Here at Hungry & Fit, we are BIG Indian food fans. It competes with pizza for our most-delivered food. We love the flavors, the complexity, and the comfort it brings. I’ve always wanted to cook more Indian food since we love it so much, but I was intimidated by the many ingredients you usually need. Naan, however, seemed to have less ingredients and it is probably my favorite “bread” product on the planet. So one day, I find this wonderfully simple naan recipe from Jo Cooks and I committed myself to trying it. I tweaked the recipe slightly because I’m usually too lazy to get the exact ingredients that the original recipe uses. I can proudly say I now know how to make naan!
I was nervous to try it. I’m bad with tedious things and sometimes recipes that call for rolling and cutting dough are just that. I don’t even have a rolling pin! Naan is one of my favorite things to eat and I wanted to do it right. Feeling creative and ambitious one night, I set out to make my very first naan. And guess what, it turned out great if I do say so myself! And don’t be nervous, it’s honestly incredibly simple.
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp (1 packet) dry active yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Coconut fat/oil
- Butter
- Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, mix the water, yeast, and sugar together. Whisk together and let it sit for 10 minutes until the yeast starts to dissolve and get a little foamy.
- Once dissolved, add the egg, yogurt, and oil. Whisk well until combined.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Then, slowly pour in the wet yeast mixture and stir until the dough is clean off the sides. If it's too sticky, add more flour.
- Form it into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Turn off the oven (a trick from Jo Cooks) and place the bowl inside for 30-60 minutes. You know you're done when it's twice the original size.
- When it's risen, open it up and try to divide into 12 pieces. Don't worry if it isn't perfect.
- Put flour on a cutting board, roll one of the pieces into a ball and then start kneading it out to about 1/3 of an inch thickness.
- Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium heat and add in a teaspoon of coconut oil (you can use regular oil if you want, but I find the coconut lends great flavor). Once it's hot, drop your delicate flat dough into the pan.
- Very quickly, you will see it bubble up and then you can turn it on its other side. Keep a close eye on it. It only takes 1-2 minutes to cook, look for that golden color.
- Place on plate and tuck into tea towel to get warm. Put butter on it.
- Repeat with rest of your dough. Serve warm!
- If you don't cook all of your dough in one night, place in fridge with tin foil over the bowl. It will be fine to cook tomorrow.
- Made too much naan? You can pop it in a toaster or toaster oven to get it back to its glory.
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