Leavened Bread (Naan)

Ingredients	Quantity
Flour	12 ounces
Salt	1 tsp
Plain yoghurt	4 ounces
Milk	¼ pint
Sugar	2 tsp
Baker’s yeast	½ tsp
Poppy seeds	1 tbsp
Ghee or butter	2 ounces

Sift the flour together with the salt into a bowl and mix in the yogurt. Warm the milk slightly and stir in the sugar and the yeast. Add to the dough and continue to mix. Add a little water or flour as necessary to get the dough to the correct hard consistency. Knead well for at least 15 minutes. Return to the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Put in a warm place to prove for 4-5 hours. The dough should rise to twice its original size.

To cook the naan, pull off lumps of dough approximately 2-3 inches across and, using a combination of rolling and pulling, form into elongated shapes. Put the poppy seeds into a saucer, wet the hands with a little water, pick up a few poppy seeds on your wet hands and press them into the top of the naan.

Lay each naan out on a baking tray, brush with a little of the melted ghee or butter and bake in a pre-heated hot oven, 450 degrees, for about 10 minutes until the naan puff up and turn golden brown. Serve immediately, keeping the naan warm in a cloth.

Naan (Leavened Flat Breads)

Ingredients	Quantity
Unbleached white flour	3 ¼ cups
Baking powder	1 tsp
Salt	¼ tsp
Plain yoghurt	1  ¾ cups
Unsalted butter – softened	Optional

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Slowly add as much yogurt as you need to gather the flour together and make a soft, resilient dough. Knead for about 10 minutes and form a ball. Put the ball in a bowl and cover the bowl with a damp dishcloth. Set aside in a warm place for 1- ½ to 2 hours. Knead the dough again and divide into nine equal parts. Keep them covered.

Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over a lowish flame, and preheat the broiler.

Take one of the parts of dough and make a ball out of it. Flatten it and then roll out on a lightly floured surface until you have a round that is about 1/8 inch thick. When the skillet is very hot, pick up the naan and slap it onto the heated surface. Let it cook slowly for about 4 to 5 minutes. Now put the skillet under the broiler for 1 to 1- ½ minutes or until the puffingup process is complete and there are a few reddish spots on the naan. Remove the naan with a spatula and brush with butter if you like. Make all the naans this way, keeping them stacked and covered with a clean dishcloth. Serve hot.

If you wish to have the naans later, wrap them in a plastic bag when they have cooled. Before you eat, wrap as many as you need in aluminum foil and heat in an oven at 400 F for 15 minutes.

Naan

Ø  2 cups plain flour (maida)

Ø  ½ cups hot milk

Ø  ½ tsp baking pwd

Ø  1 tsp nigella seeds (kalaunji)

Ø  1 tsp black or white sesame seeds (til)

Ø  ½ cup warm water

Ø  ½ tsp salt

Heat milk and put in a large shallow pan or a mixing bowl. Add baking powder to the hot milk. Mix well and keep it undisturbed for 1 minute. Bubble will start appearing on the surface

Sift plain flour and salt together. Add flour to the hot milk in the pan or bowl. Mix well. Knead to a soft dough with enough warm water. Keep in a warm place for 3-4 hours to swell.

At serving time, make 6-8 balls of the dough. Roll out each ball to an oblong shape. Sprinkle some onion seeds or sesame seeds. Press the seeds with a rolling pin. Pull one side of the nan to give it a pointed end like the shape of the nan.

Apply some water on the back side of the nan. Press on the walls of a hot tandoor. Alternatively cover the rack of the oven with an aluminium foil. Bake the nan in a very hot oven or broiler by keeping them on the foil. When light brown specs appear on the surface, turn the side of all the nans. Cook till done. Smear some butter on the hot nan  and serve hot with dals or curries.