Cooking Baking Eating

Naan, the delightful flatbread.

I was first introduced to Indian curry from a friend in college. She loved this stuff and was absolutely convinced that it would cure the common cold.

She was a little…unique. But in a good way.

My favorite is tikka masala, but I just can’t find a place that makes something as good as the little hole in the wall Indian place she would take me to. Spicy but mild in heat, and oh so flavorful. I haven’t ventured much out of the realm of tikka masala, I think I need someone to teach me the different styles, and most importantly, how to cook it.

Well here’s a start on it. Naan is a flatbread that is usually served with curry. Its warm, flavorful and wonderful for wrapping around some meat while dipping into the sauce. Absolutely wonderful I think.

I was leery about making naan for a while since most of the recipes called for lard or shortening, and that for some reason didn’t sound right. It sounded more like a giant tortilla than a soft and wonderful piece of naan. But I did find this one and really thought I could do it. And I did. I don’t have any curry in the house, but right now I’m enjoying it plain, warmed up in some foil in our toaster oven.

I love this bread and I think it could be used for a lot more than just plain bread to dip in curry sauce. My husband agrees that it would make some pretty awesome individual pizzas, and maybe brush some garlic butter over it to have with pasta. I could probably even roll it flat enough to use as a basis for a sandwich wrap.

So many possibilities.

Naan
Makes 12 naan depending on size

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast
• 1 1/2 cup warm milk, heated to 110F
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted butter for brushing

Directions

1. Add the yeast and sugar to the warm milk and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Combine the flour, salt and milk mixture. Knead by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
3. Allow to rise for two hours, covered with a towel or plastic.
   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll the dough into balls and let rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
4. Add a heavy cookie sheet or pizza stone to the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 500F.
5. Once the dough has rested, roll out each ball until it is roughly 6” – 7” wide, and quite thin.
6. Moisten hands with water and gently pass the dough between your hands to moisten gently, and lay on the hot cookie sheet. Bake for 1-2 minutes, until it starts to puff. Gently flip the bread and bake another 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned in spots.
7. Remove from the oven, brush lightly melted butter and cover with a cloth. If the naan is still puffy after brushing with butter, gently press on the bread with a cloth to release the air.
8. Serve warm.