Naan
Not all of us have a clay tandoor in our kitchen but this is one naan bread recipe you will make time and again!
Click here to watch the video

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!

Makes: 4 naans
Ingredients
  • 375 g (12½ oz/2½ cups) plain flour
  • 60 ml (4 tbsp/¼ cup) plain yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp melted ghee or butter
  • 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) tepid water
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • Kalonji (nigella) seeds
  • 1 egg (optional)
Instructions
  1. Add the yeast and sugar to the water and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
  2. Sieve the flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl. Add in the yeast mixture, the ghee, yoghurt and the egg. Mix to a smooth, soft dough.
  3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes.
  4. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Brush lightly with melted ghee. Cover and stand in a warm place for 1-2 hours until the dough roughly doubles in size.
  5. Place the dough on a floured surface. Punch the dough down and knead for 3-4 minutes.
  6. Split the dough into four pieces. Roll the pieces into balls, place on a greased plate or baking tray, cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
  7. Turn your grill (broiler) onto maximum and place a baking tray underneath.
  8. Place a ball of dough on a floured surface and use your hands to make it into the shape you want. The thickness should be about ¼” (6 mm).
  9. Brush with melted ghee and sprinkle on some kalonji seeds.
  10. Place the naan on a hot tawa or flat pan for about 1 minute until it bubbles up.
  11. Transfer the naan to the hot baking tray and cook under the hot grill (broiler) for about 1 minute until the naan starts to turn brown.
  12. Brush the naan lightly with melted ghee before serving.
Notes
This way of cooking naan gives me much better results than trying to use a hot oven.

If you don’t add the egg you should add a couple of tbsp of water or yoghurt to get a soft dough.

When you shape the naan dough, do NOT use a rolling pin or you will squeeze all that precious air out of the dough.

You can also add a tsp of garlic paste into the dough to create a garlic-flavoured naan.