Topic: Nan breads at home

[naga dave]

    I don't use egg in nan, but a chef once told me he used one egg in a large batch of dough. My dough recipe is easy -
              1lb self raising flour [ yes it really works]
               2 tsp salt
               1 - 2 tbsp sugar,
               1/2 pt water
                2 tsp kalonji

                Makes 4 good sized nan.

    Keema stuffing -  minced lamb [must be lamb]
                            plenty of crushed and chopped ginger and garlic
                            chopped coriander
                            light spicing
                            salt

                  Neally forgot, brush nan with melted gee or butter when cooked 

[raygraham]

Madhur Jaffrey Naans,

I have made this recipe for years and find it makes good quality fluffy Naan's in an oven.

They are better if you use a bread maker to knead the dough first, they seem to have more air in them and become much lighter.
The other secret to a good Naan is to pre-heat the oven to full whack so it is practically throbbing! :

75 mls warm Milk
1 tsp Castor Sugar
1 tsp Dried Yeast

Add yeast and castor sugar to the warm milk and set aside for a while to become frothy.

Then:-

225 gms Plain flour, sifted
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Veg Oil
75 mls Plain Yoghurt
1 lge Egg, Beaten

Sift flour together with Baking Powder and Salt.

Whilst stirring add frothy Yeast Mixture, Yoghurt, Veg Oil and Egg, mix well into a ball.

Knead by hand for ten minutes or use your bread maker to do it for you.
It should be pliable but not sticky.
Leave covered in a large bowl in a warm place until it doubles in size.

Heat oven on full for at least 20 mins and place a lightly oiled baking tray on the top shelf to get hot.

Divide the dough into 3 and roll out to about 10" x 5" each.

Slap them one at a time onto the hot baking sheet and cook for approximately 3 minutes or until they puff up and the top starts to go slightly brown.

If you like, brush one side with melted ghee and serve.

Garlic Naan can be made by infusing a large crushed clove of garlic into the veg oil before it is mixed into the flourand also adding a crushed clove into the melted ghee before brushing on.
Similarly a Peshwari Naan can be made with a handful of flaked almonds and a handful of Dessicated Coconut added to the flour first. In fact any flavour/combo you fancy can be simply added to the mix at the start for quite an effective flavour change.


Ray

[Ashes]

Sounds great Ray!

Similar to Kd?s recipe, Nans usually take the most effort and time in my curry endeavors, I was a firm supporter of tava cooking them, but because the oven gives better results if you get it hot enough, I save time now by only using the oven.
Although, if I had pete tandoor ;D I?d spend more time, I really admire petes dedication!!
In India, the average household hasn?t got a tandoor although I?ve heard that some villages use a communal one, sounds like some countries in northern Africa, where you bake your bread and pop off to the local baker for him to bake it in his clay oven, for a small price. In Indian families, I think if they are entertaining, the wife stays in the kitchen and produces hot Nans as needed. If i was a guest, I don?t think she?d see much daylight, as Nans and Chappattis, Rotis and Parathras are for me as important as the main dish. I love em!!
BTW, my Chappattis are done on a tava (actually they are done on a thick flat iron frying pan made for pancakes, but its the same principle). Has anyone checked out Madur Jaffrey?s Flavours of India, there is a great explaination of how communities produce bread for the workers in the village, with a great picture of some old men and women sitting around a flat metal pan placed on hot coals or wood. The size of the pan must be several meters across. Impressive!

[pete]

? ? I don't use egg in nan, but a chef once told me he used one egg in a large batch of dough. My dough recipe is easy -
? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1lb self raising flour [ yes it really works]
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?2 tsp salt
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1 - 2 tbsp sugar,
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1/2 pt water
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2 tsp kalonji

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Makes 4 good sized nan.

? ? Keema stuffing -? minced lamb [must be lamb]
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? plenty of crushed and chopped ginger and garlic
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? chopped coriander
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? light spicing
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? salt

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Neally forgot, brush nan with melted gee or butter when cooked?

Hi Naga
          there is no oil in this recipe
Is that right?

[naga dave]

    That's right, no oil. Just the gee the nan is brushed with after cooking.

[traveller]

Just to clear any misconceptions, I have never seen or heard of normal everyday people in India making nans at home.  It is not really enjoyed there - they are pretty tasteless in comparison to rotis and parathas.  Most average people dont even have ovens so there is no question of making nan.  The women in the family make the roti and parathas.  In some villages, I have seen the women flatten the roti paper thin with just their hands in a matter of seconds!  it is pretty neat to watch!  No rolling pin needed.  Would love to learn how to do that.
To the person who loves roti/parathas, do you make the parathas flaky or just roll them out without repeated foldings and rolling?  it is hard to explain but if you dont make the flaky ones, I can try to explain how to make them flaky so they produce many layers.

[raygraham]

That's interesting Payal,

I have never had much luck with Parathas. I can do a nice Naan and a great Chapatti using the Tava but no matter which way I do?a  Paratha it just seems like a heavier and thicker version of a Chapati.

I have had similar experiences with Parathas bought at a BIR so some of these chefs cant seem to master them either.
The best I have had have undoubtedly been made with butter ghee ( your fingers get really greasy ) and are very moist and flaky, crumble in your hands, do nothing for your waistline, but taste superb just the same.

I haven't had one of these for years so perhaps there is an art to them a bit lost with time?
Are they popular in restaurants nowadays as I know they are the least healthy of all the breads so maybe not in such demand nowadays.

I have tried rolling and folding, brushing with ghee each time yet they don't seem to puff up and flake like they should. You seem to have an idea of how to make them successful. Can you fill us in how you do it?

Ray

[Ashes]

Yes, i make the parathas flakey, i have tried different methods to achieve results.

It seems alot of restaurants Ive been to make Parathas differently. The tradition method
and Hari Kristna?s methos is to use brown flour roll the dough out (round) until it is quite thin
brush with ghee or butter on the top side fold to produce a half moon shape brush again
and fold to produce a triangular shape, brush the side you are heating on you tava with more
ghee or butter, Viola, a trad paratha.

The other method is slightly more complicated; roll out your dough to a squarish shape
brush on the oil,ghee,butter on the top side and gentley roll it into a snake shape.

one you have your sausage/snake shaped dough, curl it around like a Catherine Wheel
press it together and and gently roll it out to a flat pancake again.

Brush with butter/ghee and fry on your tava. Tip, if the dough id done too fast
then then the bread will take doughy, to finish it off you can keep in warm in
the oven on a very low heat (50 - 100 degrees C) for 5-10 minutes.

I can?t honestly say i know of any Indians who make Nans at home,
but i suppose as its an Indian dish that originated in India and not at the restaurant.
So someone somewhere must have been making them, although as we agreed on
people dont usually have a tandoor in their home.

One of the best and smallest Parathas Ive eaten was at the http://www.shanti.se/
It was brown triangular and crispy. Brush with lots of ghee, was fantastic (I allowed my myself 1 only )

[traveller]

Yes, this method of making a triangular paratha is very common - we call it "theen taal paratha" which means 3 layer paratha.  I find they come out kind of hard and too crispy - not sure why.  By using the cone method, you can even flakier parathas...i was never a fan of paranthas - grew up eating them 7 days a week but by making them flaky and tasty with ghee, I crave them like crazy!!  Also a great breakfast if parathas are eaten with an egg bhurji!!  (thats scrambled eggs with onions, green chili and sometimes other things - and cooked in ghee). 
By the way, the atta when made into a dough can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for few days.  That way, you can take enough dough out for 1 or 2 parathas and roll them out quickly.

[raygraham]

...i was never a fan of paranthas - grew up eating them 7 days a week but by making them flaky and tasty with ghee, I crave them like crazy!!?

I quite agree. There is something very moorish and addictive about a flaky, ghee laden Paratha. I only used to order these in BIR's in my younger days but they are so filling and rich I could never finish the curry. I remember how your fingers got really greasy but never considered the health factor.
I do think restaurants nowadays have lost the art of making these, probably due to low demand and people wanting the healthier options but I can certainly relate to you saying you "craved" them as for me they are one of the nicer and more interesting of Indian Breads.
It is a shame so few restaurants can faithfully produce these today.

Thanks for the advice and interesting postings Payal,

Ray