Naan is one of India’s many famous foods after tikka masala and samosa. It is a tear drop shaped, oven-baked (called tandoor in India) flat bread made with all-purpose flour (maida). It is also known as naan bread and is served with curries or kebabs. Making naan at home is not as tough as it looks. You do not need the tandoor. You can make it in oven or even on a thick griddle. Most of the ingredients are easily available and you can even add the topping of your choice to make it more flavorful.

Just make sure to rest the dough for enough time and cover it well while resting. Some people use eggs for a softer naan but I don’t see any major difference in the softness with or without egg if you use milk to make the dough. You can experiment with the shape and toppings. You can add nigella seeds (kalonji), sesame seeds, kasuri methi, garlic, olives, or fresh herbs like coriander and mint.

As with other recipes on this blog, this is my family recipe of naan. There are different ways of making the dough and cooking the naan. You can make it in an oven, use any thick bottomed utensils like kadhai or cooker, or a clay griddle. My mom makes naan on the griddle used to make rotis at home and she even cooks the naan like she cooks the rotis. Naan can be served with tikkas, kebabs, dal, and curries. It is best eaten hot.

Ingredients

Makes 6-7

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup curd
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 pinches soda (appx half of 1/4^th tsp)
• 1 ½ tbsp. oil
• Little water

Recipe

Take flour in a wide big dish. Make a well in the centre and add salt, sugar, soda, curd, oil, and milk. Make a soft pliable dough using little water at a time. Keep it aside covered with a wet cloth for one hour. Knead it again for few mins (3-4) and divide into 6 rolls.

Take one roll at a time and roll it into a 6-7 inch disc on a lightly floured surface. At this stage you can add the seasoning you prefer. Roll it once or twice for the seasoning to stick to the dough.

Cook it in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees until it is crisp and light brown. Brush liberally with butter/ghee.

If you do not have an oven you can cook it on a griddle too just like you would cook roti. Brush it liberally with butter/ghee and serve hot.