Perks of being a teacher. Yes, I used to teach at a leading hotel management institute in Calcutta. Those were some memorable days! Classes, assignments, exams, paper corrections, celebrating festivals, cultural activities..and so on. But among all these things, I also got to learn some really amazing recipes from different corners of India. One of my students’ family owned a chain of dhabas in the city. The recipe that I am about to share today is a very popular one from his dhaba. One can never have enough of it. I have had it many times and drooled every single time! Finally after some coaxing, he shared the recipe with me 🙂 Yay!!
I served these crispy hot naans with kadhai chicken (will share the recipe soon) at dinner one evening and the husband was mighty pleased. He polished off his plate in no time. A sight which I love to watch over and over again 🙂
So here’s the recipe (for 5 medium sized naans):
- 2 cups all purpose flour/ maida
- 1/2 cup curd
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- Chopped garlic & green chillis
First sieve the flour in a big bowl. Next, sieve the baking powder & baking soda. Add some salt & mix well.
Now add the curd & mix it with your hands. Keep adding water slowly & knead the dough. It is going to be sticky but don’t worry. The dough is supposed to be loose & sticky. Now add in the lemon juice. Mix again. This is how it will look like:
Put a wet cloth over the bowl & then cover it with a lid. Let it rest for about 4-5 hours in a warm & dark place. You can slightly preheat your oven & then keep the dough for resting.
Now since the final dough is stretchy, add some loose maida & make 5 balls. Put them on any flat surface & press & stretch each dough ball with both hands. You can give them any shape, I made them oval. The dough shouldn’t be very thick but about 1 cm. Now put chopped garlic & chillis all over the naan & press with a rolling pin so that they stick well.
The naans in a dhaba are made in open tandoors, but you can recreate them at home using oven or a gas stove.
Now heat a tawa. Place a naan on it. When you see small bubbles forming on top of the naan, turn it over.
Using tongs, heat the naan for 5-6 seconds over direct flame
Now put the naan back on the tawa for some more time. Once slightly brown, remove it from the flame. Don’t overheat , else it might get hard & chewy.
Brush some butter and serve hot.
Soft yet flaky naans 🙂
This is the Kadhai chicken I served with the naans:
the bruised frypan 