Butter Naan

Prassy encourages me to try making naan. She makes hers on a cast iron tava or griddle and assures me it will be easiest and best naan I've ever made or eaten. 

So I measure flour, yeast, oil, baking soda, yogurt, salt, sugar and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer. The dough hook does the kneading, the hard part. The proofing is done in the same bowl. Dribble thin streams of oil around the edges of the soft dough. Use a spatula to turn the dough till it is coated with oil. It proofs for an hour. Thin rounds of dough are patted out on a lightly floured surface. They are then slapped onto a hot tava, covered and cooked for two or three minutes. The cover is removed, naans are flipped and cooked on the other side for a minute more. Slathered with butter, sprinkled with cilantro, they make the softest naan, the perfect accompaniment to chana masala.


BUTTER NAAN
Recipe by Surekha Tahsin 
Makes 8-10 small naans
VG, EF

2 cups all purpose Flour
1 teaspoon dry active Yeast
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 cup Yogurt
1/2 cup warm Milk
2 tablespoons Canola Oil
fresh Cilantro
Butter

Put the flour, yeast, baking soda, salt, sugar, yogurt, warm milk and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the dough hook to knead dough into a soft, sticky ball. Scrape the sides with a spatula as the dough is kneaded.

You could make this dough by hand as well. Use that upper body strength!

Dribble a thin stream of oil around the dough. use the spatula to move the dough so it is coated with oil.

Cover with a towel and place in a warm area to proof. I let my oven heat to 175F, turned it off and placed the bowl in the oven for 1 hour. 

Heat a tava on medium flame.

Roughly portion the dough into 8-10 balls.

Dust the counter with some flour. 

Place the ball on the flour and pat with your fingers into a 3-4 inch circle. You could also stretch it like you would pizza dough.

Slap the naan onto the tava. Cover the naan. I invert a stainless steel bowl over the naan. Cook naan for 2-3 minutes. It will have bubbled up in spots. Uncover and turn naan onto the other side. Cook for another minute. 

Take naan off the flame and generously rub with butter. 

Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro on naan.

Finish the rest of the dough the same way. Keep naans warm in a low oven(200F) while you make the rest.

My sister is spot on. She gets a vote of thanks from the enthusiastic lunch crowd. All naans are polished off...that is the ultimate compliment.

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