Naan

Alex and I have a favorite restaurant that we only go to on special occasions because it is kind of expensive.  In order to get "our money's worth", we get one million refills on the naan bread.  I would usually stop after two refills, but Alex keeps the bread bowls coming (despite his paleo-diet).  So instead of going to a restaurant to practically make a meal out of the bread itself, I decided to make my own naan last night.  I had some extra dough so I refrigerated it and made dinner out of the leftovers tonight.  No actual meal ordering at our beloved restaurant to get our carb-fill necessary!  Anyway, this is a great base recipe that can be modified with any variety of spices or herbs.  It is delicious with a sprinkle of zatar (sold at specialty spice stores or online), but it can really stand on its own without any accessory flavors.  Not only is it delicious, but cheap!  I found this recipe on Budget Bytes and it supposedly only costs about $1.27 for the whole recipe.  That definitely will keep me from splurging on the frozen naan bread that Trader Joe's sells for much more money for much less bread!  Did I mention that this is ridiculously fun, simple, and quick to make??? Rating 9/10.

 

Recipe from Budget Bytes

Ingredients

2 tsp dry active yeast

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup warm water

~3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup greek yogurt

1 egg

Optional spices

Combine the yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl and mix well.

After the yeast mixture becomes frothy mix in the vegetable oil, yogurt, and egg.

In a medium bowl (around 3 qt in size) mix 1 cup of flour with the salt.

Pour the liquid mixture into the flour and combine thoroughly.

Continue to add in more flour until all of the flour has been mixed into the dough.

Shape the dough into a ball, cover it with saran wrap, and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

The dough can be used immediately after the rise has completed or it can be refrigerated and used once it is brought back down to room temp.

Once the dough has risen, separate it into individual balls.  The size of the balls depend entirely on how small or large you want your naan to be.  Your naan could be as large as the skillet itself, or it could be "dunk-size". 

Heat a skillet over medium heat.

Roll each ball 1/4" flat immediately before cooking.

Spray the skillet with PAM and cook the flattened dough until bubbles have formed on the top.

Flip the naan and cook until the surface of the bubbles becomes golden brown.

Eat smothered in hummus, butter, anything!