Homemade Naan

I made curried lentils and rice for dinner tonight (see recipe below), so I decided to make some homemade naan to go with it. Like the pita bread, this is really easy to make - you just need time. Since it's a yeast dough, you need time for it to rise, plus you need time to cook the bread one piece at a time.

Naan

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 1 C. warm water
• 1/4 C. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 4 C. bread flour
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix together the sugar, salt, egg, and milk, and add the yeast mixture. Slowly add the flour until a soft dough forms. Knead for 10 minutes. (I do all of this in my stand mixer with the dough hook attachment). Form the dough into a ball and coat it and the bowl with a small amount of oil.

Cover with a damp towel and allow the dough to rise for 90 minutes, until it's doubled in size.

Punch the dough down. Roll it into balls the size of golf balls and place on a pan. You should get about 15.

Cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes - the dough will rise again.

Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron or similar) over high heat. You want it screaming hot - nonstick pans are not good for this. You could also use a griddle or grill pan.

Using parchment paper to prevent sticking, roll each ball into a thin circle.

Put the circle into the hot skillet. As the bread cooks, pockets of air will begin to form on the surface of the bread. If the bubbles don't form, either the bread is too thick or the pan isn't hot enough. When the surface is covered with bubbles, it is time to flip the bread over - usually after about 1-2 minutes.

Cook the bread for about 1 minute more. Remove from the pan and brush with the melted butter. Keep warm while you cook the rest of the bread. If you notice that the bread is getting scorched, turn the heat down to medium-high.

Curried Lentils and Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 C. brown rice
• 1 C. green lentils
• 4 C. vegetable broth
• 1/2 C. dried fruit (raisins, currants, apricots, etc)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the garlic in the oil until fragrant. Add the curry powder, salt, rice, and lentils and stir to coat. Add the broth and dried fruit. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated and the lentils and rice are tender. 

Serve with plain yogurt (or you could make a raita) and sauteed spinach.