Friday 25 May 2012

Naan recipe|how to make yeast free butter naan on stove top no oven no tandoor at home

Naan (Persian: نان‎, Hindi: नान, Urdu: نان, Punjabi: ਨਾਨ, Pashto: نان, Uyghur: نان‎, Kurdish: nan) is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in West, Central and South Asia.Generally, it resembles pita and, like pita bread, is usually leavened with yeast; unleavened dough (similar to that used for roti) is also used. Naan is cooked in a tandoor, from which tandoori cooking takes its name. This distinguishes it from roti, which is usually cooked on a flat or slightly concave iron griddle called a tava.

 Modern recipes sometimes substitute baking powder for the yeast. Milk or yoghurt may also be used to give greater volume and thickness to the naan. Typically, it will be served hot and brushed with ghee or butter. A typical naan recipe involves mixing white flour with salt, a yeast culture, and enough yogurt to make a smooth, elastic dough.The dough is kneaded for a few minutes, then set aside to rise for a few hours. Once risen, the dough is divided into balls (about 100 grams or 3.5 oz each), which are flattened and cooked.

Peshawari naan and Kashmiri naan are filled with a mixture of nuts and raisins; in Pakistan, the most famous naan variety is the roghani naan which is sprinkled with sesame seeds; Kulcha is another type. Amritsari naan also called as amritsari kulcha is stuffed with mashed potatoes, onion (optional) and lots of spices. Possible seasonings in the naan dough include cumin and nigella seeds.

I always had a thought that making Naan at home is close to impossible since it needs a tandoor where it is usually cooked. I had seen this in one of the tv channels since then it was so  tempting that I wanted to give it a try too.
All of us  love to eat  Naan in restaurants . Most times we pick up at a take-away .Its almost close to the Naan prepared the traditional way using the tandoor (clay oven). Without the use of tandoor or an oven, and without yeast or egg, the popular Indian flatbread can be made at home with the help of our ever reliable iron tawa. It comes out wonderfully light and fluffy with a smoky flavor.



















Dough resting: 2 hrs Prep & Cooking: 10 mts

Makes approx 6-7 naans

Ingredients:


2 cups all purpose flour/maida

3/4  cup warm milk /water

1/2 cup curd/yogurt

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp baking pwd

pinch of baking soda (optional)

1 tsp kalonji or chopped coriander ( i had not used kalonji)

4-5 garlic (lasun/lehsun) cloves chopped

1-2 tbsps butter

flour for dusting

Method :

1 Sieve flour, baking pwd, baking soda and salt two times. Place the sieved flour on a wide plate. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour sugar, milk, yogurt and slowly combine, to form a soft dough.


2.Finally add  oil and kneed for a while till the dough springs back when you press with your finger. Cover with  moist cloth and let it rest for 2 hrs.The dough will double in size by then.

before





after 2 hrs

3.After two hrs, knead the dough gently for 2 mts.Divide the dough into equal sized balls.
4.Place a large lemon sized dough and roll into a thick roti, slightly elongated in shape.(triangular/pear shaped) .Sprinkle a few  coriander leaves /onion seeds/kalonji. roll lightly with rolling pin so that they get fixed to the naan.

 


5.Now reverse( turn it ulta /upside down so that garlic side goes down)  the naan, Wet your fingers with water and Apply water on top of the naan .


 6.Place it on the skillet wet side facing down. This will make the naan stick to the skillet. Cook closed for a min. You will find bubbles on the naan when you open it. 

naan on hot tava
naan cooked covered






BUBBLES ON NAAN
7.Now cook the other side of the naan over direct heat of the burner using tongs, spreading the naan all over the heat such that brown spots appear. Do this for a few secs only and not too close to the flame.




 8.Brush some butter over the naan and serve hot with  paneer butter masala / paneer tikka masala /dum aloo/ butter chicken / dal makhani /Methi Matar Malai /palak chicken/kadhai paneer.



Tips:

Do not use non stick tava.
Can use black sesame seeds instead of kalonji
Do not make them too thick as they puff up when baked.
For oblong shape, roll it circular and while putting on the hot griddle pull it from one side to get the shape.
Alternately, you can pat the roti instead of rolling it, and stretch it using your fingers


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