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.