Man, I love Indian food. But wherever I look, the recipes take A LOT of work. Personally, buying some isn’t an option since I hate the flavor of store flatbreads and am too poor to eat out. This recipe for Naan is straightforward and beginner-friendly, but to be completely transparent, the cooking process is a bit long and takes the most time and attention of the whole recipe. However, Naan as a side for my Indian food is a non-negotiable for me, because it is so stinkin’ good. So, just because Naan and other Indian foods are irresistible, we’ll do a simplified version that will be easier than most others but still require a little more work than we’re usually willing to do here at StirnChill.
To make this easier on ourselves, I would recommend making the dough ahead of time and storing it in the fridge. The dough doesn’t take long to make, only about 10 minutes, and then an hour or so before I use it, I just pull it out while we make the rest of my dinner. But be warned: Make sure that all the other parts of your dinner are done or just need to be taken off the heat before you start cooking the Naan! I have, several times, started cooking the naan before I finished the main dish and it bites me in the butt every time. So don’t be like me. Be better. Be wiser.
Homemade Garlic Naan
Ingredients
Naan
- ½ cup warm water *For tips on getting the right temperature, see recipe notes.
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- ⅓ cup plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil You can also use vegetable or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ – 3 cups all-purpose flour
Garlic & Toppings
- 2 tablespoons butter melted, salted or unsalted is fine
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- toppings optional, but you can top it with fresh herbs like I did in the picture so it looks nice
Instructions
Making the Dough
- Stir ½ cup warm water, 2 teaspoons yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a medium-large bowl. Then let the yeast mixture sit for ten minutes or till bubbly.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, ⅓ cup yogurt, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups of flour. Stir the mixture to the best of your ability until everything is moist and smooth.
- Add ¼-1 cup flour more so that the dough is soft and a little sticky, but manageable with your hands. Knead a few times in the bowl until smooth.
- Take the dough out to grease the bowl, then put it back in and give it a turn so that all sides are lightly coated in oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Cooking the Naan
- Preheat a medium sized frying pan to medium heat. Cut dough into eight pieces (I usually just eyeball it). On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into about a 6″ circle (Each piece should be pretty thin, like ⅛ in. Honestly, I usually go a touch over 6").
- Add a little oil or non-stick spray to your frying pan. Cook each circle for 2-3 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on the bottom. Then flip the circle over and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. While the Naan is cooking, melt your butter.
- Brush the top (bubbly side) of each naan with melted butter. I add garlic and salt to my butter, but you can just do the butter if you aren't feeling the extra work.
Notes
Activating the Yeast
- For happy yeast, you typically want the water to be around 105℉. Being 5℉ over or under is still good for the yeast, so don’t stress!
- I don’t like wasting water and waiting around all day for my water to heat up, I grab what I need from the sink and microwave it for 15-30 seconds. TA-DA! Warm water without the wasted time.
Rising Time
- You can usually get this to rise in about 30 minutes, but if you want to make this ahead of time (which I recommend) and have it rise for more than an hour I would pop it in the fridge, where you can leave it for up to 2 days. Just make sure to take the dough out 45 mins to 1 hour before you use it so that the yeast can get back to room temperature.
Cooking The Naan
- Honestly, this is the least chill part of this recipe. The process is a bit involved, and to do it quickly you have to roll out one piece of dough while another is cooking, so I would save cooking the naan for last when all the other parts of your meal are done or only need to be taken off the heat. Besides, warm naan is superior to cold naan. Sorry I couldn’t make this part easier, but from what I can tell cooking naan always takes work. If you are stressed about getting the size right, I would recommend getting a silicone pastry mat like the one I have. It makes measuring circles for baking MUCH easier. It’s a pain to clean, though, so flour well so that all you have to do is wipe it down!
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