On The Subject of Naan,
and how easy it is to make.
And you don't need a tandoor, either. Well, I suppose it's not entirely traditional, sure.
but tradition is only so much to me, I think. If you want to make naan over a charcoal fire, in a cylindrical clay oven, go right ahead. Meanwhile, the rest of us, what ain't purists, and who can appreciate an effective dish, shall continue. It is my opinion that taste trumps tradition.
If a dish can be created effectively, if it is easier to use a pastry hook than knead by hand, if it is easier to use a skillet instead of an esoteric clay oven, then I say, use it! and tradition be damned. There is no shame, I feel, in making naan this way. I grind my own cumin. I grind my own curry powder. I will field any and all accusations of inauthenticity, as I am white, and Jewish, and therefore in some way unqualified to make un-white, un-Jewish food.
I will field these complaints hopefully better than I fielded baseballs in fourth and fifth grade, and I shall send them back into the mouths of those who mock me, on the end of a spoon. You don't have to be Jewish to make gefilte fish, and you don't have to be Indian, or Pakistani, or Bangladeshi, or whoever else makes naan, to make naan.
So says I. David's First Rule: Anyone can make anything if they have desire, focus, equipment and patience. Any other qualifications are secondary. If you haven't figured that out by now, and you're going to say it's inauthentic, then you can stop reading now.
I'm sorry if this sounds angry, but I know that I'm moving into dangerous territory here. The more 'ethnic' I get, the more I fear I'll draw the ire of those that are protective (overly so) of their ethnic identity. There is no shame in maintaining ethnic identity and pride, but I do not fear Gentiles encroaching on my matzah meal.
Thus. You will need:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Then plotch in the yogurt and start kneading.
Keep it going until it's nice and mixed.
No, you're not done yet.
You should be able to make it into a ball.
And then you can throw it into the air! Like this!
Anyway, once it's in a ballable form, wrap the thing in plastic and put it out of sight for two hours. Don't worry. It's not going to rise. When the two hours are up, put the ball on a floured surface (wax paper works fine) and roll it out.
Then quarter it.
Then make the quarters into balls, and roll those out into flattened rounds with a floured rolling pin. You can also flatten 'em by hand.
Then heat up a skillet. Non-stick is nice! But not necessary.
I've already said this once, but I'll resurrect it as David's Second Rule: Hot pan, cold oil.
Remember this and you'll burn yourself less often. The only time you want oil to be hot before you add the food you aim to cook in it is when you're deep-frying it.
Anyway. Heat the skillet, and then lightly oil the pan. Brush one side of a flattened naan-round with oil.
Then place it, oiled-side up, in the pan. After two to three minutes of cooking, the naan should begin to form bubbles, and brown spots should form on the cooking side.
Flip and brown evenly.
And now, how to flip without a spatula.
You'll think I'm crazy. I know I'm crazy!
Check it. With an empty pan, grab ahold, sturdily, of the handle.
You can't do this with a potholder or an oven mitt, so make sure you've got a pan that keeps a cool handle. Give it a few practice flicks - sharply and up, with your wrist, and with your wrist only.
This is the motion: slide the skillet back, and then slide it forward quickly, and as you do that, flick up.
It takes practice, so try doing it with a finished round of naan in a cold pan, something that won't cause hot oil to spatter. Eventually, it should look like this:
You can keep them hot in a 350-degree oven until they're ready to serve - put the naan on a baking sheet, or something.
Serve with any sort of stew or hot dish.
Enjoy, in a non-ethnically-threatening way.
And you don't need a tandoor, either. Well, I suppose it's not entirely traditional, sure.
but tradition is only so much to me, I think. If you want to make naan over a charcoal fire, in a cylindrical clay oven, go right ahead. Meanwhile, the rest of us, what ain't purists, and who can appreciate an effective dish, shall continue. It is my opinion that taste trumps tradition.
If a dish can be created effectively, if it is easier to use a pastry hook than knead by hand, if it is easier to use a skillet instead of an esoteric clay oven, then I say, use it! and tradition be damned. There is no shame, I feel, in making naan this way. I grind my own cumin. I grind my own curry powder. I will field any and all accusations of inauthenticity, as I am white, and Jewish, and therefore in some way unqualified to make un-white, un-Jewish food.
I will field these complaints hopefully better than I fielded baseballs in fourth and fifth grade, and I shall send them back into the mouths of those who mock me, on the end of a spoon. You don't have to be Jewish to make gefilte fish, and you don't have to be Indian, or Pakistani, or Bangladeshi, or whoever else makes naan, to make naan.
So says I. David's First Rule: Anyone can make anything if they have desire, focus, equipment and patience. Any other qualifications are secondary. If you haven't figured that out by now, and you're going to say it's inauthentic, then you can stop reading now.
I'm sorry if this sounds angry, but I know that I'm moving into dangerous territory here. The more 'ethnic' I get, the more I fear I'll draw the ire of those that are protective (overly so) of their ethnic identity. There is no shame in maintaining ethnic identity and pride, but I do not fear Gentiles encroaching on my matzah meal.
Thus. You will need:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Then plotch in the yogurt and start kneading.
Keep it going until it's nice and mixed.
No, you're not done yet.
You should be able to make it into a ball.
And then you can throw it into the air! Like this!
Anyway, once it's in a ballable form, wrap the thing in plastic and put it out of sight for two hours. Don't worry. It's not going to rise. When the two hours are up, put the ball on a floured surface (wax paper works fine) and roll it out.
Then quarter it.
Then make the quarters into balls, and roll those out into flattened rounds with a floured rolling pin. You can also flatten 'em by hand.
Then heat up a skillet. Non-stick is nice! But not necessary.
I've already said this once, but I'll resurrect it as David's Second Rule: Hot pan, cold oil.
Remember this and you'll burn yourself less often. The only time you want oil to be hot before you add the food you aim to cook in it is when you're deep-frying it.
Anyway. Heat the skillet, and then lightly oil the pan. Brush one side of a flattened naan-round with oil.
Then place it, oiled-side up, in the pan. After two to three minutes of cooking, the naan should begin to form bubbles, and brown spots should form on the cooking side.
Flip and brown evenly.
And now, how to flip without a spatula.
You'll think I'm crazy. I know I'm crazy!
Check it. With an empty pan, grab ahold, sturdily, of the handle.
You can't do this with a potholder or an oven mitt, so make sure you've got a pan that keeps a cool handle. Give it a few practice flicks - sharply and up, with your wrist, and with your wrist only.
This is the motion: slide the skillet back, and then slide it forward quickly, and as you do that, flick up.
It takes practice, so try doing it with a finished round of naan in a cold pan, something that won't cause hot oil to spatter. Eventually, it should look like this:
You can keep them hot in a 350-degree oven until they're ready to serve - put the naan on a baking sheet, or something.
Serve with any sort of stew or hot dish.
Enjoy, in a non-ethnically-threatening way.