I love the fluffy naan that you get in restaurants, but not so much the supermarket ones that you heat up at home. As I was making curry for my dinner party I thought I'd also try my hand at naan to recreate that gorgeous fluffiness at home. It was amazingly easy after researching a few recipes and combining the best ideas I came up with this, which seemed a simple and tasty way of making them. They went down well and I wish I'd made more/bigger naan!
Naan Recipe
Makes 5 at the size in the picture, you could make them bigger or smaller as you wish
Preheat the grill as hot as you can
If you can't get onion seeds (I couldn't) a nice lady in Waitrose said to use sesame seeds for crunch or a handful of chopped coriander leaves for flavour
As usual I used my Kitchen aid to knead the dough for simplicity
Ingredients
1½tsp dried yeast
1½tsp sugar
200g plain flour
100g strong white bread flour
1½tsp black onion seeds
¾tsp salt
¾tsp baking powder
1½tbsp vegetable oil
3tbsp plain yogurt
3tbsp milk
Method
In a small bowl mix the yeast and sugar with a tablespoon of lukewarm water and leave to activate for 10 to 15 minutes until frothy.
In the mean time put into the mixer bowl the flours, onion seeds, salt and baking powder.
When the yeast has activated add it to the mixer bowl along with the oil and yogurt.
Set the machine to knead the dough, stopping once it is soft and smooth, add some of the milk if the dough feels dry.
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave in a warm place for at least an hour, until it has doubled in size.
Heat the grill.
Divide the dough into as many balls as you want naan.
Using your hands, gently pull and flatten each ball into a tear shape about ½cm thick.
Dry heat a frying pan and then place one of the naan into it for 15 seconds or so to lightly brown one side. Place the naan, seared side down, onto a tray under the grill for 2 to 5 minutes until it has puffed up and has golden patches on the top.
Repeat with the other balls of dough.
Enjoy with curry.