Naan
I have a confession. I do believe that when I made and ate this naan, it was the first naan I ever ate. EVER! Can you even believe that?? I am so ashamed. I feel like I’ve been living under a rock. If you’ve never eaten fresh naan before, I think it’s safe to say you’re living under a rock too. A very sad rock…with no naan. Don’t worry though, I was right with you there until recently.
Whether you’ve had naan many, many times or whether this is your first time, you won’t be disappointed. These little guys are fluffy and light and chewy. Oh, and the garlic butter. Yeah. Enough said. I actually forgot to put the garlic butter on my first few naan because I didn’t know any better. Add the garlic butter. It’s wonderful either way…But trust me, add the butter.
Naan is the perfect pair for many dishes! Try it with chicken tikka masala. Hello wonderful Indian food. I made mine with some lentil dhal (dahl? I’m still figuring that one out. HELP!). However you spell it…it was AMAZING! I think I even ate some leftovers with some hummus. Yum yum.
I’ll be honest, the naan is best within the first day or two but you can store it a couple of days in a plastic bag or wrapped in foil. Just make sure to wrap it up tight. If it starts to get a little hard, microwave for a few seconds and it should soften up a bit!
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1, 0.25 ounce package)
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- cooking spray or olive oil to coat bowl
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- cilantro, optional
- Stir warm water and honey in your stand mixer bowl until the honey dissolves. Sprinkle yeast on top and stir with a fork. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture becomes foamy.
- Using a dough hook on your stand mixer, put mixer on low speed and gradually add the yogurt, salt, baking powder, egg, and flour.
- Mix on medium-low for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky but smooth.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased (with cooking spray or olive oil) bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, melt the butter in a small saute pan. Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Strain out the garlic and set the butter aside.
- Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured surface and separate into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then use a rolling pin to roll into a circle about 1/4" thick.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet or sauce pan over medium-high heat. Butter one side of the rolled out naan dough and place buttered side down in the heated pan. Once in the pan, butter the other side. Let cook for about 1 minute on the first side, flip, and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
- Keep naan covered with a kitchen towel until ready to serve. Sprinkle with cilantro to serve, optional.
- You will know that the naan is getting ready to flip when large bubbles start to form.