Baked Stuffed Naan

After the super duper hit of Avocado Naan, I want to try the stuffed naan with same technique but, here I replaced the avocado with yogurt and slightly altered the flour combination to hold the stuffing better. Otherwise, there are no changes in the preparation process. 

Ingredients’ for Naan :  1 ¼ cup of all purpose flour    ;       ¾  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    ;      3 -4 tbsp of yogurt      ;      3/4 cup of warm water      ;        1/4 cup of sesame seeds       ;        butter for brushing (for butter naan!!!!)

 

Ingredients’ for stuffing: ½ cup of chopped capsicum (yellow and Green)     ;    ½ tsp of chilly flakes      ;    salt to taste ;       2 tbsp of chopped onion    ;     oil for sauté

In pan add oil and sauté the onion then add capsicum, chilly flakes & salt, keep aside.

Follow the same procedure of Avocado Naan till rolling the dough into an oval shape approximately 1/4″ thick. Now, palace stuffing on one side and fold it together and seal the sides and then slightly press it with hand.  

That’s it. Transfer to the preheated (with cast iron in) oven and bake the same way of Avocado Naan.

Avocado Naan (Oven Version)

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.

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. 

Stuffed Naan

Naan is quite popular in North Indian Cuisine. It’s a Flat Bread baked in a Clay (Tandoor) Oven. In General, Naan’s are usually made only at Restaurants.  

Also,  Naan’s are served in varieties like, Plain, Butter, Garlic, Mint. These are usually toppings. But, few places you can find stuffed Naan also. Let’s bake today a Stuffed Naan at home !

Naan goes very well with any Curry (Veg or Non-Veg) of North, South, East and West. Here, with Chettinad Chicken Curry ! but, Want to talk only about Naan. Because, that’s the Title of the Post !! The basic recipe is adopted from http://honestcooking.com/

Ingredients for Naan :  3½ cups of All-purpose flour (AP)   ;  1 cup of  Plain Yogurt    ;    4 tbsp of Butter   ;     1 tsp of Salt  ;   ⅛ tsp  of  Baking Soda   ; 2½ tsp of Active dry Yeast   ;  ½ cup  of  Warm Water   ;  1½ tsp  of  Sugar  ;  Little Water for kneading    

Ingredients for Stuffing  :    2 large chopped Onion   ;     ½  Corinerder leaves   ;  2  gloves  chopped garlic      ;    ¼   - cup sesame seeds

Making Process : (Stuffing) 

In a pan, heat 1 tbs oil and add the chopped onion, garlic sauté it till it become light brown color, season with some salt.  Once done, set it aside and allow it cool completely. Add chopped coriander leaves.

Now, let’s start the Naan making Process :  In a bowel, add some warm water, sugar and yeast. Cover and let it rest for about 10 minutes or until it’s forms a nice foam on top.

Mix the AP flour, baking soda, salt, butter, yogurt and the activated yeast and start kneading.  If required, add water but make sure the dough is soft but not sticky.

Continue kneading for another 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and can be easily stretched.

Take another bowl and grease it with some oil. Place the dough in the bowl, rub little oil on top of the dough and cover it with a damp cloth for about 90 min or the dough to rise to double in size.

Take the dough out on a flat surface and knead for few more minutes and Divide the dough in 7 equal parts, transfer it to a plate, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for another 40 minutes.

Take one portion of the dough and keep the rest covered (it’s important or else the dough will become dry). Roll it out a little, place some of the stuffing inside, seal the sides and start rolling very gently. (Not too thin or too thick) Sprinkle some sesame seeds and give one last roll.

Preheat oven to 500° F (260° C) with a baking stone in the oven. Once ready, Dip hands in water and wet each piece of dough slightly before placing it on the stone. Bake at 260° C for 4-5 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.

Remove from the stone and brush with clarified butter and serve it Hot.