Sarah: 2008 Cooking Adventure, Week 8

Naan: noun A delicious flatbread specially designed to soak up curry or other sauces. Also effective at absorbing human saliva brought on by the aromas of said sauces.

Add garlic for an especially savory and delicious naan to serve with curry. Or skip the garlic so that the naan is still great with dinner, but also works as breakfast (top with a dollop of jam? wrap around scrambled eggs?) or as the crust of mini pizzas. The possibilities are endless!

Obviously, I am having trouble overcoming a mental block about cooking with meats. I'm working on it.

Recipe after the jump.

Naan

1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
oil or butter for pan

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6-8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and set aside to rise for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough and knead in garlic, if using. Pinch off small golf ball sized handfuls of dough. Roll into balls and place on a tray to rise about 30 minutes, until doubled in size.

Heat a lightly oiled pan to medium high heat on stove (or use a grill, if you have one). Roll out each ball of dough into a thin circle. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Turn over and cook the other side. You can also brush each side with butter before cooking.