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What is Naan?
Naan is an Indian recipe; it’s a type of flat bread popular in the subcontinent of India.
Soft, doughy, light, with gorgeous golden brown air pocket spots on the surface, naan is absolutely delightful as is, or served with Indian curries such as Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala. It’s a must-have at Indian buffet restaurants.
Traditionally they are baked inside a very hot clay tandoor oven, with charcoal or wood fire. The naan bread are stuck to the inside of the oven just like the picture below.
The tandoor oven retains very high heat, up to 900°F and hence fills the inside of the flat bread with air pockets and bakes them to perfection.
How to Make Naan at Home?
In a modern day kitchen, we do not have a tandoor oven, but you can make homemade naan with a hot cast-iron skillet on the stove stop. You can also bake it in the oven.
My naan recipe is made on a stove top, using a very hot cast-iron skillet.
The naan turn out extremely delicious, soft, puffy, airy, with the beautiful golden brown spots on the surface.
They taste just like the best Indian buffet restaurants: authentic and absolutely delightful. This is the best, original, easiest and fail-proof recipe you will find online. Thousands of readers have tried and tested it, with rave reviews!
Recipe Ingredients
The above image illustrates all the ingredients used in my recipe:
- All-purpose flour – depending on the humidity of your country, you might need extra flour to make a smooth dough.
- Plain yogurt is the secret ingredient in the recipe. It makes the bread a bit moist and not too dry. Other than that, it also lends a tint of sour taste.
Frequently Asked Questions about Naan
Is Naan Bread Healthy?
Yes, it is super healthy. My recipe is quick and easy, fail-proof and cooked on a skillet. You do not need a tandoor oven!
Does It Have Eggs?
There is no eggs in the recipe. Vegan can’t eat them as this recipe calls for yogurt, which is not vegan-friendly.
The Origin of Naan
It originated from Iran. However, different countries have its own version of the bread.
It’s a staple in Iran, many middle eastern countries, the Indian subcontinent countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc.
The Difference between Naan and Roti
They are both flat breads but different because of the ingredients used. Roti, for example, chapati is made with whole wheat flour and there is no yeast.
Naan is made with all purpose flour and you will need yeast to make the dough.
Tips on How to Make Naan
- First, you want to make the dough by combining the yeast and flour together. Knead the dough with hand or using a stand mixer and then rest to double the dough in size.
- Divide the dough into 8 balls. Heat up a cast-iron skillet on high heat to make naan.
- The high heat makes the dough rises and fills the middle part of the bread with an air pocket. It’s done when burnt brown “blisters” or spots appear, just like my pictures above. The more brown spots you have, the more authentic it gets.
- Brush the fresh-off-the-skillet naan with some melted salted butter and top them with cilantro leaves.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 295 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with Naan?
They are great with Indian curries with sauce, for example: chicken tikka masala or butter chicken.
For a wholesome Indian dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
How to Make Naan Bread?
Please refer to the recipe card below for detailed step-by-step method on how to make naan at home.
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Naan Bread (The Best Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 oz. (10g) active dry yeast ((2 1/4 teaspoons) )
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- some oil (for greasing the skillet)
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the sugar, warm water, and yeast together. Stir to combine well. The yeast should be activated when it becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Transfer the flour to a flat surface and make a well in the middle.
- Add the yeast mixture, yogurt, salt and oil, knead the dough until the surface becomes smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place (for example: beside the stove top or warm oven). The dough should double in size, about 1 hour.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll the dough to a 8” (230g) circle using a rolling spin.
- Heat up a skillet (cast-iron preferred) over high heat and lightly grease the surface with some oil to avoid the dough from sticking to the skillet. Place the dough on the skillet. When it puffs up and bubbles and burnt spots appear, flip it over and cook the other side. Repeat the same until all dough are done.
- Brush the naan with the melted butter, serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I live in a dry climate and had to add a bit more water to the dough as it was quite dry using the measurements given. But otherwise is very good. I use it a lot.
We love your recipes especially since we lived in Penang for 10 1/2 years and Singapore for 7 more. Your recipes are very close to what we would have over there. We loved the food in both places but Penang was our favorite. Still trying to get the Beef Rendang right. We loved it in Penang and Can’t quite get it right here.
Hi Jennie, thanks for trying my recipes. Please try my beef rendang recipe.
I used my stand mixer and dough hook. Worked just fine.
Hi Bee-
I was wondering if you think this would turn out well doing the kneading part in a Bosch or other heavy duty mixer? I might have to try both and see if I can tell a difference since a Bosch is so much easier and save some time. Thanks!
Sure, I think you can use a stand mixer to mix.
This is delicious. I usually use a different recipe, but today I was scrambling for one that didn’t take quite as long to make. I didn’t do so well with the “well”… the liquid ingredients quickly went outside and I had to scramble to keep them on the counter and incorporate them into the dough… very comical.
I used a couple of ideas from the usual recipe I use. First, I brush a little butter on each side before putting it on the skillet (cast iron is awesome for naan!). Second, I use about 1-2T more butter and whatever is left after cooking, I add 3 large minced cloves of garlic and warm it in the butter 20 seconds on high in the microwave. Everyone brushes it liberally on their naan and loves it!
I believe I added at least 1/4+ cup flour to make a workable dough. It would be helpful and an improvement to add a flour measurement in grams. I’m in the US. I used to always scoop out of a flour container. But then I taught a Foods class this year and took all my teaching cues from a teacher with over 20 years experience. She taught me the correct way to teach students to measure flour, which is stirring it so it’s light and not packed down, then spooning it into the measuring cup rather than scooping. We demo for the students to show how much a difference it makes in weight… and it makes a huge difference. My guess is your 2 1/4 measure is correct if you are scooping from a container in which the flour has become a bit compacted… making it more like 2 1/2+.
Thanks for your recipe, my family said they like it better than the regular recipe… I’ll keep using it with my little modifications. : )
Hi Tanya, yes, this recipe is the best!
Great recipe! I substituted dairy-free plain almond milk yogurt (same amount). Worked perfectly.
Awesome!
I only have instant yeast because of pandemic. How does that change the recipe?
It should work.
Made these tonight to accompany a vegetarian Indian curry, baked on a wood fire in an old kettle grill… turned out beautifully & the wood smoke added to the flavor. Lovely.
Awesome!
Can you use plain greek yogurt?
Yes you can!
I made it exactly as written and it was perfect. As good, maybe better, than I ever had in a restaurant.
Hi, we love naan, but my dough was very sticky. I added additional flour, and the end product turned out perfectly. It would be helpful if you could display volume (grams or ozs), as a cup of flour is never the same each time. Thank you. :)
I am in the USA and my reader base mostly use cup measurements. What you did is right, if it’s too sticky, add more flour until the dough is not sticky.