The best naan are those you get in Indian restaurants. The worst naan: the long-life ones sold everywhere else. Though a restaurant's tandoor oven has a unique, intense heat that gives the bread a light crispness, you can make pretty good ones using a wok over the hob. These coconut milk naan have a subtle sweetness and freeze very well if you're in the mood to bake up a batch for another day.
Coconut garlic naan
I'll warn you – like pancake making, this takes a bit of practice, so look on the first couple as testers.
Makes 6 large or 9 small naan
200ml warm water
7g fast-action yeast
200ml coconut milk
550g strong white flour
2 tsp salt
Sunflower oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Nigella or cumin seeds
Extra flour for shaping
1 Pour the water into a large mixing bowl, stir in the yeast and leave tilldissolved, then whisk in the coconut milk.
2 Add the flour and salt, mix well to a soft dough then cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes. Oil a patch of worktop and lightly knead the dough on it, then return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave for an hour.
3 Lightly flour the worktop (wipe it clean if it's still oily) then, using extra flour on the dough, divide into six pieces, each about 150g (for large naan) or 100g (for smaller ones). Shape these into balls, then let them sit covered on the worktop for about 20‑30 minutes, so the dough becomes easier to roll out.
4 Have a wok ready and hot on the hob, and mix the crushed garlic with 2 tbsp oil. If you have a wok lid, it will keep the steam in and help make the naan lighter. Roll out one of the dough balls into a rough triangle, about 5mm thick, then pick it up and quickly flop it against the sides of the wok.
5 As it cooks, lightly dab garlic oil on the upper surface of the dough using a pastry brush or teaspoon, then sprinkle with nigella seeds. Adjust the heat so it bakes and puffs without burning too much on the base. Once it's half baked, use tongs to carefully flip it over and cook the other side. Repeat with the remaining dough.
6 Let them cool, wrap well and freeze. When ready to serve, simply reheat from frozen in apreheated oven until hot.
Chickpea naan roll
There's a place called Pooja Sweets in Tooting, London, that does these stuffed flatbread rolls that are either baked or fried. The trick is to keep the filling slightly moist and intensely flavoured as the plainness of a dough crust effectively dilutes the spices. Butbeyond that, be creative.
Makes about 9
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tins chickpeas, drained
200ml coconut milk
1 tsp salt, or more to taste
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1 medium carrot, grated
A handful of fresh coriander, chopped (optional)
Green chillies, chopped (optional)
A batch of naan dough
Sunflower oil
Flour, for rolling
Cumin seeds, to finish
1 Cook the onions with 25ml each of oil and water plus a dash of salt in a lidded saucepan over a high heat, until the onions soften. Remove the lid, cook until the moisture evaporates and then stir till the onions are golden. Spoon into a bowl, fry the garlic and mustard seeds in 1 tbsp oil until golden, then spoon this in with the onions.
2 Add the chickpeas and coconut milk to the pan, boil until the milk has almost evaporated, then mash the chickpeas over the heat until smooth. Cook till very thick. Stir in the onion mixture and the spices, season with salt then spoon on to a dinner plate and leave to cool. Stir in the grated carrot, coriander and chilli, if using.
3 Divide the dough into nine pieces. Roll one piece of dough out into a very thin rectangle, and spoon about 150g of the chickpea mixture into it. Fold the dough over the filling then roll tightly, tucking in the ends and sealing the edges with water. Place seamside down on a baking tray covered with nonstick paper, then repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Brush with oil, sprinkle with cumin seeds and bake at 210C/190C fan/425F/gas mark 7 for about 20-25 minutes, until they have become richly coloured.
