Make Pockets Full of Naan and Eat Them All Week
Welcome back tothe Sunday section , the column on simple meals for lazy days. I recently started baking bread for myself, and this is one of the most nervous yet liberating experiences I have ever had in the kitchen. There are so many terrifying moments of rejection and all of them are immediately forgotten when you taste the taste coming out of your oven. Or, in some cases, from the grill.
Other than Tollhouse chocolate chips, I’m not an experienced baker. I do, however, grill all year round. When a friend suggested that I try grilling naan, I was not immediately sold. I was worried that the dough would slip out of the grate, or that my pathetic Spirit E-310 would not be able to convey the raging heat of the tandoor or grill. I was a fool.
Before working on this, I only had a store-bought naan. And that was fine in my opinion, but not worth a good five dollars for two … So I got to work and tried several different options for inflated buttery cakes. For simplicity’s sake, I settled on Serious’ Eats , and Nigella Lawson came in second. While I was unable to stretch the dough to the dimensions shown in the SE recipe, I got delicious scaled-down versions – perfect for sauces or spreads, rolled sandwiches, or eating three of them right on the grill.
Grilled naan
Recipe courtesy of Serious Eats
- 22 ounces (about 4 cups) bread flour
- 0.25 oz (1 packet, about 2 teaspoons) fast or fast growing yeast
- 0.44 ounce salt (about 2 1/2 teaspoons) salt
- 0.8 ounce (about 2 tablespoons) sugar
- 14 ounces (about 1 3/4 cups) full-fat yogurt or whole milk
- 1 stick of butter, melted
Combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Add yogurt and knead with a dough crochet on low speed until the dough is a smooth ball. When kneading, the dough should stick slightly to the bottom of the bowl (add a little more yogurt or milk if necessary). Continue kneading for 5 minutes. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until approximately doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
Place the dough on a floured work surface. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then place on a well-floured surface (leaving a few inches between them) and cover with a floured cloth. Alternatively, place each ball of dough in a separate, closed, pint-sized container. Let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in volume, about 2 hours.
Light a large pipe full of coals (about 5 liters of charcoal) and spread evenly over half of the grill. Replace the grill rack, cover and let it warm up for 5 minutes. Clean the grill grate with a brush.
Working with two to three balls of dough at a time, stretch your arms into an oblong shape about 10 inches long and 6 inches across (you can also use a rolling pin for this). After you have drawn out two or three pieces, place them on a wire rack over the coals. Cook without moving until the underside is mottled and golden brown. Flip over with a large spatula, pizza peel, or tongs and cook until the other side is charred and lightly browned. Remove the naan from the grill and brush immediately with melted butter. Transfer the naan to a large plate and cover it with a clean tea towel while you cook the leftover bread.
I’m just one person, and despite my insatiable love for carbs, that’s a lot to me. So I asked the man himself if he could be frozen – and, to my delight, they can.
Not only can you bake this delicious bread, you can plan it and you can make it anytime you want. But do you know what is better than bread? Stuffed bread.
Oh yeah. Throw away those two packs of ham and cheddar, I know you are guilty of the purchase. Naan can be stuffed with anything. I really wanted to try this recipe with garlic sauce , but scape season is long over. We are in September, and I wanted something more cordial, warm and comforting. We take out the mutton: it’s time for the pockets.
Kima naan
- 1⁄2 lb lamb (an acceptable substitute is turkey, chicken, or lean ground beef)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (ghee or ghee would be ideal, but don’t go crazy)
- ¼ cup chopped shallots
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 jalapeno, serrano, or other small hot chili
- ½ tablespoon of cumin
- ½ tablespoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- Kosher Salt
- Ground black pepper
Keema is a fairly common filling, and pretty much everything I’ve been looking for. At first glance, I thought, “Oh my god, this is essentially a filling for shepherd’s pies with incredibly enhanced flavor.” And it didn’t disappoint.
Using the same naan recipe as before, divide the dough into 6 large chunks instead of 12. On the second rise, add the butter to a 10-inch skillet over medium to high heat. After the mixture starts to shimmer, add the onions and peppers, frying until the onions are translucent. Add garlic, tomato paste and spices, cook until aromatic – about 30 seconds.
Crumble the lamb (or minced meat of your choice) in a skillet and season with salt and pepper. As the lamb cooks, break it into tiny pieces. This will provide a smoother and more “cake” in the finished product. I have had good results in quickly grinding cooked and chilled minced meat in a food processor, and this was no exception. Whichever route you choose, after the filling ends, put it back in a bowl to cool. On a well-floured surface, gently roll the large balls of naan into small circles (or shapes that vaguely resemble them). Place a large tablespoon of the chilled filling in the center of each piece and pinch the edges of the dough as shown below.
Turn the filled dough ball over and use your hands to form a ball out of it. Using a rolling pin and using as gentle a touch as possible, roll the dough into the familiar tortilla shape. Don’t be aggressive and don’t lose weight, we still want the filling to stay inside.
As before, fry the naan over high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side, brush with butter and serve immediately. Like dough, they can also be frozen – after you flatten the stuffed ball, a piece of parchment paper on half of the baking sheet will help prevent sticking. To put them back, simply defrost them in the refrigerator before grilling. Now that you are armed with the knowledge of grilled stuffed bread, you have unlimited potential for sweet and savory pairings.