Meera Sodha’s Naan

Sam SiftonTime 90 minutes Yield 4 to 6 servings

Photograph by Grant Cornett. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Theo Vamvounakis.

The British cookbook author learned this recipe from her aunt Harsha, and included it in her “Made in India: Recipes from an Indian Family Kitchen” in 2015. It is simple to make, and results in crackly-soft flatbreads singed by heat and yielding to tenderness within, with a faint tang of yogurt. It is exactly the sort of thing you’d love to dip in a pool of curry again and again. Just set up an assembly line to roll out the dough and cook it in a hot pan. Once you make the recipe two or three times you’ll never buy naan again.

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Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour, or 500 grams
2 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola, plus a teaspoon more
4 tablespoons whole-milk yogurt
1 packet of active dried yeast, or 7 grams
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 level teaspoon baking powder
1 cup whole milk, warmed

Preparation

Step 1
Put the flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle, and add two tablespoons of the oil to it, along with the yogurt, yeast, sugar, salt and baking powder. Use your fingers to combine the ingredients until they resemble crumbs, and then add the warm milk in splashes, mixing until it comes together into a dough.
Step 2
Put the dough on a clean, well-floured cutting board. It will be very sticky. Flour your hands, and knead the dough for five minutes or so, then scrape off your hands and knead it again, making it into a round ball. Rub a teaspoon of oil over the exterior of the dough, and place it in a clean mixing bowl. Cover with a dish towel, and place in a warm spot to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
Step 3
Using a knife, divide the dough into 12 pieces. Take each piece, roll it into a ball and flatten it between your palms. Dust the dough with flour, and roll each piece out into an oval of about 5 by 8 inches.
Step 4
Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, and allow it to get hot. When it is, cook one naan in it for 30 to 40 seconds on one side, or until it begins to bubble, then use a spatula to flip it over to cook the other side for about the same amount of time, checking regularly to make sure that it does not burn. Flip the naan one more time, and press on it lightly with your spatula for 10 to 15 seconds, then remove to a warm platter. Repeat with the rest of the dough. (Keep the finished naan in a low oven, or wrap in foil until ready to serve.)

Adapted from Meera Sodha