mitzireddy

Naan is a leavened flatbread which originated in Asia and is traditionally cooked in a clay oven or tandoor. Naan can also be cooked successfully using a baking stone. I had dismal failures in my attempts at making naan as I do not own a clay oven or a baking stone. I watched a masterclass by Gary Mehigan on Masterchef Australia where he cooked a pizza using a baking stone and he mentioned that a terracotta tile can be used instead of a baking stone. I then had the bright idea of using the terracotta tile to make naan – my first attempt was good but the baking time took longer. I did more research and found that the baking stone had to be placed towards the bottom of a very hot oven. I did this with the terracotta tile in my second attempt and ended up with a cracked tile – so much for naan making.

I was quite chuffed when I saw this recipe in the Indian Delight for naan where the cooking method is on top of the stove using a tava which is a kind of iron griddle. A tava is used to make roti, an unleavened flatbread, and is generally an item found in most Indian kitchens. A nonstick heavy based frying pan can be used in place of a tava.

There so many varieties of naan – here a few:

Plain Naan – simplest form which is brushed with ghee or butter.

Garlic Naan – topped with crushed garlic and butter.

Roghani Naan – sprinkled with sesame seeds, and is popular in Pakistan.

Peshawari Naan and Kashmiri Naan -  filled with a mixture of nuts and raisins including pistachios.

Paneer Naan – stuffed with a filling of paneer (cheese) flavoured with ground coriander and paprika.

Amritsari Naan – stuffed with mash potatoes and spices and also known as ‘Aloo Naan,’ originating from Amritsar, India.

Kulcha Naan – has a filling of cooked onions.

Keema Naan – includes a filling of minced lamb, mutton or goat meat.

The naan that I made is brushed with garlic butter and has fennel seeds and resulted in a delicious soft flatbread. I made 10 naan – I will try making 12 the next time for a thinner flatbread and will cook the naan on medium heat rather than on high.

TAVA NAAN

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp instant yeast.

1/2 cup warm milk

1/4 cup warm water

1 egg

2 Tbls butter ghee, melted

1 tsp sugar

Into a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and salt. Add fennel seeds and instant yeast.

In a separate bowl, add milk, water, sugar, ghee and egg. Beat well and add to the flour mixture to form soft dough (tip. Add the liquid mixture little at a time until the dough is soft and pliable). Add more liquid if necessary to get the correct consistency.

Knead well. Place the dough in an oiled dish and cover with a dish cloth. Leave to rise for about 1 hour in a warm place.

Knead the dough and shape into a long roll and cut into 10 – 12 balls. Roll out each ball of dough into an oblong shape.

Place a tava ( or non – stick frying pan) on top of the stove on high heat. Place the rolled out dough onto the tava and cook on each side for about 2 minutes until browned. Baste with garlic butter.

I made one of the quickest curries, tinned fish, from one of my earlier posts, took me less than 15 minutes to cook – I needed to taste the naan – it was delicious – did not last the day – hubby who is not a fan of roti enjoyed the naan very much.

Much as I enjoy cooking and baking I have always avoided making anything that is labour intensive and to me making roti fell into this category. Whenever my mum and my aunt, Kay, visited us on holiday   – they generally used to take over the kitchen (always blissful to have a break) and spoil us with all their cooking – they also used to make big quantities of roti – which I used to freeze – this usually lasted until their next visit. They used to do the same for my siblings – it’s been just over a year since my aunt has passed on and longer for my mum – and I have been buying roti since then.

Towards the end of last year, my sister, Dawn, got some tips from a friend on how to make roti and tested some recipes – and in December gave myself and Pepe a demonstration – both my siblings have now mastered roti making to a fine art – and churn out roti with speed and minimum fuss – I am still the straggler.

According to wikipedia there are many different variations of unleavened flat breads found in many cultures across the globe. The traditional flat bread originating from the Indian subcontinent is commonly known as roti, pronounced “rho tee”. It is normally eaten with curries or cooked vegetables. It is made most often from wholemeal flour and cooked on a flat or slightly concave iron griddle called a tawa. It is similar to the tortilla in appearance. Like breads around the world, roti is a staple accompaniment to other foods, and may be spread with ghee (clarified butter).

Dawn’s recipe and method is easy and quick – it’s also a healthy version using minimum ghee.

I took the pics of the different stages while Dawn was making the roti.

ROTI

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup of sunflower oil

30gr butter ghee

1 ½ cups (approx.) hot water

Sift the cake flour and salt into a large bowl.

Sprinkle the oil over the flour and mix into the flour.

Rub in the butter ghee into flour.

Add enough boiling water into the flour to form a soft dough and knead well.

Roll the dough into a long sausage roll. Cut the dough into 15 +- even pieces.

Mould the dough into balls and dust with cake flour.

Roll out thinly into a circle.

Cook on a tawa (heated on medium heat – no.4) on both sides until lightly browned.

Roti can be basted with melted ghee (optional).