Naan-Indian Flat Bread

I love baking especially baking bread becomes my recent passion. I've tried baking some western breads which comes out beautifully and tastes great. This time i tried my hand on baking Indian bread which found in many Indian restaurants or hotels. Indian flat breads are getting its fair share of popularity worldwide like naan,chappati,puri,missi bread and etc. Today i'm sharing with you the ever famous Indian bread...Naan.


Baking naan are a simple and quick process and you can opt for oven baked or stove top method just like mine. I love the slightly charred marks on the naan thus, i placed it on the direct fire of my stove top after cooking it for a minute on my girddle. You can skip the process and just cook on a hot tawa or griddle till it gets little browned. I made plain naan, you can flavor you naan with plenty of melted butter for creating butter naan,finely chopped garlic for garlic naan,shredded cheese, sprinkle with rosemary or thyme or even finely chopped mixed nuts such as almonds,walnuts,cashews and the list goes on. I served my naan with paneer butter masala(recepi given in my blog). Soft and fluffy naan just like what you can get in Indian restaurants

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water(room temperature)
1 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp yeast
2 tbsp melted butter
1/3 tsp salt
Oil to grease the bowl
Flour for dusting


Methods

In a bowl, combine together sugar,yeast and water. Stir and keep aside 5 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, sift together flour,baking powder,salt and baking soda. Add the yeast mixture,milk and yogurt to the flour mixture. Using a spatula, stir well to combine and knead the dough by hand till smooth.

Grease a large bowl with oil, cover with plastic wrap and keep the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise atleast 1 hour.

Once the dough doubled in size, punch down the dough and place on a clean working surface dusted with flour. Divide the dough into 16 equal sized balls. Using a rolling pin, roll out the divided balls into 6 inches long and 1/8 inch thick.

On the stove top over a medium heat, Heat a tawa or griddle. Place the dough on the griddle and cook for 1-minute. Flip to the other side and cook for another minute. Using a tongs place the naan on direct fire of the stove and cook both sides till they get slightly charred approximately 30 seconds on both sides.

Remove from heat and brush with melted butter

Goes well with tandoori chicken,mint chutney,paneer butter masala or any other gravy dishes