Butter Naan

Indian food has always been popular amongst us Maldivians, and naan is definitely up there on top.

Here, we have the recipe for the much-beloved Indian flatbread, butter naan – topped with extra butter and coriander. Usually, naan is made using a tandoor or clay oven but our recipe uses a normal pan so you can prepare them at home easily!

Serving size: 4

Ingredients:

• 240g flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsp melted butter (2 tbsp for the dough, 2 tbsp for brushing on top of the naan)
• ¼ cup plain yoghurt
• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tsp butter (for cooking the naan)

Instructions:

1. To a large bowl, add 240g flour, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, ½ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp baking soda. Using a spatula, mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. Next, add in 2 tbsp melted butter and ¼ cup plain yoghurt. Mix to lightly combine with the dry ingredients.
3. Then, add 2 tbsp of the lukewarm water to the dough and mix. Slowly, add 2 tbsp of water at a time and keep mixing until you run out of the water. Adding the water slowly makes it less lumpy and easier to knead the dough.
4. Using your hands, start kneading the dough until it becomes soft and smooth – this will take around 2-3 minutes. The dough will be softer than normal roshi (Maldivian flatbread) dough, but not wet.
5. When you’re done kneading the dough, roll it into a ball and cover the bowl (we used plastic food wrap, but you can use a cloth as well). Let it rest for around 45 minutes. This will allow the dough to become soft and smooth.
6. Now, to make the butter spread. Add 1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves and 2 tbsp melted butter to a small bowl. Mix it well until combined.
7. Once the dough has rested, take it out of the bowl and divide it into 4 equal parts.
8. Using a rolling pin, roll the 4 balls into rough oval shapes of around 7-inches in length. Keep in mind to dust the surface with plain flour to prevent the dough from sticking while rolling.
9. Poke some holes on one side of each rolled dough using a fork. This is so that the steam can escape and keep the naan evenly flat when cooking.
10. Heat up a pan and spread around ½ tsp of butter.
11. Once the butter has melted, place one of the rolled dough balls on the heated pan with the poked side on the bottom.
12. Cook the naan for around 1.5-2 minutes on one side. Then, flip and cook for another 1 minute 30 seconds. When cooked, the naan will be lightly browned and slightly crispy on the outside. The first naan might take a bit longer to cook but as the pan heats up more, the naan will cook faster.
13. Remove the naan from the pan and immediately brush the coriander butter you have prepared earlier on top.  To do this, just dip a pastry brush into the mixture and spread it on top of the naan a couple of times until evenly coated.
14. Repeat steps 10-12 until you’ve cooked all the rolled naan dough.