An easy naan recipe that’s just the way they’re meant to be; soft and chewy with little air pockets inside!

See a simple variation for potato stuffed naan at the end of this recipe.

Makes four large or 6 small naan

310g strong bread flour
1 level tsp dried instant yeast
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped, including stems
1 tsp sea salt flakes
2 tbsp good olive oil
2 tsp plain greek yoghurt
140ml warm water

For the garlic ghee:
50g ghee, or unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped, including stems
Large pinch of salt

In a large bowl, sift in the flour, then add the yeast, sugar, seeds and finely chopped coriander. Combine together before stirring through the salt. Make a well in the centre then add the oil, yoghurt and water.

Using your hands, or a spoon, bring the dough together. Knead with your hands for 5 minutes.

Lightly grease the bowl with oil and cover the dough with a damp tea towel or paper towel. Leave the dough to prove in a warm place for at least one hour – the dough should double in size.

While the dough is proving, heat the ghee in a small pan over a medium heat then add the garlic. Allow it to fry until aromatic – don’t burn the garlic. Mix through the chopped coriander and salt, take off the heat and set aside to infuse.

Once the naan dough has proven for an hour, put a large dry frying pan, skillet or crepe pan on a medium high heat.

Knock the air out of the dough and divide into four or six equal portions (depending on how big you like your naan). Take one piece of dough and roll into a ball in your hands. Place on the counter and gently press the ball flat to around 2 cm thick.

Using a rolling pin, roll to form a teardrop shape until it’s no more than 3 to 4 mm thick. If the dough is too sticky to roll, dust very lightly with flour.

Once the pan is hot, carefully lay the naan onto the hot surface. Let it dry fry for 2-3 minutes. Turn over and cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes or until cooked through and charred in patches. While the naan is cooking roll out the next dough portion ready to go into the pan.

Remove the naan from the pan and place on a baking sheet/tray. Brush with the garlic ghee and cover with foil before placing in a warm oven. Continue to cook the other naan portions using the same method, brushing with the garlic ghee as each is cooked.

Layer up the cooked naans, keeping them covered with foil in the oven until all are cooked and ready to be served.

Variation:
Potato Filled Naan
1 cup of day old mashed potato, or mashed potato and pumpkin, or mashed sweet potato
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 Spring onions finely chopped
1 or 2 pinches of salt

Mix all of the filling ingredients together and divide into four or six equal portions (depending on the number of naan being made). Roll each portion into a ball.

Make the naan dough recipe as above, but at the rolling stage, roll the dough into a disk around 1cm thick. Take the disk in one hand and place the ball of mash on the dough. Wrap the dough up and around the ball of mash, similar to a dumpling. Pinch the dough together to seal, then with the seal facing down place on a surface lightly dusted with flour for five minutes – this will help ensure that the filling does not come out when you roll it.

After 5 minutes take the dough ball and gently flatten to around 2 cm with your fingers. Roll out as per the recipe above, rolling very gently to ensure the filling does not come out the sides of the dough.

Continue with the above recipe to cook. The garlic ghee can be omitted.