October 14, 2011 - 2:25pm
Making Naan
Tomorrow is a special day for my wife who will be making indian food for a special meal. As I have begun making bread, she has asked me to make Naan, a flat bread, for the meal. I am excited about the opportunity to try it. I will let you all know how it turns out. :)
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Yum! wish there was a "like" click on freshloaf! Look fwd to your pics and/or feedback.
What recipe are you using? Madjhur Jaffrey's? Other? I have one from Pushpa Bhargava that I like quite well. How did they come out?
I've tried several naan recipes and had the best results from Manjula's Kitchen. Auntie Manjula uses yogurt, a bit of oil, baking soda--and yeast of course. My wife's foreparents came from India so she handles the parathas and other breads--except the naan. That's my domain. Good, but it's certainly not the same as having a tandoor.
I am not sure how to upload pics here, but I did post it on my facebook (peter pixie). I jused the http://www.vahrehvah.com/naan.php recipe. To do it though you really need to watch the video as the instructions fail to tell you when to proof the bread. As we were a bit light on milk, I used just water and that made it tougher than I would have liked, I think. Over all, everyone enjoyed them! There are pics of my first and second attempt at white bread making as well on my facebook. :)
I posted a 1.2.3. step how-to
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20338/posting-photosi-know-i-know
Best,
Anna
that she makes Indian "non-bake" flat bread and calls it Chapati. From searching here, I find Chapati is a flour. Next time I see her I will ask how she makes this nonbake bread.
Anna
These flat round breads are made with ata (sometimes called chappati flour). Three parts wholemeal flour with one part plain white flour may be used instead. Mix with water to a soft, slightly sticky dough and leave to rest for 15 minutes before using.
Chappatis are cooked on a tava (griddle) that is a circular, cast-iron shaped plate with a long handle. A heavy cast-iron frying pan would make a suitable substitute.
Practice makes perfect when it comes to chappati-making, so do not be put off in your first efforts are not as good as you would like. They will taste fine, even if they do not look immaculate.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 oz. chapati flour (with extra for dusting)
- 4 fl. oz. (110 ml) water
DIRECTIONS.- Put flour into a bowl. Add the water a little at a time and bring the flour together with the fingertips.
- As the dough becomes stickier, draw it together with your hands, adding more water until all of the flour is incorporated and you have a soft pliable dough.
- Knead the dough with wet hands for a minute or two. Fold into a neat shape, dampen the surface, cover, and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Put the tava (disc-shaped griddle) on the hob (stove) to pre-heat on medium heat.
- Roughly divide the dough into 8-10 parts without forming into balls.
- Dust your hands lightly with extra flour and take a portion of the dough. Roll it between your hands into a ball. If it feels sticky, use a little extra flour on your hands.
- Put the ball of dough into the flour and press flat, dusting both sides.
- Roll out into a round about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter, dusting when required.
- Pick up the chapati, pat between your hands for a few seconds to shake off the excess flour, and slap it onto the hot tave (griddle).
- Let it cook for about 30 seconds and turn it over. (If the chappati sticks to the tava/griddle, it is not hot enough. If the markings on the chappati are too dark, it is too hot. Adjust as necessary.)
- Cook for about 30 seconds on the second side.
- Turn over again.
- Now lift the chappati off the tava/griddle and place it directly over a medium flame, moving it about all the time. It will puff up in seconds.
- Place the chappati in a clean napkin, folding over the top to keep warm.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. Stack the chappatis in the napkin as you make them.
- Ideally, chappatis should be eaten immediately, but if you wish to keep them for later, wrap them in aluminum foil and keep them in the refrigerator. Place, still in foil, in a hot oven for 20 minutes to reheat. Alternatively, reheat in a microwave oven.
- Freezing. Chappatis freeze well. Stack and wrap in foil and freeze for up to a month. They may be thawed and reheated without removing the foil.
Source. The Curry Secret, p. 43-44, Kris DhillonAlso, these YouTube videos will help a lot:give us this recipe and instructions. I will have to watch the video to see how this "place directly over medium flame" is being done :)
Best,
Anna
Welcome! I went to the Indian store today to get some chappati flour to make some myself, so thought I'd share the recipe.
The first video shows how the chappati's puff up even without an open flame. It might take a few more seconds, but it'll still puff. (I don't have a gas stove (although I'm sure I could get an open flame going (newspaper, matches!), and mine come out just fine).
really no need for "open" flame. She has wonderful recipes and quick to make. Will have to try some.
Thank you again !
Anna
I'm almost embarassed to admit it, but I don't roll them out.
I put a piece of plastic wrap on the base of my tortilla press, form a flying saucer-shaped (disc of) of dough, cover the dough with another piece of plastic wrap, and SQUISH it with the tortilla press. Perfect chappatis. The plastic wrap prevents it from sticking to the tortilla press, which is wooden.
whatever gets us there quickly :)
We've often made chapatis replacing chapati flour (aka gram flour, atta) with half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour (following Madhur Jaffery's suggestion in A Taste of India, or was it in An Invitation to Indian Cooking?) They turn out beautifully.
-Elizabeth
Gram flour is made of chickpea and is different from chapati (= a.k.a. atta) flour which is made of wheat. ;)
Quite right. My mistake. Atta is indeed the flour that is used for making chapatis. However, what I was trying to saywas that a half and half mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flours is a perfectly good substitute for atta.
-Elizabeth
Yes, the open flame is entirely optional. We have an electric stove and finish Indian flat bread on a footed rack placed over the burner. We've used the stovetop method of cooking for making naan as well (a fuse blew on our oven JUST as we were about to bake the naan)
our recipes for 5 kinds of flatbreads (this is a link) (including naan)
-Elizabeth
(Here is our naan recipe http://etherwork.net/blog/?p=1175#recipe)