"Go To" Naan. And Go, NOW!

Our family eats curry a few times a week.  Not only because we are mad about Indian food, but also because it is easy.  Like a slow-cooker meal, you get it going and it very nearly cooks itself.  My favorite butter chicken dish is a recipe I'll share someday (if I can part with the secret,) but all curries double their deliciousness when paired with heaps of coconut rice, and are shoveled into your open and drooling mouth on some buttery, homemade naan.

For years I used a honey sweetened flat-bread recipe that was delicious, but not authentic.  I was won over by this yogurt based naan, a pakistani recipe passed along by my friend Kristin, who grew up in Pakistan, and it is simply the best.  I've adapted it, just a bit, over time.

1 1/4 cup very warm whole milk
2 tbsp. oil, or ghee
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 egg, beaten
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast
(if you love garlic naan, add about 2 tbsp. of pressed garlic to the mixture as well.)

Add all these ingredients in the order shown, and kneed immediately before the milk cools.

Because this is a wet dough, it is difficult to mix by hand, and adding too much flour to the kneeding process will weigh down the dough, and ruin the lift of the bread.  I find it's best to use a mixer with a dough hook, or the kneeding function on a bread maker.

After you have mixed the ingredients thoroughly and kneeded the dough for 10 -15 minutes, place it in a greased bowl and allow to raise, 1 hour, then pinch it off into 12 equal portions.  Grease a cookie sheet amply with oil, then use fingers to press the portions into flat patties, about 1/6 inch thick, and 6-7 inches in diameter.

Allow the patties to raise again for about a half hour as you preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Naan is usually cooked in a ceramic, cylindrical oven called a tandoori.  The oven is heated with coals until it is incredibly hot, and the naan is slapped against the side to immediately cook, which happens very quickly.  Keep an eye on things, but your naan should brown up in about 7-8 minutes per batch.

Butter each piece while hot.  Then pile on your coconut gravy or palak sauce, paneer or makhani.  And do it sooooon. So good.

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