Naan (Leavened Indian Flatbread) is easier to make than you might think! It's chewy and delicious, and pairs well with just about any Indian dish.
I would love to be able to tell you that this wasn’t all I had for dinner one night this summer.
Sadly, that would be a lie.
I don’t know why, I guess sometimes you just need to eat a whole bunch of onion chutney scooped up with fresh naan. (At least I do anyway.) At least there was onion so it wasn’t totally bereft of veggies. And I did have watermelon for dessert, lol.
Mike was undoubtedly a little more normal than me and used his naan as a vessel to scoop up a quick vegetarian curry that I whipped up. It would also be wonderful with Indian Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhaki), Kashmiri Red Curry with Meat (Rogan Josh), Lamb Tikka Masala, or any other curry dish you like.
For the onion chutney, I used my Onion Chutney recipe as a base but made a few slight changes; one change was to add whole cumin seeds.
If you have leftovers, naan pizza is delicious. These three recipes in particular sound fantastic to me:
- Flatbread Naan White Pizza by The Hungry Housewife
- Simple Tandoori Chicken Naan Pizza by Bev Cooks
- Thai Chicken Naan Pizza Recipe with Peanut Sauce, Red Pepper, & Carrots by Cookin’ Canuck
- ½ tablespoon neutral-flavored oil (such as grapeseed)
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and rolling
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 2 tablespoons melted ghee, plus more for brushing on top (see Note)
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- About ½ cup lukewarm water
- Brush ½ tablespoon oil on the inside of a large bowl and set aside. Mix together the yeast, 2 tablespoons lukewarm water, and sugar in a small bowl; let sit 10 minutes, or until it becomes frothy. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Use a wooden spoon to mix in the dissolved yeast, ghee, and yogurt, then mix in the water a little at a time until it forms a soft dough (you may not need all the water, or you may need a touch more).
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 5 minutes, adding a sprinkle more flour as necessary (the dough is done being kneaded when you press a finger into it and the indentation remains). Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl and roll it gently to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a slightly damp towel and let sit until doubled in size, about 1½ to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to as hot as it will go (mine goes to 550F, but 500F will also work). Position a rack in the lower ⅓ of the oven and place a clay pizza stone (or a large baking sheet) on the rack. Gently deflate the dough, divide it into 6 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Place all the balls of dough except 1 piece back into the bowl, and drape a towel over the bowl. Lightly flour your work surface and with a rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough to an elongated oval shape, about 10 to 12 inches long by 5 to 6 inches wide. (Alternatively, you can roll the dough out into tear shapes or circles, if you prefer.)
- Transfer the rolled out dough to the preheated baking sheet or clay baking stone. Cook until it’s puffed in places and there are a few golden spots on the bottom, then flip and cook until there are a few golden spots on the bottom of the second side (in a 550F oven, this takes about 1 to 2 minutes on the first side and 30 seconds to 1 minute on the second side). Transfer the bread to a cloth or paper-lined surface, brush the top with melted ghee if desired, and cool completely. Roll out the rest of the dough pieces one by one, and bake and cool it the same way.
- For best results, serve this bread the same day (or use it to make naan pizza the next day!).
Recipe adapted slightly from the recipe for Naan on Manjula's Kitchen.
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
How did you know I wanted to make naan? Will be saving your recipe for the moment I finally do it since I know it will be amazing :) Pinning!
Faith says
So sweet, Averie! Hope you enjoy it! :)
kellie@foodtoglow says
why oh why am I reading this before I have eaten breakfast? I love naan, and have had different interpretations over the years but have only made it a few times (chapatis I make quite often). This recipe - if I can get them to turn out like yours - looks well worth the time. Especially if I don't bother making anything else to eat with it. Lol! I would spread it with carrot pickle and scoop pinches of it into thick plain yogurt. Must. Eat. Breakfast.
Mary @ mary mary quite contrary says
How could I have missed this post ??? I adore Naan Bread, it is what we always used back home for scooping up delicious curries ! Love this recipe, I'll be trying one of the curry recipes to go with it too ! Thanks Faith for another winner ! Mary x
Jessie says
You had the onion chutney, so your meal wasn't all naan! ;) I've definitely made a meal of warm fresh bread before. One of my favorite meals growing up with fresh bread with as much cheese, jam, and butter I wanted (sometimes all at once). My dad would make soup to go with it, but I preferred the bread :)
Have a great weekend, Faith!
grace says
mmm, naan. it's one of the few things for which i'll test my yeast-using skills. :)
Annie says
Made this and it was great! Crisp on the outside and very soft inside! Thanks so much for the recipe this was my first time making naan and it was simpler than I expected!
Faith says
Annie, So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know! :)
Veronica says
Wow, I'm so impressed you made naan at home! It's something I haven't tried yet but I love it so I need to since the only place I knew of to get good naan has closed. I turn strange things into meals too, especially appetizers and sometimes bread as well. But I figure if it's something I really love, trading a real meal for it once in a while is probably better than eating a real meal on top of how much I usually ingest. lol
Hannah says
Naan is always the favorite bread around the table whenever my family orders Indian food, but it's such a shame that I can never enjoy it. Your recipe looks really straightforward and easy enough to adapt- I guess I'll just have to take matters into my own hands, yet again! Thanks for the kick start I needed.
Asiya @ Chocolate and Chillies says
Love naan...and I could totally just eat naan for dinner too! I've been wanting to try this at home...will have to give your recipe a try!
Girlnpurpledres says
Faith beautiful photos as always! The naan looks soooooo yummy too! Well done :)
Marina {YummyMummyKitchen.com} says
Thank you for posting this recipe! We LOVE naan in our house but I'm going to tell you and embarrassing secret... I've never made it - only used the frozen kind from Trader Joe's :) It would be so much better fresh like this. Yum!
Victoria says
Sigh... I love naan. I don't judge you for making this into a meal. I'd do the same! I definitely need to make homemade naan one of these days! It's one of my favorite components of any Indian meal.
Angela says
Love naan. Never made it though we buy it frozen at trader joes and it's passable. Sounds like a great dinner to me,
.
Linda says
This looks delicious and I definitely want to try making it! One question though, when you say "Gently deflate the dough, divide it into 6 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and shape each into a ball." does that mean that each of the 6 pieces gets divided into 10? Or am I just reading it wrong somehow?! Thanks!
Faith says
Linda, I'm so sorry about that! You were reading it just fine, that was my mistake -- thanks for catching that! The second sentence should be taken out, so it should just read "Gently deflate the dough, divide it into 6 equal pieces and shape each into a ball." I have fixed it in the recipe above. :)
Shrazzi says
I was just looking for a good naan recipe! Yours are gorgeous. I agree with Reeni that they are perfect for dinner- or any part of the day! Thanks for sharing.
Blond Duck says
I made some lentil and chickpea curry the other day and was wishing for some of this!
Reeni says
Naan and onion chutney are a perfectly acceptable dinner for me too! Satisfying and delicious! I love naan pizzas too!
Jeanette says
Your naan came out beautifully! I've never tried making it although my kids love it.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
An Indian meal is not complete without a beautiful, fresh naan. These look great Faith and I like your idea of making pizzas on them! :D
BeadedTail says
We've never made naan but I believe I could eat it for a meal too!
Veronica says
I can't wait to try this recipe out! I love naan so much, use it instead of pita bread for sandwiches!
Jenn and Seth says
these are gorgeous Faith! i definitely need to try making these, they look fantastic!
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) says
Those Naan are beautiful Faith - I would love one with my lunch. Now I am craving Indian Food!!
Jorie @ The Midwest Maven says
This looks all sorts of delicious! I love naan bread, but I never even thought about making my own!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I love naan but I've never made my own - I must try this recipe!
Barbara says
This is going to be fun, Faith. I always buy Naan at Whole Foods....never thought about making it myself, but I'd love to give it a go. (going to have to wait until after the move, though :) )
I think your naan and onion chutney meal was perfect; but then, living alone, I eat some odd things for dinner and can get away with it!
Brianna Asaro Photography says
This looks perfectly acceptable for a summer dinner. Not a ton of calories, I assume, and somewhat good for you. Also... it's better than cereal for dinner!
Erica says
Nothing wrong with that meal AT ALL! The naan looks so light, fluffy, and yummmmmmy!
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz says
Nan is a staple at any Indian restaurant I visit, a must. Making some at home is a great idea.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
I've always wanted to make my own Naan! This recipe is fabulous!
Rosa says
Your naans are fabulous! Perfect with chutney.
Cheers,
Rosa