Ingredients

1. Plain flour (maida) - 4 cups
2. Egg - 1
3. Warm milk - 3/4 cup
4. Warm water – 1/2 cup
5. Dry yeast - 1 tsp
6. Sugar - 1 tsp
7. Salt – 1/2 tsp or as per taste
8. Curd - 1/2 cup
9. Vegetable oil/sunflower oil for dough
10. Butter

Method

Making the dough

1. First activate the yeast. For this, take some warm milk, add some warm water, sugar and yeast. Mix with a spoon and keep it for 10 to 12 mins. The mixture starts bubbling and will look cloudy and bubbly. This means the yeast has been activated.
2. Put the flour in a wide and big container, make space in the middle and start adding yeast mixture, egg, curd and salt. Mix slowly.
3. Add the liquids little at a time as per the requirement.
4. Start mixing from the centre and go outwards until the dough is properly mixed well.
5. You can use a few drops of oil to the dough mixture and also apply on your hands so that the dough does not stick to your hands much.
6. Knead well until it is elastic (stretchy) and smooth. It should not be hard like the dough for chapati or roti.
7. Close the bowl in which the dough is with a cling film to make it air tight and keep in a warm place.
8. I kept the dough for about 2 hours and the dough raised and became double the original size.
9. Remove the cling film and punch it. It will come to the original size.
10. Apply some oil to your hands and knead the dough again for about 2-3 mins. Divide the dough equally into small balls according to the size you need.
11. I made small naans as per my need. So I divided into little balls of the size of a big lime. You can see it in the picture.
12. Put the dough ball on to the surface. I sprinkled some flour before that to avoid the dough from sticking to the surface. Oil can also help here.
13. Roll the dough with the help of a rolling pin or you can just flatten it by pressing it with your fingers and then stretching it, according to the shape of the naan you want.
14. Apply oil in your fingers and then stretch it to avoid the dough from sticking to your hands.
15. I did oval, rectangle and other shapes which were easy for me. Just roll it round and stretch to one side to form an elongated shape.
16. Keep the naan about one centimeter thick not very thin like roti.

Cooking in the oven

17. Preheat the oven grill to high temperature - above 260 degrees celcius for 10 mins.
18. Grease the oven tray with oil or butter and then place all the naans which were rolled.
19. Sprinkle your chosen toppings and press it with your fingers on the surface of the naan.
20. You can brush the naan with ghee or melted butter and place it in the tray.
21. I have used garlic, green chillies and coriander leaves for my toppings. Just chop them finely and sprinkle on top of the naans and press it.
22. You can make chilli and garlic naan or just garlic naan or chilli and coriander leaves naan or coriander leaves naan, Sometimes I sprinkle kalongi (nigella seeds).
23. I also made stuffed naan with a mixture of nuts and grated paneer and sprinkled on the top of naan. You can see this in the picture.
24. Place the tray in the oven on the upper row.
25. Bake it for 5 to 7 mins until the naan puffs up (raised) and becomes golden brown in colour. Turn it and leave it further for another 3 to 4 mins until it is lightly browned.
26. If your naan is small, then it will take less time. So keep an eye on your naans while it is cooking to avoid burning the naans.
27. Apply butter on both sides when it is almost done and bake for a few seconds and then remove it. Alternatively apply butter just before serving.
28. Wrap the naans in a tea towl or aluminium foil. By doing this it will stay warm and soft for longer.
29. If you want your naans to get those dark black spots like we get in restaurants, place the cooked naan on a really hot tava for a few seconds. Do not overcook.Otherwise the naan can become hard.
30. When the naan is cooked, you will get the aroma of the toppings aroma and of the naans, which will make you really hungry.
31. In the pictures, I have shown you the naans which are cooked on both tava and oven. You can also see the naans with different toppings.

Cooking on a tava

32. Place the naan after applying butter/ghee (optional) on a hot tava.
33. Close the lid (optional) and after 2 to 3 mins you can see that the naan starts to puffs up (rise).
34. Now turn the naan on the other side and cook until it is cooked and lightly brown.
35. It will not take more than 4 to 5 mins each side and will depend on the size of your naan.
36. When it is almost done, apply butter and cook for just a few seconds on each side. Or you can apply right at the end just before serving the naan.
37. Optionally when the naan starts to puff up use tongs and place it directly on the heat on the other side. Turn the naan from one side to another until both sides are cooked evenly. When brown spots appear on the naan it means that they are cooked.

Cooking on a tava with holes

38. Cook it same as you would cook using tava.
39. Place the naan, wait until the naan puffs up. You can view this in the picture.
40. Turn it and then when it is cooked, apply butter and serve.
41. In the picture, the design of the tava also has come on the naan.
42. Serve naans with paneer or chicken dish or any curry you like.

Notes

1. If the dough becomes very loose you can add a little more dry flour and mix in the dough.
2. While kneading the dough, add few drops of oil into the dough and also apply on your hands to avoid the dough from sticking to your fingers.
3. The dough should not be very dry and hard but should be elastic and stretchy.
4. Cook the naans on a very high temperature and remove it from heat as soon as it is cooked. If it is overcooked, then it will become hard.