There are few things more delicious than scooping up some favorite curry with a piece of warm naan, perfectly handmade by an Indian chef. Making your own naan at home, while something you might not have considered, is simple to master with authentic results. How to make great naan requires little more than some flour, yogurt, yeast, honey, salt & milk, a little time – but only one hour so patience isn’t imperative.
Jump to RecipeThere’s many different versions of naan & I’m sure they’re all pretty good. This is another recipe I’m adding to the mix, one that I’ve made many times so I know the recipe works & to me the naan has a good balance of chewy & soft. This is how I make really great naan that turns out perfectly every time.
As with my 3-ingredient flatbread recipe which has no yeast & requires no proofing time, I also use yogurt in this naan recipe. Yogurt, self-rising flour AND yeast. Unusual? Perhaps. But the results are naan that billows up when cooked, just as it’s supposed with that wonderful texture, synonymous with naan.
Once the dough is made, it rests somewhere warm (which is anywhere here in Indiana right now) for one hour, then the dough is divided into 10 balls, rolled into the classic naan oval shape, brushed with butter or oil & cooked in a cast iron frying pan. You can use a griddle pan or a grill, but having tested it that way, a flat surface works best as it produces those classic air pockets seen in the image above.
Good just plain or brushed with melted ghee or butter, I did make a garlic rosemary butter to slather on the naan because I wanted to serve them with a Mediterranean chicken dish. If you’re serving these with curry, you might want to forgo the rosemary. Garlic is always welcome on anything savory in my house – that’s a given. So that is it – how to make really great naan. Now go & try it yourself. Cheers, Lovoni x
how to make really good naan
Equipment
- electric mix
- cast iron frying pan
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon active yeast
- 3/4 cup all-purpose full-fat yogurt
- 4 cups self-rising flour, approximately (self raising flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- olive oil for brushing the naan
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Combine milk & honey together in a small microwave-safe jug or saucepan & heat in the microwave or on the stovetop until just warm, 85°F/ 30°C – don’t have it too hot or you’ll kill the yeast. If you don’t have a thermometer, test it with the tip of your pinky.
- Pour the milk mixture into a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook (if you don’t have an electric mixer, you can do this by hand). Add yeast, give it a stir then let it sit for 5 minutes until the mixture begins to form bubbles on the surface.
- Add the yogurt, about 3 cups of flour & the salt. Mix until with the electric mixer (or by hand) until the dough is soft & sticky, adding more of the remaining flour as needed. The dough should still be tacky. Turn the dough onto a floured counter using floured hands & knead the dough into a ball. Place in a large, greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap & let stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces – a scale kitchen scale helps. Roll each piece out to about 8 inches (20 cm) in length & about 5 inches (13 cm) wide. Heat a large cast iron or other heavy-based frying over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of a piece of naan with olive oil & place in hot pan; cover. Cook for 1 minute or until bubbles have formed over the dough. Turn naan & cook, covered, for 1 minute until toasted on the bottom. Keep naan warm in the oven while you cook the remaining dough.
- Melt butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic & rosemary & cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until softened & fragrant; remove from heat. Brush both sides of each cooked naan with melted butter mixture. Makes 10 naan.
Try my no-knead artisan bread recipe too.