na na na naaaaN

I know.  I’ve been holding out on the naan recipe for almost a week now!  Here you goooo :)

If you’re new to doughs + yeast, this is another great recipe to start with.

Especially if you have an appliance with a dough hook.  But if not, not to worry, it will just take a little upper body action!

When letting dough rise, make sure it’s in a dark warm space.  You don’t want a fan blowing near it, or the sun shining in on it.  Always cover your dough with a tea towel or saran [unless specified otherwise].

Sometimes I think I’m a little crazy.  For instance, I’ll start by making sweet potato apple pancakes for lunch, turning the kitchen up-side-down.  Then, I’ll proceed to clean the kitchen, make dough for naan, boil chickpeas for falafel + hummus, and even whip up a fresh batch of tahini + yogurt sauce.  The food processor was cleaned THREE times that day.   

My exhaustion was worth it though!

Sesame seeds are all you’ll need for your homemade tahini.

Toast the seeds in a pan over med-low, stirring + watching carefully.  They’ll be done in no time!

Whirl them around in your food processor and there you go.  Tahini is typically pretty pricey, so it’s nice to just be able to make a small amount at home.

I didn’t encounter any problems with the dough.  Just make sure your yeast isn’t expired and you should be good to go!

Spices for the falafel.

Yogurt Sauce.  This was okay.  The only thing I changed was subbing parsley for cilantro, because I am not a cilantro fan.  I think that worked fine, but it was a tad bit lemony.  Plain, it was a bit intense, but on the falafel it was pretty good.  I halved the recipe, because 2c of yogurt sauce sounded like a lot!  The only thing I changed was subbing parsley for cilantro.  I also used it as salad dressing the next day.

Falafel dough.  This was also a tad bit too lemony.  I used this recipe from Vegetarian Times.  It’s also where the yogurt sauce recipe came from.  I would give the falafel about a 6.5/10.  They were a bit dry and too lemony.  I added the correct amount of lemon, but I did not cook them as directed.  I baked them, instead of pan frying in oil.  That was mostly my fault, but even pan frying them, I think they would have been a bit dry.  I didn’t change anything else with the recipe though.

I cooked AND peeled the chickpeas.  I’m not going to lie, it was a pain in the butt and took a long time.  It’s not hard, but just took forever!  The idea came from Brittany at Eating Bird Food.  She wrote a post on “the key to smooth hummus.”  It definitely smoothed out the texture a bit!

I rolled out the naan pretty thin.  ~1/8”

Then I popped it on the grill at 400*.  It only took about 3min per side and tasted FABulously!!!!

Night photos that didn’t turn out too well.  I had to crank the ISO up really high!  This meal took quite some time to prepare.  The sun did not hang around. ;)

I shot some daytime leftover photos the next day though.  Much better!!

I give the naan a 9/10.  I’m sure it could be improved somehow, but this was darn near perfect!!!  It had a flaky crust and soft doughy texture.  While on the grill, I also brushed on olive oil + garlic.  mmm

It was delicious eaten with the hummus and a pile of greens.  You can sort of see the hummus creeping out from the yogurt sauce. 

YUM.  I can’t wait to make more naan and give falafel another go! 

But here is what you’ve been waiting for.  The naan recipe!  I have seen naan posted on Foodgawker many times in the past.  So, I went there and searched for it.  I checked out at least 7 recipes, all varying slightly.  Some called for more or less flour, or different types of flour, etc.

I finally settled on a recipe from the little red house, and was extremely pleased.  Definitely check Sheena’s blog.  It’s just wonderful!!

Naan [slightly adapted from here]

• 1/2c warm water
• 2tsp [1packet] active dry yeast
• 1tsp pure cane sugar
• 1c whole wheat pastry flour
• 1c unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1/2c unbleached, white bread flour [I am really loving the King Arthur brand!]
• 1/4c olive oil
• 1/3c plain Greek yogurt
• 1 large egg, whisked
• 1/2t salt
• olive oil + minced garlic [optional]

1. In your stand mixer bowl [or other large bowl], whisk together yeast, warm water + sugar, and let sit for 5-8min until foamy.
2. Stir in the flour, oil, salt, egg, and yogurt. 
3. With your dough hook attachment, turn your stand mixer on med-low [I used setting 4 out of 12], for about 10min.  By this time, the dough should all have come together on the hook.  It should have a smooth, pliable texture.  If it’s still sticky, start by adding 2T extra flour at a time.  *If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10min, until it comes together and is no longer sticky.  Add more flour as necessary. 
4. Cover bowl with a towel and let rise for 1-1.5hrs, or when doubled in size.
5. Divide dough into 4 to 8 separate pieces.  I made 4 large pieces of naan. 
6. Roll out, on a floured surface, to about 1/8” thick.
7. Stack on a plate, with parchment in between the pieces, so they don’t stick together.
8. Cook with a little oil, in a hot pan, or in the oven at 450* [pizza stone or baking sheet], or on the grill at 400-450*.
9. If grilling, lightly grease grill, lay dough down and close lid for about 2-3min.  When you see browned grill marks + large air bubbles, flip and cook on the other side for another 3min.  At this time you can coat with olive oil + garlic as well.  The same basic instructions apply for pan or oven cooking.  However, cook times may slightly differ.

You must try this recipe.  Seriously.  You won’t regret it!! 

Also, in case you were wondering….this was obviously going to happen!

Night!

<3 Ash

If you haven’t check out my Foodbuzz, Project Food Blog Challenge 1, you can do so here.  If you would like to vote for me [:)] here is the link.  Thanks so much for all of your continued support!