Meera Sodha’s Naan

NY Times recipe from Sam Sifton who states, “The British cookbook author learned this recipe from her aunt Harsha, and included it in her ‘Made in India: Recipes from an Indian Family Kitchen’ in 2015. It is simple to make, and results in crackly-soft flatbreads singed by heat and yielding to tenderness within, with a faint tang of yogurt. It is exactly the sort of thing you’d love to dip in a pool of curry again and again. Just set up an assembly line to roll out the dough and cook it in a hot pan. Once you make the recipe two or three times you’ll never buy naan again.”

NOTE: Following the main directions resulted in dough that was very dry and didn’t rise. Instead, I had success with letting the yeast bloom before adding it, and then adding the flour last and only adding about 3 1/4 cups to keep the dough from being too dry. I’ve edited the directions below to include my changes and left the original instructions at the end in italics.

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Meera Sodha’s Naan

  • Total time: 2 Hours
  • Servings: 1 Dozen

Ingredients

  • Up to 4 Cups (500g) All-Purpose Flour (I stopped at 3 1/4 Cups)
  • 2 Tbsp Neutral Oil, like Canola, plus a teaspoon more
  • 4 Tbsp Whole-Milk Yogurt
  • 1 Packet (7g) Active Dried Yeast
  • 2 tsp Sugar
  • 2 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Cup Whole Milk, warmed

Directions

  • 1)

    Heat the milk to between 105-115°F and add the sugar and yeast. Wait 5-10 minutes for the yeast to bloom. In the meantime, in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the 2 tablespoons of oil, yogurt, salt and baking powder. After the yeast blooms, add it to the oil and yogurt mixture. Using the dough hook attachment on the lowest speed, slowly add the flour ensuring that the dough remains somewhat wet and sticky. About 3 1/4 cups worked well for me. Let the mixer knead the dough for about 5 minutes.     (Original: Put the flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle, and add two tablespoons of the oil to it, along with the yogurt, yeast, sugar, salt and baking powder. Use your fingers to combine the ingredients until they resemble crumbs, and then add the warm milk in splashes, mixing until it comes together into a dough.)

  • 2)

    Put the dough on a clean, well-floured cutting board. It will be very sticky. Flour your hands, and knead the dough for five minutes or so, then scrape off your hands and knead it again, making it into a round ball. Rub a teaspoon of oil over the exterior of the dough, and place it in a clean mixing bowl. Cover with a dish towel, and place in a warm spot to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.

  • 3)

    Using a knife, divide the dough into 12 pieces. Take each piece, roll it into a ball and flatten it between your palms. Dust the dough with flour, and roll each piece out into an oval of about 5 by 8 inches.

  • 4)

    Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, and allow it to get hot. When it is, cook one naan in it for 30 to 40 seconds on one side, or until it begins to bubble, then use a spatula to flip it over to cook the other side for about the same amount of time, checking regularly to make sure that it does not burn. Flip the naan one more time, and press on it lightly with your spatula for 10 to 15 seconds, then remove to a warm platter. Repeat with the rest of the dough. (Keep the finished naan in a low oven, or wrap in foil until ready to serve.)

Notes

From the website:

“I’ve found best success making breads like this (pita and similar types) by starting with mixing all ingredients together EXCEPT the flour. Often, the amount of liquid in recipes won’t hold all the flour recipes call for. Proof yeast in warm milk, add other stuff, mix well, gradually add flour. In fact I made recipe twice today using method in recipe and my method above and liked my results better.”

“Fantastic naan. Used stand mixer: wet ingredients, sugar and yeast in bowl first with paddle attachment, then sprinkled in dry ingredients, mixed to combine. Withheld a few tablespoons flour, since recipe said dough should be soft. Scraped down bowl, switched to dough hook and kneaded four minutes on #2 setting. Rose 60 minutes. Beautiful, pliable dough. Rolled out thicker than a tortilla, tossed on piping hot ungreased griddle, 45 seconds per side. Soft, puffy, with bright, fresh flavor. A+”

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017747-meera-sodhas-naan