One of the things my husband really loves is a good curry. I confess I like it too. He loves a good hot and spicy Madras, whereas I like a mild curry, where I can actually appreciate the flavour of the protein involved. SO I usually pick something in the middle, which pleases us both. Today it was a Chicken Tikka. Nothing special, just some cubed chicken breast and . . . . I confess . . . a jar of Lloyd Grossman Tikka curry sauce.. I like the Lloyd Grossman sauces. They do cost a bit more, but they are really quite good. I did make homemade Naan breads however, which was not as hard as I thought it would be.
My Swedish friend Marie (well she is an Australian Ex-Pat who married a Swede and lives in Sweden) had sent me the links to a couple of naan bread recipes a couple of weeks back, and I printed them out. I couldn't find the printouts or the links today however. (That is just like me, and now you know how totally disorganized I can be at times most of the time.) In any case, I did a search for a Yeast Free Naan Bread and found this recipe, which might be one of the links she sent me, or might not. In any case it worked really well.
It was a very simple dough, using very simple ingredients, and I will confess right now, I didn't have any yogurt in the fridge (How did that happen? I always have yogurt!), but by then I was into it already and so I used sour cream instead which I felt would have approximately the same acidity and consistency needed, and as you can see it worked out really well. You make the dough and then roll it out to a thin (1/8th inch thick) oval and then you "bake" the ovals on a hot pan/griddle.
First on one side, over medium heat just until you get blisters showing up as you can see above. It will be light golden on the under side. This only took a few minutes. I used my Pampered Chef griddle pan. Do NOT grease it. No oil needed. Then you flip them over and bake them on the other side, for a further minute . . .
At which time they will be perfectly cooked.
They are largish, about 6 by 9 inches in size so you can really only bake one at a time, so you will want to wrap the finished ones in a clean tea towel to keep them warm while you finish baking them all.
Which won't take long. The recipe only makes 4, and they are the nicest, softest, most delicious Naan breads you could ever want. Nice and fresh . . .
These were really lovely. Nice and soft and beautiful. I liked them much better than the ones you buy that are already baked. Actually there is no comparison really . . . these blow those nasty dry things out of the water!
These are so soft and pliable . . . you could never do this with one from the shops. These were lovely. Just look how easily you can fold them up.
They went down a real treat and were so easy to make. I will never buy shop bought again.
*Yeast Free Naan*
Makes 4 breads
Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Warm the milk gently with the butter (cut into bits) to melt the butter. Cool to lukewarm and whisk in the yogurt. Stir this into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon to make a soft dough. If the dough is too stick, dust lightly with flour. Knead in the bowl for a few minutes, then cover with a clean tea towel and let sit for half an hour. At the end of that time, divide into 4 equal portions and shape into balls. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Rotate slightly as you roll them, sprinkling lightly with flour as you go until you have a rough oval shape.
Heat a large non-stick skillet or flat pancake griddle pan over medium high heat. Once it is hot you can start to bake the Naan's. Pick up and remove any excess flour by slapping the dough between your hands and flip it onto the pan. Cook until the surface is covered with bubbles, and it is lightly toasted on the bottom, flip over and repeat. Remove to a clean tea-towel and cover to keep warm while you cook the rest. This helps to keep them soft. Serve warm.
Note - if you want a garlic flavoured Naan, you can rub the surface of the finished breads with the cut side of a clove of garlic and brush with butter.
We enjoyed these so much, they have set a new standard for us in what we expect in a Naan! I hope you will try them. I am positive you will fall in love with them too! Bon Appetit!
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