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. 

Avocado Whole Wheat Bread

This is just not an another bread. This is very unique in two ways. First, this recipe is a brain child of mine. Secondly, This bread was baked with very little fat (from Butter / Oil)

In Tamil Nadu, Avocado is known as Butter Fruit. When I used to make avocado protein shake for my son, I realized avocado consistence is pretty close to soft butter. Hence, thought of substituting avocado for butter.

Earlier, I used avocado in cookies (Avocado Chocolate Cookies) and I am quite satisfied with the end product. But, in bread……..?  Unlike cookie, bread needs to be soft, sponge and moist. The fats (from butter / oil) are responsible for these characteristics. 

By experimenting with avocado, I gained confidence and decided to bake bread with (my last) avocado left in the fridge. (After scooping the fruit, I had thrown the skin. Thinking I won’t post this here. Because, not sure about the end product / result. Hence, I do not have any avocado or even a skin for photograph) 

Needless to say, the bread came beyond my expectations and very glad to share with you.

Ingredients: 1 big avocado (pitted) and mashed      ;      1 cup of warm low fat milk     ;    3 tbsp. of olive oil        ;       4 tbsp. of sugar     ;     2 tsp of instant yeast    ;     3/4 tsp of salt    ;      3 cups of whole wheat flour

Procedure :  In bowl add warm milk, sugar, yeast, salt and mix it well. 

Now, add oil, mashed avocado and mix with the yeast mixture. Now, add flour little by little to the mixture to form soft and sticky dough. 

Transfer the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth for about 1 ½ hour or until double in size. Gently deflate the dough and roll into a loaf pan and cover with a damp cloth for about another hour. 

Transfer the loaf pan into a pre-heated oven and bake at 180°c for 40 min or till done. Finally brush with melted low fat butter for brown crust.