The flavour of these buttermilk naans is slightly tangy and so delicious with a slick of salty butter. Use them to scoop up your favourite curries, or dunk them in daal for a a comforting meal — you won’t believe they aren’t from a restaurant!
How to make restaurant-style naan at home
What would you say if I told you that you can make them without a tandoor, and have them on the table in under 40 minutes? If you love the flavours of sourdough bread, you will go wild for these delicious Indian restaurant-style naans. They’re quick, easy and require no yeast or time for raising. Simply mix the ingredients, knead the dough, rest it for a short time and then roll and cook. The shape of the naan doesn’t have to be perfect either. In fact, I think that the more rustic and imperfect the edges, the better they look.
What makes this Quick Buttermilk Naan recipe so special?
The revolutionary thing about this naan recipe is the cooking method. You don’t need to switch on the oven or grill. They are made on a tawa on the gas cooker. The only requirement is that the pan is not a non-stick one and the cooker has an open flame. This method won’t work on an electric cooker or induction hob. If you don’t have a traditional Indian tawa, a cast iron frying pan or skillet is ideal.
How to cook naan without a tandoor
Lets face it, a home tandoor is nothing more than a pipe dream for the average Indian home cook, myself included. Luckily, there’s a quick and inexpensive way to give naans a beautifully-blistered surface without a tandoor. Simply heat up a tawa until smoking hot, wet the surface of the naan with water and place it water-side down on the tawa. It will begin to puff slightly. After 20 seconds, grab the pan handle (wearing a heatproof glove if the pan doesn’t have a wooden handle) and flip it upside down to cook the surface directly over the open flame.
Water is the magic ingredient!
The water you sprinkle on the base ensures the naan remains stuck to the pan so you can turn the pan upside down without it falling off. The surface will begin to char and puff, leaving the naan perfectly cooked in 25-30 seconds.
A note on flavouring naan
This is a basic recipe for plain butter naan. If you would like to flavour your naan, there are lots of delicious options open to you. A popular choice and personal favourite of mine is garlic naan, whereby the cooked naan is brushed with a mixture of melted butter and fried garlic. You can also add chopped coriander leaves to the butter emulsion if you like. Another option is to make chilli naan, also known as “bullet naan” in many Indian restaurants. To make chilli naan, melt the butter in a pan and add chopped chillies. Allow to sizzle for a moment before using this butter to brush the entire surface of the naan.
Kulcha
Then there’s the world of kulcha or stuffed naan. To make Kulcha, are layer up naan dough like paratha and stuff them with a spicy filling. I will write a separate post on these because the possible variations are extensive and utterly deserve of their own deep dive.
Ingredients you’ll need to make Quick Buttermilk Naan
Plain flourBaking powderSaltSugarAny flavourless oil of your choiceButtermilk
Step-by-step: how to make Quick Buttermilk Naan
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