Very often when I see Indian dishes they are accompanied by freshly made naan. Naan is a yeast based Indian flat bread that is traditionally baked in a tandoor oven at very high temperatures. I thought that it would be nice to have some freshly made naan as a side for my palak paneer dinner. I have to admit that I had tried to make naan before and it did not work out too well. I baked it in the oven but it baked hard before it got all nice and golden brown so this time I decided to try something different. I figured that I would have more control if I pan fried the naan and since they were brushed with ghee or butter anyways they were all ready for pan frying anyways. The pan fried naan worked out really well! I was able to get the naan nice an golden brown on both sides! The tops and bottoms were also slightly crispy and the insides were nice and light and fluffy and moist and best of all still warm! I cannot believe how good, and addictive, freshly made naan is! I had a hard time resisting just eating my fill of naan despite the fact that the palak paneer was really good as well. I can’t wait to make another batch of naan!
Naan
ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup water (warm)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter or unsalted butter)
- 3 tablespoons yogurt
- * ghee (clarified butter or unsalted butter)
directions
- Mix the yeast and sugar into the warm water in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Add the salt and flour into the liquid followed by the ghee and yogurt and mix until it forms a dough.
- Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover.
- Let it rise for 90 minutes.
- Punch the dough down and knead it for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough and form balls.
- Roll the balls out.
- Brush both sides with ghee and fry in a pan until golden brown on both sides.
- Serve while still warm.
You took all the mystery out of the whole naan thing. I love the texture of this bread and really not a tough thing to make. Love it.
Oh do I love naan. I pan fry mine too. Yum! Now I'm craving it. Better put it on the menu…
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. The whole family loves these!
Yum. I've been thinking about making pita bread or naan for a few days, but I think you just convinced me.
Your Naan looks real soft..
one of my favorites!
Yum. Looks great, I'll have to try pan frying it sometime.
A while back I saw a Youtube video made by an Indian lady who used a conventional oven turned to broil. I use my pizza stone on the top rack for this method (putting it in ahead of time so it can absorb the heat well), then slip the naan under the broiler for a very short amount of time. Also, she wet her hands and then patted the dough rounds with her wet hands just before putting them in the oven. They turned out very soft that way; I think it's the combo of high heat and short cooking time. But I want to try the pan method now, too.
What beautiful naans! A wonderful speciality!
Cheers,
Rosa
That's really neat. I love naan. I've always want to learn how to make these. I like the suggestion of pan frying them. I must give these a try!!
I love naan with Indian food, but I usually just end up making chapatis because they're so much simpler!
I've been away on holidays these past few weeks and have missed so much of your delicious cooking Kevin!! That Naan bread looks perfect! You did a great job on this and on the paneer! I am in awe of you!
Your naan breads are beautiful and thank you for the tip to make them in the pan. Where is the curry??
Your naan looks beautiful– I have to try the stovetop technique, as my previous attempt didn't work out well either :/
What a perfect looking naan!
How perfect for your paneer!
I've been wanting to try homemade naan for a long time, but I was always scared that it wouldn't turn out. I love how you pan fried them…it seems so much less intimidating. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Sweet I have been looking for a good naan recipe! A local place here combines cheese in theirs too so I may have to add some to make it extra heart healthy. Looks awesome as always!
Are there actually 2 additions of 6 tbsp of ghee or is that a typo?
Great idea to pan-fry it! It looks nice and golden, perfect to soak up the delicious sauce or curry
I like your way of making naan. Unusual for me, but looks pretty good.
Anyways, in my experience, stove top naans are always better than those baked in an oven.
And nothing quite beats home-mde paneer either.
Fantastic! Freshly baked naan is one of the best things in the world. I'd also love to know how to make arabic flat bread, so if you have a recipe for that, bring it on!
I love naan when I have it in Indian restaurants. Now I can make it at home, thanks for sharing your tips.
kevin, that bread looks astounding—so soft and fluffy and perfectly browned! frankly, although it’d make a terrific vehicle for any number of toppings, i’d just like to eat it plain!
You are so talented Kevin, you make everything to perfection. Naan has been on my list to do for more than a year now but will stay there for a while until I am back to normal cooking again 🙂
You can't believe how much I LOVE naan bread.
WOw..I am so excited to try this!Much thanks!Figtreeapps
Thank you. I am making one of my favorite meals tonight and I always use store bought naan because I've never found a recipe that works. I'll be trying this one out.
I love naan!!
Impressive. Though naan is one of my favorites, I've not yet tried to make my own. Looks great!
You made this sound so easy! I'll bet this would be delicious if I used it to sop up curry gravy.
Mouths watering for naan. It is so addictive. All we need is butter to go with it, and we're easily satisfied.
I love this bread Kevin look so tatsy!! Gloria
Glad it worked out for you!! The pan frying really works out well. This past weekend, I threw the dough on the grill and that also worked out just famously!
TallieAnn: The second entry for ghee/butter is for brushing the dough before frying.
Have you tried it on the grill? That is my favorite way to do it at home. I have also done it under the broiler.
Oh this is a first for me, Ive not seen someone make their own yet! I LOVE nann, greek food! mmmm!!! Thanks Kevin 🙂
We LOVE naan. Thanks for a very yummy looking recipe!
Oooh naan. I love naan. I must try this. I have to get ghee though.
This looks wonderful! Perfectly shaped and everything. You're an artist!!
This Naan looks absolutely perfect! It is one of my weaknesses.
I've never tried it in a pan, sounds good. Mine never fit on my baking sheet and I always end up with some draped off the ends!
I'm with you … freshly made naan can sometimes steal the show from even the main dish! And yours looks so plump and scrumptious!
The Indian lady Marcy was referring to was probably Manjula from manjulaskitchen.com. I am in love with her.
-B
My boyfriend is in India now eating Naan "naan"-stop and he has me craving some when he talks about it! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 Have you had/made garlic naan?
Yum! I love naan!
that looks amazing. I love naan.
Hillary: Garlic naan sounds really good!
This looks so good. I love naan. Just had it with lunch two days ago. I'll have to try to make it-thanks for the recipe.
The naan looks awesome!
I have been looking for a Naan…let me rephrase: A GOOD Naan, recipe! THANKS!!!!
Naan looks delicious!. Looks like our gorditas de harina mexicanas
Thank you for this recipe!
Cheers!
Hi Kevin!
I just made these tonight and made half plain and half with cilantro added. They were great. We had several people over and they all raved.
Thanks for the recipe!
I made this recipe on my Gorge Forman
grill it turn out great
Hi Kevin
Excellent recipe – I tried it & this worked for me right away, you must try something I was able to cook last month – Parantha's made from Corn Meal, they are very popular in winters & eaten with Saag or Palak dishes – here's the link http://onecreativekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/makki-methi-parantha.html
cheers
Sonia
Great site! This recipe is good and will produce naan exactly like the picture. For me, the naan was too dense and had an outside crust that was too crispy. My suggestion is to follow a recipe that uses an egg so it will be softer. Keep up the good work 🙂
I was just going through your site and saw this. As an Indian I have to say that does not look like naan. It looks more like a 'kulcha'.
Naan is traditionally made in a 'tandoor' and the closest thing to a naan in the west is an italian pizza base made in a wood fired oven. You can make the naan in a wood fired oven or on a pizza stone and it should turn out well.
Also I believe a lot of Indian restaurants and homes make it without yeast. Let me tell you the way my mother makes it at home.
In India we have cheap 'kadhais' (like a wok) made out of cast iron or some material that can stand high heat on both sides. Take that and put it on the stove upside down. You can dab your naan with a little bit of water and stick it on the side away from the heat.
Alternatively you can use an Indian 'tawa' (its like a shallow pan but concave). Stick the naan on the concave (the right) side on the tawa and heat the naan by holding the tawa upside down against the heat. The water will keep the naan stuck to the tawa or kadhai. This is also how we make 'missi' (chickpea chapatti) rotis.
Also a naan is shaped exactly like a italian pizza base. Stretch it and make it about the same thickness as a traditional italian pizza base.
I hope you try it again and post new pics.
Varun: Thanks for all of the tips!
Even I agree with Varun. "Most of the Indian restaurant and kitchen makes naan without yeast".
I would suggest you try out a Naan without Yeast.
Basically, direct flame or heat is very much necessary for a perfect naan.
Made it last weekend and it tasted great..thanks for the recipe.
You know, I've always bought naan instead of making it cuz I thought it takes too long. Have to give it a try sometime.
My favorite recipe with this bread is naan pizza. Gives it that personal touch and great flavor when I know what ingredients are going into making it. Check it out sometime: http://www.indiankhanamadeeasy.com/2010/03/indian-style-pizza.html
I'm sure with your homemade naan, the taste will be incredible.
I love these! We also make them but call them haphazard Panamanian. Traditional recipes are so difficult to present and photograph but you have done this so well.