I am obsessed with good Indian food! Naan bread dipped in Channa Masala, Veggie Pakora, Tikka Masala, and the list goes on. Mmm! It wasn’t until I moved away from my hometown, a few years ago, that I discovered a love for Indian food. I had tried it once as a child and found it to be too spicy, and was left unimpressed. In my adulthood, I found my tastes had changed. I decided to be brave and try an Indian buffet while living in the bay area, and I fell in love. It was a couple more years before I found another tasty restaurant, which then became my favorite for Indian food.
Unfortunately I moved away from my favorite restaurant, and am left to make my own if I really want to be impressed. I thought I would start my homemade Indian food adventures with Naan Bread, because who doesn’t love that? Fairly simply, and not much different than making bread, aside from the frying process.
Naan is fantastic by itself, or as a side dish to just about anything. In fact, we just ate our leftovers with a little butter and jelly, for breakfast. However, nothing quite beats the garlic butter that is spread on the naan before cooking.
After the dough is made, allow it to rise for about an hour, until it doubles in size – similar to bread or cinnamon rolls. From there, just divide into 8 even pieces and roll out and spread homemade garlic infused butter in each side, and fry for just a minute per side. So easy, and seriously delicious. Best is served while warm.
A great go-to cast iron skillet for making your Naan Bread, or really anything that requires a skillet, is this Lodge Cast-Iron Skillet. Fantastic!
Naan Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 Tbs honey
- 1 .25 ounce package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt or substitute 1/4 cup milk with 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine warm water and honey. Stir until honey has dissolved..
- Add the water mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough attachment, and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Lightly stir to incorporate yeast. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Yeast should be foamy. If it isn't foamy, then the yeast is not active and you should start over.
- On low speed, gradually add flour, yogurt, salt, baking powder, and egg to yeast mixture.
- Increase speed to medium and mix for another 2-3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.
- Remove dough from the mixing bowl, and shape into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl you just removed dough from, and place the dough ball back in the bowl. Cover with a damp towel. Place in a warm location and let it rise for 1 hour until the dough has nearly doubled in size.
- When dough is just about ready, heat the butter in a small saute pan over medium heat, until melted. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Set aside.
- Transfer risen dough it to a floured work surface and cut into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball and roll out with a rolling pin, to a circle or oval shape. Dough should be no more than 1/4" thick.
- Dip a pastry brush into garlic butter and spread on one side of each rolled out piece of naan. Place naan into a large cast-iron skillet or heavy saute pan over medium-high heat, butter side down.
- Quickly spread butter over naan side facing up. Cook for 1 minute, or until the dough begins to bubble and the bottom turns lightly golden. Flip the dough and cook on the second side for 30-60 seconds, or until the bottom is golden.
- Transfer the naan to a separate plate, and cover with a towel. Repeat with remaining dough until all of the naan pieces are cooked.
- Keep the naan covered with the towel until ready to serve. Serve warm and with fresh cilantro, if desired.
Karen Glatt says
I want to make this yummy incredible bread! It looks so delicious and I am going to pin the recipe and make soon!
VR says
This is the best naan bread ever…. thanks for the recipe!!
Emily Lyon says
My pleasure! So glad you enjoy it!
jessica says
Can i make this using baking wheat flour?
Emily Buys says
I imagine it will change the texture, but I say give it a try! Let me know how it works Jessica!
Humberto says
I used wheat flour and it was amazing!Excellent recipe! Thank You!!
Emily Buys says
That’s great to hear Humberto! I’m glad to know the wheat flour works!
Sabina says
I love your pictures. I came across them by googling for naan bread pics. I’ve tried my naan breads with soy yogurt (Alpro), a little bit of sugar and baking soda in the dough. No need to add eggs or milk.
They came out great with no saturated fats. Eggs make them dry and firm, but you want them to be fluffy, right ;)?
I used the recipe by Manjula (I doubled it) and added more flour. I cooked them in a non stick pan.
My son and his friend (both teenagers) loved them. So I passed the test 😉 I hope you give this recipe a try!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Be9LHPracE
Rachel says
Can you use coconut flour in this recipe?
Emily Buys says
I’ve never cooked with coconut flour, but you could definitely try it!
jim says
Can this be made without using a mixer?
Emily Buys says
You could definitely try just stirring with a spoon, Jim.
Mie Nielsen says
Can you tell me how much yeast you use in gram?
Mr. Maan says
Made this for a good snack, came out pretty good. One of the better naan recipes out there imo.
Emily Buys says
I’m so glad you like it, Mr. Maan!
zgamebet says
zgamebet
Julia VanBuren says
These are delicious! Put it on a Mediterranean plate with hummus etc… so amazing!!!
Question, do you think replacing butter with olive oil would work?
Emily Buys says
I think it would work just fine. The taste would just be slightly different.