Christine @ Good & PlatedFluffy and easy to make, this homemade naan recipe is the perfect complement to your favorite Indian recipes.
If you have ever eaten at an Indian restaurant, I guarantee you have been exposed to naan. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I can order Indian take out without a side of naan. So of course, that means if I am making Indian inspired dishes at home – like my Chana Saag – for example, I’m going to need a go to naan recipe to accompany it.
But what is naan exactly? Naan is a traditional flatbread made in South and Central Asian countries. In addition to the expected bread ingredients like flour, salt and yeast, naan often includes yogurt, which helps to make the dough soft and fluffy. It is traditionally cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor which gives it its characteristic bubbles and browned spots.
Now, is it possible to create naan at home that perfectly imitates the original? I’d argue unfortunately, no. The environment of the tandoor is pretty hard for the home cook to recreate, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t make something delicious.
After lots of attempts to make naan at home, I’ve settled on a recipe that is both easy to make even if you have little bread making experience, and close enough to the original to satisfy my taste buds.
Recipe Tips for Perfect Homemade Naan
- Use a cast iron skillet: Most home cooks don’t have a tandoor oven lying around their home, but many have a cast iron skillet. It’s not necessary to make naan (see FAQs below), but a good cast iron skillet helps to recreate the characteristic char that traditional naan gets from cooking in a tandoor.
- Create an assembly line: When I actually start cooking the naan, I like to create an assembly line. For example, while one piece of naan is cooking, I start rolling out and prepping the next one. That way after I take the cooked piece off, I can immediately add a new one to the pan, then brush the cooked piece with ghee before rolling out the next piece. The whole process goes fairly quickly and efficiently if you follow this method.
- Don’t dust with too much flour: While rolling out the dough balls, don’t go too heavy on the flour. If there is excess flour in the cast iron skillet, it tends to burn. This means your naan can end up with a little too much char and your risk setting off the smoke detector (speaking from experience here!)
- Watch the heat: There is a general rule that the first piece of naan will be the least brown and golden of the bunch and the last will be the most golden. This is because the cast iron sits on the stove and continues to get hotter and hotter. Feel free to adjust the temperature of the cook top down a bit after you cook 2-3 naan, just to ensure that the final few aren’t too crispy.
Recipe FAQs
I think you will get the most “close to the real thing” results if you use cast iron, but I’ve also made this in a regular old non-stick skillet as well. So if that’s all you have, don’t let it prevent you from trying this recipe.
I like to use my digital meat thermometer to check the water temperature. If you don’t have one, you can use the “wrist check trick.” Run your wrist under a stream of hot water. When the water is the right temperature you will feel the sting of hot water, but you should be able to keep your wrist there. Any hotter and you’ll want to jerk your hand away.
When yeast is foamy and activated, it will look like there is a layer of beige cream floating on the top of the water.
Ghee is a type of clarified butter traditionally used in Indian cooking. If you don’t have access to ghee, regular melted butter will also work.
Related Recipes
Looking for some delicious Indian inspired dishes to pair with this naan? I definitely recommend you check out my Chana Saag recipe.
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Homemade Naan
Fluffy and easy to make, this homemade naan recipe is the perfect complement to your favorite Indian recipes.
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 naan 1x
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water (approximately 110 degrees F)
- 1 teaspoon active yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons oil of choice (ex: ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil)
- 3 tablespoons Melted butter or ghee
Instructions
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Activate yeast: Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Stir and set aside until foamy – about 10 minutes.
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Mix dry ingredients: Add flour, salt, and baking powder to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
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Combine wet and dry ingredients: Once the yeast mixture is foaming, add the yogurt and oil and stir to combine. Add yeast mixture to dry ingredients and use a fork to mix and create a loose shaggy ball.
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Knead and rest: Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 15 seconds. Place the dough ball back in the mixing bowl and rub with a little more oil. Loosely cover the bowl with a towel set in a warm place for 2 to 4 hours.
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Divide dough: Remove dough from bowl and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 30 seconds adding additional flour if sticky. Use a knife to divide the dough into 6 even pieces.
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Create dough balls: Knead each ball on a lightly floured surface for 15 seconds until it forms a loose ball, then set aside and repeat the process until all dough is formed into balls. Then cover the balls with a towel and rest for 10 minutes.
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Roll out dough: After 10 minutes, heat a cast-iron pan over medium heat. Lightly flour a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball into an oval. Pat the dough with a bit of water, then place the wet-side down on the hot pan.
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Cook naan: Cook for 1 minute or until the edges of the dough look dry and it’s beginning to bubble. Then flip the dough with a spatula and cook until the underside is dark brown. Remove the cooked dough from the pan and brush with melted butter or ghee. Repeat the cooking process for remaining dough balls. Serve immediately.
Notes
Cover leftovers and store at room temperature for about 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One naan
- Calories: 260
- Sugar: 1.3 g
- Sodium: 396 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
- Cholesterol: 16.8 mg