Garlic Naan

 

Naan is a staple in Indian cuisine and my favorite thing to eat at Indian restaurants. It is a light flatbread that is crispy on the bottom with a soft and chewy center, made elastic from the addition of yogurt to the dough. 

Even American restaurants pay tribute to this awesome carb - Michael Mina is famous for his naan bread service, made from a special tandoori oven in his restaurants like Sea Blue and XIV. I searched alot of blogs and websites for a good naan recipe and landed on this one from The Food Network, courtesy of Aarti Party, a Food Network Star winner. The recipe had raving reviews and rated 5 stars.

The process for making naan is similar to baking bread - it requires a resting period for the yeast to rise. The dough is cooked over a piping hot cast iron skillet where it bubbles and chars from the high heat. A mixture of garlic, parsley and hot olive oil is then brushed on top of the naan as it comes off the skillet. Delicious and a good substitute for the real thing. I loved this recipe and will be making it again soon!

Garlic Naan
adapted from The Food Network

Ingredients  
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling, see Cook's Note*
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

In a large glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water. Let it sit on your counter until it's frothy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large, deep bowl.

Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and the olive oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn't enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2 to 4 hours. 



Heat up the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Toss in the garlic and turn off the stove, letting the garlic slowly cook in the hot oil while cooling down. Add the parsley and mix thoroughly. This mixture will be brushed over the cooked naan. 

When you're ready to roll, make sure you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it, and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky-this is good! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking to each other.

Shape the naan. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape, narrower at the top than at the bottom. It should be 8 to 9-inches long, 4-inches wide at its widest point and about 1/4-inch thick. Once you've formed the general shape, you can also pick it up by one end and wiggle it; the dough's own weight will stretch it out a little. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough. (If you're making the gluten-free version, you'll have better luck pressing the dough out with your fingertips, than rolling.) 



Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.
Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your naans, flip-flopping it from one hand to the other to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it in the skillet and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble. 



After about 1 minute, flip the naan. Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Remove the naan from the skillet, brush with the olive oil/garlic/parsley mixture and sprinkle with sea salt.