Monday, December 15, 2008

Naaaan


I've been searching forever for a naan recipe that is both easy (since I'm am certainly no expert when it comes to making bread) and near-equivalent to restaurant goodness. Luckily, I've found one that is both! The other week when I made Cashew Butter Chicken, I served this with it and the girls devoured almost all of them. While the quantities below will make enough for at least 10 people (if you each only want a couple), I tried freezing some of the dough and pulling it out a few days later and it still worked like a charm.

Naan:
1 pkg/7g active dry yeast
1 cup/250 ml warm water
1/4 cup/55g sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups/435g plain flour
1/4 cup/60ml butter or margarine, melted

Dissolve the yeast in the water and let stand 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir the yeast with the sugar, milk, egg, and salt, then add enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth, then place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place for around 1 hour, until it has doubled in size. When ready, punch down the dough and pinch off small 3cm rounds of dough and roll into balls. Place these on a tray and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place for around 30 minutes - this works particularly well in a warming drawer.

Preheat a frying pan or grill to medium-high, and start rolling out the dough balls. The thinner you roll them, the more bubbly and naan-like they get. Brush some melted butter in the pan and cook the dough for 2-3 minutes until puffy. Before turning over, brush the uncooked side with butter and cook another 2-3 minutes. Repeat until done.

Freezing tip: After the second rise, you can put the dough balls in a freezer bag to enjoy at a later date. When you pull them out, just let defrost to room temperature and then roll them.

5 comments:

  1. Sounds easier than we thought. We whipped up a great curry not too long ago, and this will be a perfect match for the next batch.

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  2. I love naan bread. Thanks for posting this!

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  3. I will definitely make these. So glad to hear they freeze well!

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