My earlier Naan (also,Sheermal or Shirmal) was not up to the mark in terms of the texture. Naan is my son’s favorite and he always insists to make at home with the restaurant finish. Imm……In restaurants’ it’s done with tandoor. At home, I tried my level best to recreate the restaurant texture, but in vain.
Lately, I realized that in tandoor, the heat applied on the Nann sides are not the same. (as one side stick at the clay wall of the tandoor and the other side exposed to the dry heat. this is the reason for the texture) where as in the (electrical) Oven, the heat distributed all around the chamber uniformly.
So, if we could create the two different temperatures on the sides of the Naan, probably the texture can be like the tandoor version. How to do this ?
Just by keeping the cast iron plate / tava / pan (used to make dosa or chapatthi) on the oven! The plate absorbs the heat and transfer to the one side of the naan. which is more than the oven's chamber heat. this is good enough to create the texture as well to cook / bake the naan.
Usually, Naan is made with 100% Maida (A P flour). But, I go with 50-50 combination with Avocado pulp to reduce the oil / butter.
Ingredients’ : 1cup of all purpose flour ; 1 cup of whole wheat flour ; 1 ¼ tsp of instant yeast ; 1 tsp of salt ; 2 tsp of sugar ; 1/2 tsp of baking powder ; 2 tbsp of olive oil ; Half avocado scooped mashed & add 1 tsp of lime juice (lime juice to prevents the colour change) ; 3/4 cup of warm water ; 1/4 cup of sesame seeds ; butter for brushing (for butter naan!!!!)
In a bowl, add warm water, sugar, oil and then sprinkle yeast over the top and whisk and keep aside.
In separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder and keep aside.
Now add the yeast mixture to the flour bowl and mix well until a ball of dough forms.
Add the mashed avocado into the dough and Knead with floured hands until to form smooth, elastic dough. Cover the bowl with damp cloth and leave at room temperature for about 3 to 4 hours.
Start to preheat oven to 250° C with cast iron plate in. Meanwhile, transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes and divide into 6 - 7 small balls.
Start to preheat oven to 250° C with cast iron plate in. Meanwhile, transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes and divide into 6 - 7 small balls.
Roll into an oval shape with 1/4″ thickness. (Once the oven and stone are preheated) dip hands in water and wet each piece of dough slightly and sprinkle the sesame seeds and transfer the naan to the preheated plate, placing the wet side on the plate.
Bake at 250°C for 4- 5 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly. Remove from the pan and brush with melted butter.
