Pan Fried Naan

Pan Fried Naan

In my last post I mentioned naan. Naan is a levened bread found in West, Central and South Asia, that is traditionally baked in a tandoor. It is the preferred accompaniment to dishes such as, Haleem and Nihari.
 
Living in Cape Town having naan to accompany a meal is not always possible. There's also the fact that there are few places where they make good naan.  

This led me to researching homemade naan. Let me refrase that, homemade naan that does not require you owning a tandoor. Don't get me wrong when using either the electric or gas tandoor you get fantastic results, but the time, effort and electricity makes it lose its appeal.  

Then (drum roll please) I found a recipe for pan fried naan. Believe me when I tell you I had doubts, but the results will speak for itself. It also takes the same amount of time to fry as it would to fry normal roti. The only downside to the recipe is that you have to leave it to rise for five hours.  

Pan Fried Naan

Ingredients :

4 cups Cake flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 cup Milk
3 tablespoons Yoghurt
3 tablespoons Oil Water (as required)  

Method :   

Sift the dry ingredients and mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Don't add too much water, add about 1/2 a cup, you can add more if required. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix together to form a soft dough. If needed add water and kneed for 2 to 3 minutes.  

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes and kneed for another 2 to 3 minutes. Now cover the dough and leave it to rise for 5 hours. The dough will not double in size like a yeast dough.  

After 5 hours the dough is ready for frying. Divide the dough into at least 6 to 8 balls. This depends on the size of your pan. Roll out into discs less than 1/4cm thick.  

Now we get to the tricky part. If you are using an electric stove keep a grid or cooling rack handy. Heat up your pan and keep the temperature high. Once your pan is hot take a bowl with water and dip your fingers. With wet fingers press lightly onto rolled naan making slight indentations. Throw naan, damp side down, onto the pan. You will here a sizzle. After a minute or two the little air bubbles you associate with naan will form. Now flip the pan around and hold the pan so that the naan is exposed to the direct heat. Hold the pan in this position for 1 to 2 minutes until the bubbles / blisters turn a nice brown. Ideally the naan will stick to the pan. If you are frying on an electric stove place a cooling rack or grid over the stove plate to prevent the naan coming into direct contact with the stove plate, if the naan comes loose and falls off. When frying on a gas stove this is not a problem. If the naan falls off use a tongs to hold the naan over the open flame until you get the desired colour.   Naan can be served plain or brushed with plain or garlic butter.    

Haleem

In Cape Town the weather is changing so I thought it would be a good idea to post a Haleem recipe. This recipe will be different from the haleem most people know in South Africa, but it is worth the time and effort.   The recipe I use is based on one I learnt while staying in Karachi and has become a favourite of my family. This includes my extended Captonian family.  

Before I start rattling off ingredients it would be best to explain a few concepts that would make this dish successful.   The meat, haleem can be made with both beef and chicken. But, most people feel that if you put that amount of effort into food go for the beef. When I use beef it's either Silverside or Topside, any boneless beef can work. Tough cuts are fine because it cooks forever (requires lots of patience like children to reap rewards). When using chicken I prefer chicken breasts, but have successfully used mixed chicken portions. Most important is to skin the chicken. The chicken I cook on the bone and remove the bones later.  

My husband who is Pakistani (an exceptional cook in his own right) is quite finicky about his food so I'll explain another concept about meat in haleem. The meat should be cut with the grain, when the meat is later, for lacking a better word, smashed the fibres will still be visible. Using a grinder or blender is not an option if you want this effect.   The next topic to deal with is the grains and dhal (lentils). The basic rule would be that your grains should weigh the same as your lentils. I use a mixture of three grains and four lentils. The grains are interchangeable according to availability. The same can be said for the lentils (dhal)    

Ingredients:  
1kg Beef / Chicken
500g Whole barely
250g Whole Wheat
250g Whole Rye 

400g Channa Dhal 

200g Red lentils (Masoor or locally what we know as dhal)
200g Moong dhal (Mung beans or lentils)
200g Yellow pea dhal
4 tablespoons Garlic and Ginger paste
3 tablespoons Chilli powder
1 tablespoon Coriander powder
2 teaspoons Tumeric
2 tablespoons Garam masalah
1/4 cup Oil Salt to taste  

Ingredients for tempering / garnish:
1/4 cup Oil
2 tablespoons Crushed chillies
4 cloves sliced Garlic
1 tablespoon Whole Zeera  

To serve:
Chat masalah
Fresh dhunya
Fresh mint
Lemon Sliced
Green Chilli
Brown onions
Fresh ginger cut in jullienne strips  

Method:
Take all the grains and dhal, and rinse them at least three times. Then leave over night to soak in a container big enough for them to expand. The water should be sufficient,  it should cover the grains and dhal by +/-10cm.   The next morning put the soaked grains and dhal on to boil add more water. Cook on a high heat untill it comes to a rapid boil, then lower it and cook untill soft. Please don't add any salt at this point, salt can make it impossible for dhal to cook soft. Take the meat, garlic and ginger, dry spices and oil. Add them to a pot and cook on high heat for 10 min, then add 4 cups of boiled water and cook on medium heat until soft. I'm sure that you will know that the chicken will cook much faster. The idea is that the meat is so soft you can pull it apart. Best way to check is to take a piece of meat, rinse it under cold water. If you can break the meat between your fingers then its done. Once both dhal and meat are soft combine them making sure that all the masalah of the meat is added. Now you can add salt and cook on low heat. Remember the longer haleem is cooked the better the falvour. If I start cooking it a 9am then its for supper. As the haleem cooks stir regularly to prevent it catching on the base of the pot. While it is cooking remove meat and using a wooden spoon squash the meat on a plate or cutting board. This is where you would remove the bones of the chicken. Tip if the haleem does stick to the bottom, remove from heat leave it for a few minutes and scrape the bottom clean with a wooden spoon. As it cooks you might need to add water. The consistency should be that of thick oat meal, but not so thick that it holds its own shape. For best results the dhal and grains should not be visable and again the picture of oatmeal should help. Once you have reached this effect you can turn off the heat.  
Before serving prepare all the ingredients that is required to serve.
Pepare the ingredients for tempering. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a pan, add whole zeera, sliced garlic and crushed chillies. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes and pour over haleem. Stir in thoroughly and serve.  
My kids prefer eating it with naan. Keep all the serving items (fresh mint, fresh dhunya, etc) separately so that everyone can choose what they want to garnish there haleem with.