
Five-Minute Naan Bread
A quick soft flatbread cooked under a hot grill, brushed with butter and scattered with fresh herbs and onion seeds. It is tender, lightly crisp at the edges and rich from the butter.
Ingredients
Method
- Sift 250 g plain flour, 4 g baking powder, 4.2 g granulated sugar and 2.9 g salt into a mixing bowl.
- Stir 93.1 g full-fat milk and 27 g vegetable oil together in a second bowl.
- Add 30.6 g yogurt to the flour mixture, then pour in the milk-oil mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
- Knead the dough on a work surface for 2 minutes, until smooth, then return it to the bowl, cover and leave in a warm spot for 10 minutes.
- Heat the grill to medium and put a greaseproof-lined baking tray on the top shelf to get hot.
- Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each one into a thin oval.
- Brush the ovals with butter, prick them with a fork, scatter over coriander or mint and black onion seeds, and press the garnish down gently.
- Lay the naan on the hot tray and grill for 1½ minutes.
- Brush with butter again and grill for 1–2 minutes more, until lightly speckled brown.
- Brush with butter and serve warm.
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Plain flour

Whole wheat flourUse the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.
Rice flourUse the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.
CornflourFor thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

Baking powder

Baking sodaUse 25% of the baking powder's weight (e.g. 1 g for 4 g) and add 2 g cream of tartar or 1 tsp lime juice per 100 g flour. Mix quickly and bake at once.
Bicarbonate of sodaSame as baking soda: use 25% of the weight with an acid such as cream of tartar, lemon juice or yogurt. Expect a slightly soapy taste if overused.
Self-raising flourReplace the plain flour plus baking powder with the same weight of self-raising flour; omit added baking powder and reduce salt slightly.

Granulated sugar

JaggeryUse equal weight; grate or shave finely so it dissolves rapidly, giving a warm, caramel-like sweetness and slightly darker sauce.

Full cream milk

Whole milkUse the same weight; it is the closest match in richness.
MilkUse the same weight; the dish will be slightly less creamy, so reduce any added water.
Milk powderFor 100 g milk, use 12 g milk powder with 88 g water and whisk until smooth.

Vegetable oil

Peanut oilUse 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.
GheeUse 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.
Mustard oilUse 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Yogurt

Plain yogurtUse 100% of the weight. Whisk thoroughly until smooth before stirring into warm gravies to prevent curdling.
Single creamUse 90% of the weight combined with 10% lemon juice to replicate the lactic tang and rich body in marinades and curries.

Butter

Unsalted butterUse 100% of the weight. If the original recipe relies on salted table butter, add a pinch of salt to balance.
GheeUse 80% to 85% of the weight. Ghee is pure butterfat with moisture removed; it yields a deeper, nuttier flavour and handles high heat better.
Vegetable oilUse 80% of the weight for frying or tempering. The dish loses sweet dairy richness but remains glossy and light.

Coriander or mint

Coriander leafUse the same weight; use alone when the recipe allows either herb.
Mint leavesUse the same weight; it is stronger, so use 10–20% less.
Coriander and mintUse the same total weight, half and half; matches a mixed-herb note.

Nigella seeds

Black cumin seedsUse equal weight. Imparts an earthy, slightly bitter note in temperings, though it lacks nigella's oniony sharpness.
Black sesame seedsUse equal weight. Gives a similar speckled appearance and light crunch on breads, but provides a nutty rather than herbaceous, onion-like flavour.
Similar dishes

- Same: Chapattis and this dish are both soft flatbreads made with flour, vegetable oil, salt and a butter brush.
- Different: Chapattis uses chapatti flour and no baking powder, sugar, milk, yogurt, coriander, mint or black onion seeds, and it is cooked on a dry griddle rather than under a hot grill.

- Same: Plain Buttery Parathas shares with this dish a simple flour-and-fat flatbread base and a butter-rich finish.
- Different: Plain Buttery Parathas uses chapatti flour, vegetable oil, salt and butter, with no baking powder, sugar, milk, yogurt, herbs or black onion seeds; it is layered with butter and pan-fried, while this dish is grilled and brushed with butter, coriander or mint and onion seeds.

- Same: Puris and this dish are both flatbreads made from flour, salt and vegetable oil.
- Different: Puris uses wholemeal flour and water with no baking powder, sugar, milk, yogurt, butter, herbs or onion seeds, and it is deep-fried rather than grilled.

- Same: Phulkas and this dish are both soft flatbreads made from flour, salt and a fat, with no yeast.
- Different: Phulkas uses wholemeal chapatti flour, ghee and water only, while this dish uses plain flour, baking powder, sugar, milk, yogurt, oil, butter, coriander or mint and black onion seeds and is cooked under a hot grill rather than on a dry griddle.





















