Skip to main content

Homemade garlic and coriander naan bread


             This is my favourite Indian bread and I've found an easy way to make it at home!

Ingredients
10g fresh yeast o 1/2 sachet dry yeast (see packet instructions)
300g white flour -  ideally from bakery (or you can use all purpose white flour)
60g Greek yogurt (sugared version better)
30ml milk
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
a pinch of sugar
2 teaspoons salt
dry garlic
fresh minced coriander leaves (cilantro)
150ml lukewarm water

This recipe makes 4 naans

Important
How to make lukewarm water - mix 150ml boiled water with 300ml cold water, and use 150ml of this volume to dissolve the yeast in.
It's always better if you can use fresh yeast and flour as it will produce a softer, more tender and crunchier naan. 


Preparing the dough
(This is very similar to how I make my pizza dough!)
1.I always use fresh yeast. The first stage is to activate the yeast. Combine 150ml lukewarm water with 10g fresh yeast, a pinch of sugar and mix using a teaspoon.
2. After about 5-15 minutes, the surface of the liquid will start to foam, which indicates that the yeast has been activated. I haven't used dry yeast, but I think 1/2 a sachet should be sufficient for 150ml lukewarm water, but  please check the instructions on the packet.

 


3. In a large bowl, combine 300g flour, the activated yeast mix, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 tbsp sunflower oil, 30ml milk and 60g Greek yoghurt.
4.The ingredients can be mixed by hand, or using dough hooks on a mixer. I usually start off by using the mixer, and hands later, but you can stick to using your hands for the entire process.

 

 

 
5.If you are using the mixer, once the ingredients are combined (or once a soft ball has formed), move the dough over to a work surface/large chopping board. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes, until the dough becomes soft and no longer sticks to the surface or your hands. If it continues to stick, add small amounts of flour at a time and keep kneading until it becomes soft.

 

 
6. Form a ball with the dough and grease a bowl with oil, placing the dough ball in it and cover with cling film. Set aside for approximately 2 hours in a dry place. I normally leave it inside the oven (turned off!). In about 2 hours, the dough will double in size.

 

 
7. Knead again and divide the dough ball into 4.
8. Move a dough ball at a time over to a floured work surface and start stretching out the dough using your hands or a rolling pin. You can start flattening the centre with your hands, and then applying pressure with fingers from the centre towards the edges in different directions. Continue until the dough is stretched (ideally into a nice circle, but I'm not very good with shapes!😆). Sprinkle a bit of flour during the process if the dough starts sticking. 

 

 


9. Sprinkle some dry garlic, salt and fresh coriander over the spread out dough. I usually dab the coriander leaves into the dough with wet fingers to help them stick and stay in place.
(If you're not a fan or garlic and coriander you can leave them plain).

10. Heat a frying pan with a tiny drop of oil (optional to add a drop of oil)  over a medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, cook the naans a few minutes on each side. The top side should puff up (form air bubbles), and both sides should have brown-golden spots when ready. 

 

 


 


If you made plain naans, you can spread a bit of butter over them before eating.

11. The naans can be refrigerated for a few days (sprinkle some water to rehydrate and re-heat in the oven), and they can also be frozen.



 


12. Another favourite variation of mine is Peshwari naan. After diving the balls into 4 (step 7), place a mix of dry fruits in the centre of each ball, cover the dough and then continue rolling out the balls (step 8). The dry fruits include raisins, desiccated coconut, ground almonds and pistachios. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Lankan cutlets - fish and vegetarian versions!

🍠🐟 These cutlets (Sri Lankan croquettes!) are probably the most popular snack in Sri Lanka. They are normally prepared using tuna, salmon, or any fresh or canned fished. The tuna version happens to be my favourite as my mum always made them this way. It is definitely a snack I look forward to whenever I visit Sri Lanka, or any big Sri Lankan gathering! You may see them at teatime, lunch or dinner. They also tend to dissapear very fast!!!  I´ve recently updated with a tasty vegetarian version you can see at the end. If you prefer a non-spicy version you get omit the green chilli, or use less black pepper. They can be served with a chilli sauce or ketchup. Tuna Fish cutlets Ingredients 2 large potatoes 3 small tins of tuna 1 onion salt pepper (we add loads in Sri Lanka!) cinnamon sticks (or sprinkle of ground cinnamon) cardamom curry leaves 1 or 1/2 green chilli 1-2 eggs breadcrumbs sunflower oil for frying lemon juice garlic (optional) turmeric - 1/3 teaspoon 1. Peel, cut and boil...
2 comments
Read more

Spicy Sri Lankan fish patties

  Here comes another savoury and spicy snack from Sri Lanka commonly known as patties. Fish versions tend to be the most popular, but they can be made with chicken or vegetables. You can find these anywhere in Sri Lanka, tea-time snacks, road trip snacks, street sellers or parties! I made these with my mum on a recent trip to England. We used canned pink salmon, but it would work well with canned mackeral, tuna or fresh fish. More information It's easier to use tinned fish, such as salmon, mackeral or tuna, but you can cook fresh fish as well. For added flavour, if you have fresh spices, you can grind them  in a pestle and mortar. This gives you a much richer blended flavour of spices in your patties. R emove the cardamom pods by smashing/cutting them open and only grind the seeds) If you don't grind spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, remove these from the mixture along with the curry leaves and green chillies before adding to the patties. When the dough is almost a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Homemade hummus!

    We all love to pick this item up from the supermarket, but why not make it  fresh at home.  All you need are a few simple ingredients! Ingredients 200g cooked chickpeas (or a can of cooked chickpeas) half a clove of garlic 2-3 tbsp white tahini  lemon juice - 1/4 large lemon or 1/2 small lemon extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon cumin powder paprika  water salt Important Tahini is a sesame seed paste. I've bought a ready made bio version, but you can also prepare it at home by grinding sesame seeds with olive oil and salt. I  cooked raw chickpeas from scratch using my pressure cooker.  Soak raw chickpeas in water overnight (8-12 hours), covering the chickpeas by several inches. They will double in size by morning. Drain the water and rinse the chickpeas in the morning. I usually soak a large volume of chickpeas and use some for hummus and the rest for another dish. 1 cup of dry chickpeas will make approximately 3 cups of cooked chickpeas. The ch...
Post a Comment
Read more