Garlic Naan - Indian Flatbread

Do you enjoy a good Indian curry occasionally? Is the soft and buttery Garlic Tawa Naan (Indian Flatbread) one of your favorite side dishes to order in an Indian restaurant? Then look no further.

This most delicious garlic naan bread recipe will be your new favorite companion to your homemade Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani, Musakhan - Sumac Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, or Dal Palak (Spinach Dal).

Jump to:

• What is Naan?
• Why This Recipe Works?
• Difference Between Naan Bread and Pita Bread
• Ingredients and Substitutes
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• The Secret To a Perfectly Soft & Chewy Naan
• Top Tips From The Chef
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• Related Recipes
• Garlic Naan - Indian Flatbread

The naan bread puffs up and bubbles appear as it cooks on the tandoor. Luckily, you don’t need a tandoor or any other special equipment to make great homemade Naan Bread. A good quality cast iron skillet or frying pan will be enough for this Indian Flatbread to rise nicely.

This soft, chewy, and extremely delicious Homemade Garlic Naan Bread is surprisingly easy to make and a great side to so many dishes.

What is Naan?

Naan is a leavened Indian flatbread, traditionally cooked in a tandoor oven or on a Tava. This soft and chewy bread is also popular in other Western Asian countries, including Central Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Caribbean.

There are many variations of Naan Bread, and Garlic Naan, Keema Naan, and Pakistani Roghni Naan are my favorites among them.

Although Naan Bread is traditionally served with Indian dishes, it can go with anything and you can use it as an edible scoop to pick up sauce or dip.

Why This Recipe Works?

• These homemade Garlic Naan taste just like the best Indian restaurants!

• It is incredibly delicious, soft, chewy, and airy, with beautiful golden brown spots on the surface.

• You can make this traditional Indian Flatbread at home with just 7 ingredients (including water and salt!) and a super simple process. 

• Also, it is extremely versatile. You can add some coriander or nigella seeds after brushing it with butter or just serve it plain.

• Naan bread is a great companion to curries, soups, and dips. Our delicious Ezogelin Corbasi (Ezogelin Soup) or Baked Prawns (Karides Guvec) are perfect for dipping this soft, fluffy, and garlicky Naan Bread.

Difference Between Naan Bread and Pita Bread

Naan bread is quite similar to pita bread. Both are flatbreads and are often served the same way but made with different ingredients and techniques causing the difference in texture.

The main difference is that yogurt and butter are used for the naan bread which gives it a softer texture. When the naan dough is done, it is shaped into a ball, stretched through hands, and thrown on the interior walls of a tandoor (a cylindrical clay oven used in Indian cuisine).

Pita bread is a leaner dough that is thinner and usually consists of 4 basic ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt. To make pita bread, you also need a very hot oven or pan to cook it with a pocket.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Ghee or Butter?

Ghee is clarified butter with milk solids and water removed, leaving behind pure butterfat. I prefer using ghee for garlic naan as it has a more intense butter flavor than normal butter and it doesn’t burn even on high heat.

Ghee is available in most supermarkets or Asian shops. However, you can easily make your own ghee at home. Alternatively, you can use butter in a pinch!

• Flour - The best type of flour for naan bread is plain white flour or all-purpose flour. Substituting it with other types of flour (such as whole wheat flour) will make the naan breads less soft and denser. you can also use strong white flour/bread flour if that's what you have in hand.

• Yeast - I use fast-action dry yeast for this recipe. The recipe also works with standard active/dry yeast or fresh yeast. Although you don't normally need to dissolve the fast-action yeast in warm water and then leave it to become foamy, the naan becomes fluffier if dissolved in warm water first. 

• Plain Yogurt: Yogurt is a great way to add a tangy & rich flavor while adding some softness to the dough.

• Baking Powder - It gives the naan some extra rise and softness.

Step-by-Step Instructions

You might find the idea of making your own naan bread at home daunting. The good thing is that this bread is straightforward to make when you follow a few simple steps:

Prepare the Dough

Pour the warm water into a large bowl. Whisk in the yeast and half of the flour, mix, and cover the bowl.

Leave the mixture in a warm place for 30 minutes. 

Stir in the yogurt and then add the rest of the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix with your hands to form a soft and sticky dough.

Proof the Dough

This naan bread takes a bit of time and some patience. It doesn't need much kneading but requires a few " knead and let it rise " sessions for a smooth dough.

Spoon 2 teaspoon of the melted ghee or butter and then rub it over the dough.

Roughly squeeze the dough a few times, cover the bowl with cling film or a clean damp kitchen cloth and leave it to rise for another 15 minutes.

Pour another 1 teaspoon melted ghee or butter onto the dough and then rub it lightly all over.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and knead the dough for 30 seconds. Return it to the bowl, cover it, and leave it for 15 minutes to rise in a warm place.

Shape and Cook

By this time, the dough becomes much smoother. Knead lightly on the oiled surface for a minute and divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, roll them into balls, lightly dust with flour, and leave for 5 minutes before shaping.

Heat a large heavy-based non-stick pan or a large skillet on medium to high heat. Lightly flour the balls and turn them into a teardrop or oval shape (about 3 mm or ⅛“ ) using your fingers or a rolling pin.

When the pan is really hot, place the dough and cook until golden brown, and flip the dough using a tong. Cook for another couple of minutes.

Put the cooked naan on a plate and brush it with the garlic and butter mixture. Sprinkle some chopped coriander or parsley on naan bread. Keep wrapped in a clean cloth while you roll out and cook the remaining naan bread.

The Secret To a Perfectly Soft & Chewy Naan

Getting the consistency of the dough right is the key factor for achieving perfectly soft naan bread. The amount of flour in this recipe should be taken as a guide.

When it comes to pastries, implementing the exact measurements in a recipe doesn't always guarantee perfect results due to external factors such as humidity at your location, and the type of flour and yogurt that you use.

Therefore, you should have a basic understanding of what the consistency of the dough should look like. And if necessary, you can adjust the amount of flour in the recipe. The naan bread dough should be soft and sticky in order to achieve soft and fluffy naan bread.

Top Tips From The Chef

• The best type of flour for naan bread is all-purpose flour. Substituting it with other types of flour (such as whole wheat flour) will make the naan breads less soft and denser.

• For your naan bread to get bubbles on top, your skillet should be VERY hot. Tandoor ovens get exceptionally hot, resulting in naan bread that is soft and bubbly inside, and charred outside. To replicate this method, make sure you put your naan bread in the skillet when it is completely hot.

• This naan bread takes a bit of time and some patience. It doesn't need much kneading but requires a few " knead and let it rise " sessions for a smooth dough.

• The shape and size of naan bread differ substantially in every restaurant you go to. Naan bread needs to be soft and fluffy. So do not make them too thin. But making it too thick will result in an uncooked doughy center.

• After cooking the naan bread, brush with some garlic butter/ghee for extra flavor and serve them straight from the pan.

• Once you made the dough, you must use it promptly. If you want to make the dough in the morning to cook later in the evening, reduce the amount of the yeast to ¼ teaspoon and keep the dough in the fridge covered until required.

Serving Suggestions

You can enjoy this Indian flatbread as a side to serve alongside Indian dishes:

Tandoori Chicken, Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani, Onion Raita, and Dal Palak (Spinach Dal).

Garlic Naan is also perfect to dip into soups, dips, and stews:

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Celeriac, Easy Lamb Goulash (Hungarian Stew), Tirokafteri (Spicy Whipped Feta Dip), Autumn Squash Soup, and Kuru Fasulye.

Naan bread can also be used as a pizza base or for making wraps and sandwiches.

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more delicious Indian recipes why not try:

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

I hope you enjoy the process of making this soft, chewy, and garlicky Indian Flatbread as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂 

Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

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