I decided to make one of our family favorites last night, Chicken Makhani. We love Indian food and that dish is a particular favorite.
When you visit an Indian food restaurant Naan (pronounce nahwn) is a must. There's nothing better than mopping up the delicious sauces than with a fantastic piece of flatbread. Traditional naan is slapped on the inside walls of a tandoor (clay) oven. The dough puffs and bubbles into a soft, chewy bread with a crispy exterior. Delicious!
Since I do not own, nor do I plan to own a tandoor oven in the near future, I choose to bake my naan on a pizza stone. The results are incredibly close.
Naan
4-6 c. flour
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/4 c. whole milk
1/3 c. whole milk plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 Tbsp. salted butter, melted
Combine 4 cups flour and remaining dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add milk, yogurt, oil and egg and knead 10 minutes, adding flour as needed. It is important to have a smooth, non-sticky dough.
Preheat pizza stone in oven to 500 degrees.
Place dough on a floured surface and allow to rest 10 minutes. Divide into 4-8 portions, depending on how big you want your naan (I like to make 4 large naan for the table to share). Roll one piece of dough into an oval about 1/3" thick. Brush the excess flour from the dough with a pastry brush. Place dough on hot pizza stone and bake 2 minutes or just until dough bubbles. Flip dough and bake 2 minutes more. Remove naan to a serving plate and brush both sides with melted butter. Serve warm.
