mopping up the gravy from a wet curry.
Traditionally a Naan would be cooked by slapping it on the inner wall of a tandoori oven.
Now I have been threatening to built a tandoor for over 10 years and have not got round to it. As a result, my version is designed to be cook in a searingly hot oven.
How to Make Naan Bread at Home.
The making of the dough really is very simple and requires no special skills. If you have made any bread in the past then you are already overqualified!
I typically use a stand mixer with a dough hook to make this because it contains the mess. However it is easy to make by hand, you just have more cleaning to do.
The true secret is in the cooking and faking up a tandoor oven as closely as you can.
Your oven needs to be as hot as it can get, but you also need something in there to simulate the walls of a tandoor.
I use a pizza steel, a pizza stone will work as will a heavy baking tray or even a heavy-based frying pan.
Hints and Tips.
Your average domestic oven will get nowhere near the temperatures of a tandoor.
As a result, I fake up the darker areas you get on the blistering at temperatures of 500°C or 900°F!
I use a big old plumbers blow torch. Slap the flatbreads on to your hot surface and then apply the heat of the torch to random areas of the bread.
It will take 15-20 seconds to apply 3 or 4 hot spots, then close the oven.
I cook for two but always make this recipe for 8 or 16 because these things freeze wonderfully.
However, if you are freezing them, wrap them in a dry kitchen towel whilst they are cooling to prevent them from going crispy.
To cook from frozen wrap in a foil tent, with a decent amount of air and drop in the oven. 20-30 minutes at 150°C or 350°F and you are ready to go!
Homemade Naan Bread Recipe
An Indian curry ain't complete without a Naan bread and my version is as close as I can get to those in the Great British Curry House.
Ingredients
- 400 g Plain Flour
- 1 Tsp Sugar
- 7 g Dried Yeast
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 4 Tbsp Natural Yoghurt
- 2 Tbsp Melted Ghee
- 100 ml Full Fat milk
- 100 ml Warm Water
Instructions
- Sift the flour, sugar and yeast into a bowl and add the salt.
- Yoghurt, ghee, water, and milk to the bowl.
- Bring it together to make a rough dough ball.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5-10 minutes until smooth. You can do this with a dough hook in a stand mixer and it will take 4-5 minutes.
- Place in a clean covered bowl and allow to sit for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Heat your oven as hot as it will go and place a heavy baking tray or even better a pizza stone or steel in there to heat up along with a tray of water in the bottom of the oven.
- Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knockback again.
- Cut the dough into 8 even balls and roll into a naan bread shapes around 5-7mm thick.
- Cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to sit for another 5 minutes.
- Throw the naan into the oven onto the heated baking tray or pizza steel and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Serve hot brushed with lots of ghee!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 226Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 304mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 6g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.
Stacey Russon
Friday 30th of October 2020
Hi there, is there anything else I can use instead of ghee, I don't have that and want naan bread to go with this weekends curry?
Brian Jones
Saturday 31st of October 2020
Hi Stacey, you could use melted butter or an oil, I am personally not a fan of either, but when needs must... If using oil go for something neutral and if you are using butter go for unsalted. Enjoy :)
Jennifer Stewart
Sunday 9th of August 2015
I love naan bread because of it's texture. I only eat bread that has a crust with some chew. Everyone in US likes that white bread crap you get at the grocery. I like naan because it holds up to all the olive oil I put on it and doesn't get soggy:) Thanks for the recipe:) What can I use in place of the rye bread. That is not a flavor that I particularly like...
Brian Jones
Monday 10th of August 2015
I love naan for the same reason, you can make this with straight up plain flour you may need a little less so knock the quantity back by 50g and then just judge it from there, you are after a really soft and light dough and then just proceed as the recipe. You could also use wholewheat flour too in much the same way as rye :)
Donna
Tuesday 4th of August 2015
Perfect timing! I have been craving a good naan bread, and this popped out at me today and sounds fantastic :) Added to the menu for the week!
Brian Jones
Tuesday 4th of August 2015
I searched for years to get a naan bread recipe without having a tandoor (that I have been threatening to build for years) and this is as good as I have got... You can skip the rye flour if you like but I quite like the little bit of earthiness it adds :)