Peshwari Naan

My easy Peshwari Naan is soft, fluffy, slightly chewy, and perfect for serving with spicy curries, grilled meats, rice dishes, or a homemade Indian-style dinner. It is made with soft homemade naan dough filled with a sweet mixture of butter, honey, sultanas, flaked almonds, and desiccated coconut.

You don’t need a tandoor oven to make it, and the naan cooks beautifully in a hot skillet or frying pan in just a few minutes.

Jump to:

• What Is Peshwari Naan?
• Why This Recipe Works?
• Ingredients You'll Need
• How to Make Peshwari Naan
• How To Cook Peshwari Naan Without A Tandoor
• Recipe Tips From the Chef
• What To Serve With Peshwari Naan
• Storage And Reheating
• Recipe FAQs
• Related Recipes
• Peshwari Naan

This homemade Peshwari naan tastes much fresher than the ones from a takeaway. The dough is soft and simple to prepare, the filling is sweet but not overpowering, and the hot pan gives the naan lovely golden spots. It is a great recipe for curry nights, family meals, or when you want something a little more special than plain naan bread.

I love serving this sweet naan with Chicken Handi and a bowl of Indian Chickpea Salad (Chana Salad). It also goes well with spicy grilled dishes such as Lamb Shish Kebab.

What Is Peshwari Naan?

Peshwari Naan is a soft and fluffy Indian-style flatbread filled with a sweet mixture of coconut, dried fruit, and nuts. It is usually cooked in a tandoor oven in restaurants, but you can make a very good homemade version in a hot skillet, tawa, or heavy-based frying pan.

The name comes from Peshawar, a city in Pakistan, where this style of filled naan is believed to have originated. Unlike plain naan, Peshwari naan has a sweet filling, which makes it especially good with spicy curries. The contrast between the soft bread, sweet coconut and fruit, and hot savoury dishes is what makes it so popular.

This recipe uses a simple naan dough made with flour, yeast, yogurt, baking powder, water, salt, and ghee or butter. The filling is made with melted butter, honey, sultanas, flaked almonds, and desiccated coconut. Once filled and rolled, the naan is cooked in a very hot pan until golden, then brushed with ghee or butter before serving.

Why This Recipe Works?

• You don’t need a tandoor oven. A hot cast-iron skillet, tawa, or heavy-based frying pan works well.

• The dough is extremely soft and easy to handle after short resting times.

• The filling is simple but full of flavour, with coconut, sultanas, almonds, butter, and honey.

• It goes perfectly with spicy curries because the sweet filling balances the heat.

• It is great for curry nights, homemade Indian-style meals, and family dinners.

• You can adjust the filling by using raisins instead of sultanas or changing the nuts to suit your taste.

• The naan can be stored and reheated, making it perfect for preparing ahead.

Ingredients You'll Need

Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.

Dough Ingredients for Naan

• Ghee - It adds a rich buttery flavour and works well with high heat. If you don’t have ghee, melted butter is perfectly fine.

• Plain white flour or all-purpose flour - Plain white flour works best for Peshwari naan because it gives a soft texture. You can use strong white flour or bread flour if that is what you have, but the naan may be slightly chewier.

• Plain yogurt - Yogurt softens the dough and adds a slight tang. Use plain natural yogurt with no sugar or flavouring.

Ingredients for Filling

• Melted butter - Butter is used in the filling to help bring the sweet ingredients together.

• Cream - I use full-fat heavy cream (double cream) to add a luxurious and velvety texture to the filling. The cream also balances the flavors, softening the sweetness of the other ingredients.

• Almond Flakes - These add a delightful crunch and nutty flavor to the naan.

• Honey - It adds natural sweetness and a slight floral note, complementing the other ingredients. Honey also helps in binding the filling and adds moisture, ensuring the naan doesn't dry out.

• Sultanas or raisins - Sultanas add a soft, sweet, fruity texture. Raisins also work well.

• Desiccated coconut - Coconut gives Peshwari naan its classic sweet filling.

How to Make Peshwari Naan

Making Peshwari Naan at home is much easier than it looks. The dough is mixed, rested, filled, rolled, and cooked in a hot pan. The most important things are keeping the dough soft, sealing the filling well, and cooking the naan in a properly heated pan.

Prepare the Dough for Naan

Pour the lukewarm water, yeast, and half of the flour into a large bowl. Mix everything together, cover the bowl, and leave it to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Add the yogurt to the bowl, then add the remaining flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix with your hands until a soft and sticky dough forms. The dough should not be dry or stiff, so don’t add too much extra flour. A slightly sticky dough gives you softer naan once cooked.

Add 2 teaspoons of melted ghee or butter and rub it over the dough. Gently squeeze the dough a few times, then cover the bowl with cling film or a clean, damp kitchen cloth. Leave it to rise for another 15 minutes.

Add the remaining teaspoon of ghee or melted butter to the dough and spread it over the surface. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead it for about 30 seconds. Return it to the bowl, cover it again, and leave it to rise for another 15 minutes. The dough should look smoother and feel easier to handle.

Prepare the Filling

Mix the melted butter, honey, cream, sultanas, flaked almonds, and desiccated coconut in a bowl. The mixture should hold together lightly, but doesn’t need to be completely smooth. This simple filling gives the naan its sweet, nutty flavour.

If the sultanas are very dry, you can soak them in a little warm water for a few minutes, then drain them well before mixing. This makes the filling softer and stops it from feeling too dry inside the naan.

Set the filling aside while you divide and shape the dough.

Shape the Naan

After the dough has rested, lightly oil your work surface and gently knead the dough for a minute. Divide it into four equal pieces, around 4 oz or 112 grams each. Roll each piece into a ball and lightly dust with flour.

Cover the dough balls and let them rest for 5 minutes before shaping. This short rest makes the dough easier to roll and helps stop it from shrinking back.

Divide the filling into four equal portions. Roll out one dough ball to the size of a small plate. Keep the remaining dough balls covered while you work. Place one portion of the filling in the centre of the rolled-out dough.

Pull the edges up and over the filling, then seal them well to make a ball again. Dust the ball lightly with flour, then roll or press it into a teardrop or oval shape, about ⅛ inch or 3 mm thick. Try not to roll it too thin, as the filling can break through.

Cook The Peshwari Naan

Heat a large heavy-based non-stick pan, skillet, or tawa over medium-high heat. The pan needs to be very hot before you add the naan. This helps the bread puff slightly and gives it golden brown spots. Place one naan in the hot pan and cook until the bottom is golden brown. Flip it with tongs and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. The naan should have a few darker spots and feel soft, not doughy.

Transfer the cooked naan to a plate and brush the top with ghee or butter. Garnish with extra flaked almonds and chopped coriander or cilantro if you like.

Cover with a clean cloth while you cook the remaining naan. Serve warm for the best texture.

How To Cook Peshwari Naan Without A Tandoor

You can make excellent Peshwari Naan without a tandoor oven. A hot skillet, cast iron pan, tawa, or heavy-based frying pan works well at home. The key is to heat the pan properly before adding the naan.

Tandoor ovens are extremely hot, which is why restaurant naan cooks quickly and gets those lovely charred spots. At home, you can get a similar effect by using a hot pan and cooking one naan at a time. Don’t add the naan before the pan is hot enough, or it may turn dry and pale instead of soft and golden.

If the naan is browning too quickly before the inside cooks, lower the heat slightly. If it stays pale and doesn’t puff at all, increase the heat. Every stove is slightly different, so you may need to adjust the heat after the first naan.

Recipe Tips From the Chef

• All-purpose flour (plain white flour) is the ideal choice for making naan bread. Using alternative flours, like whole wheat flour, can result in naan breads that are less soft and more dense.

• Keep the dough soft and slightly sticky. A dry dough will make the naan less fluffy.

• Don’t roll the naan too thin after filling it, or the filling may break through. Seal the dough well around the filling before rolling.

• Keep the dough balls covered while shaping each naan so they don’t dry out.

• Make sure the pan is very hot before cooking the naan.

• Adjust the heat if needed. If the naan browns too fast, lower the heat slightly. If it stays pale, increase the heat.

• Brush the naan with ghee or butter as soon as it comes out of the pan. Serve warm for the best texture.

• If you want to make the dough earlier in the day, reduce the yeast to ¼ teaspoon and keep the covered dough in the fridge until needed.

What To Serve With Peshwari Naan

Peshwari Naan is slightly sweet, so it goes especially well with spicy and savoury dishes. It is perfect for scooping up curry sauces, serving with rice, or adding to a homemade Indian-style meal.

Serve it with rich curries such as Dal Palak (Spinach Dal), Creamy Chicken Korma, and Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry. It also works beautifully with spicy grilled dishes such as Spicy Tandoori Chicken and Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani.

For a lighter meal, serve it with Mushroom Rice - Mushroom Pilau, Crispy Onion Bhaji (Pakora), and a bowl of Onion Raita or mint raita. The cooling yogurt and fresh salad balance the sweet naan and any spicy dishes on the table.

Storage And Reheating

Let the naan cool to room temperature before storing it. Place the naan in an airtight container or wrap it in foil, then keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

For longer storage, wrap each naan individually in cling film and place them in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. This makes it easy to reheat only what you need.

To reheat Peshwari naan in a pan, warm a skillet over medium heat and heat each naan for 30 to 60 seconds on each side. You can also reheat it in the oven. Wrap the naan in foil and warm it at 350°F or 175°C for about 10 minutes.

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more easy, versatike, and delicious flatbread 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 and fluffy Peshwari Naan Coconut Bread as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂