Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Actually successful naan!!

Last week we fed our Brooklyn family Indian food as thanks for giving us shelter, and for the first time ever we made naan that was soft and puffy like the restaurant kind, as opposed to the usual thick, pizza-dough-like results. No surprise that the winning recipe came from Manjula, and my guess is that the awesome texture can be attributed to the high proportion of fats in the dough (yogurt AND oil). Oh Manjula, why do we ever stray from your side?

Soft, puffy, buttery naan

1 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
pinch baking soda
2 tbs oil
2 1/2 tbs yogurt
2 cups AP flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water. stir in the salt, sugar, and soda. Stir in the yogurt and oil, then gradually incorporate the flour. Knead until very smooth and elasticy. Let rise in a warm place for 3-4 hours, until almost doubled.

Heat the oven as hot as it goes with a baking stone in it (baking sheet will work but not as well). Push the dough down and divide it into 6 parts. Turn the oven to broil, roll each piece into a ball, dust with flour, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll each piece of dough out into a thin circle (thinner = softer and puffier), lay it out on your baking stone, and let cook until puffy and brown. When you take it out of the oven, immediately put it under a cloth so that the steam will keep it soft. Repeat with each piece. Brush the naan with melted butter before serving. Spiced butter or butter with sauteed garlic and/or onions would also be nice.

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