Plain Naan
on Sep 24, 2023, Updated Nov 27, 2023
Want to make a restaurant-like Plain Naan Bread at home? Then look no further. This No-Yeast recipe makes the best one ever. You can make them on a stovetop, tawa, or oven; they will turn out equally delicious.
Once you perfect the recipe for Plain Naan, try other variations such as Garlic Naan, Peshwari Naan, Keema Naan, Onion Naan, etc.
I am super proud of a few recipes on this blog, and this Naan recipe is one of them. I learned to make it 19 years ago, just after getting married. We used to host many friends and family at my place, and I found the regular roti very boring to serve with my lavish curries. So, I perfected this naan bread recipe.
Since then, I have made this recipe hundreds of times, and it has never once disappointed me. The only trick is to keep the measurements proper and follow the recipe word for word. Try it and share your feedback in the comments. I would love to read some praises 🙂
About Naan
Naan is a soft, leavened flatbread popular in India, Pakistan, and Middle Eastern countries. It is made using all-purpose flour as its key ingredient and is leavened using baking powder, baking soda, and yogurt. Some people add yeast as a leavening agent to their recipe.
This bread is popularly served at all Indian restaurants, along with kababs, lentils, and curries. You will also find it on the menu for weddings, large gatherings, or special occasions.
Naan is traditionally made in a tandoor (clay oven). But at home, you can make this Indian bread on a griddle (tawa) or in an oven.
My recipe for Indian naan bread also uses no yeast. It uses a few simple ingredients, mostly available at home, and you can make restaurant-quality plain naan at home.
Ingredients
All-Purpose Flour (Maida) – This bread is traditionally made using all-purpose flour.
However, you can replace half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour to make it healthier. The texture of the bread will be slightly different in this case.
Baking Soda and Baking Powder – These ingredients help in the leavening of the dough.
Yogurt and Milk – To knead the bread, you need room-temperature plain yogurt (dahi, curd) and milk. Yogurt helps ferment the dough, and milk makes it soft.
Kalonji (Onion Seeds) – Top plain naan with a few kalonji seeds. They give the food a nice taste in each bite.
You can also use white sesame seeds if you do not have kalonji seeds.
Others – You will also need salt and sugar.
How To Make Plain Naan Bread
Make The Dough
Add the following ingredients in a large bowl or a parat.
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- ¼ cup room temperature plain yogurt
Mix well using your fingers.
Add room temperature milk (approx 1 and ¼ cups) little by little and knead to make a soft dough.
Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl.
Cover with a damp kitchen towel and keep it in a warm place for 5-6 hours.
Roll The Naan
Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and roll each part to make a smooth ball.
Note – Keep the remaining dough covered with the kitchen towel; otherwise, it will dry out.
Take one ball and dust it with dry flour.
Sprinkle a large pinch of kalaunji seeds on the platform. Keep the ball over the kalonji seeds and roll to make a thin circle or oval using a rolling pin.
Cook The Naan
ON AN INVERTED TAWA OVER THE STOVETOP
Heat a tawa (griddle) over high heat.
Apply water on the plain side of the naan and transfer it to the hot tawa, water side down. It will stick to the griddle because of the water applied.
Now turn the tawa upside down over the flame.
Cook till brown spots appear on the surface. Keep moving the tawa back and forth so that the naan cooks evenly.
Flip the tawa and cook for 20-30 seconds.
Brush generously with ghee or butter and serve hot.
IN A PAN OVER THE STOVETOP
Heat a heavy skillet or a frying pan over high heat until it becomes extremely hot. You don’t need to use any oil or butter for this step.
Transfer the rolled naan, topping side up, to the hot skillet. Let it cook for about 1-2 minutes; you should see it begin to inflate and develop a slight char on the undersurface.
Flip the bread over and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Brush generously with ghee or butter and serve hot.
IN AN OVEN
Preheat the oven to the highest temperature setting possible.
Place the rolled naan on a baking sheet with the topping side up. Bake for about 2-4 minutes on one side until it puffs up and turns golden brown. Brush generously with ghee or butter and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make it vegan, use dairy-free yogurt and warm water to knead the dough.
There could be several reasons why your naan bread is not puffing up:
Kneading: The dough might not have been kneaded enough. Kneading helps to develop the gluten, which gives the bread its structure.
Resting Time: The dough needs time to rest and rise. If you don’t allow it enough time, it might not puff up as much.
Cooking Temperature: The naan might not puff up if the cooking temperature is too low. It needs a high heat to make the water in the dough turn into steam quickly, which creates a puff.
Wet Dough: If your dough is too wet, it could prevent it from puffing up. The dough should be soft but not too sticky.
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Plain Naan Recipe (No Yeast)
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- ¼ cup plain yogurt (dahi, curd) (room temperature)
- milk ( approx 1 and ¼ cups, room temperature, to knead the dough)
- 1 tablespoons kalonji (onion seeds)
- melted salted butter ( to slather on ready naan)
Instructions
Make The Dough
- Add all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, cooking oil, and yogurt in a large bowl or a parat.
- Mix well using your fingers.
- Add milk little by little and knead to make a soft dough.
- Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl.
- Cover with a damp kitchen towel and keep it in a warm place for 5-6 hours.
Roll The Naan
- Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and roll each part to make a smooth ball.
- Note – Keep the remaining dough covered with the kitchen towel otherwise it will dry out.
- Take one ball and dust it with dry flour.
- Sprinkle a large pinch of kalaungi seeds on the platform. Keep the ball over the kalaungi seeds and roll to make a thin circle or oval using a rolling pin.
Cook The Naan
ON AN INVERTED TAWA OVER THE STOVETOP
- Heat a tawa (griddle) over high heat.
- Apply water to the plain side of the naan and transfer it to the hot tawa, water side down. It will stick to the griddle because of the water applied.
- Now turn the tawa upside down over the flame.
- Cook till brown spots appear on the surface. Keep moving the tawa back and forth so that the naan cooks evenly.
- Flip the tawa and cook for 20-30 seconds.
- Brush generously with ghee or butter and serve hot.
IN A PAN OVER THE STOVETOP
- Heat a heavy skillet or a frying pan over high heat until it becomes extremely hot. You don’t need to use any oil or butter for this step.
- Transfer the rolled naan with the topping side up onto the hot skillet. Let it cook for about 1-2 minutes; you should see it begin to inflate and develop a slight char on the undersurface.
- Flip the bread over and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes on the other side. Brush generously with ghee or butter and serve hot.
IN AN OVEN
- Preheat the oven to the highest temperature setting possible.
- Place the rolled naan directly on a baking sheet with the topping side up. Bake for about 2-4 minutes on one side or until it puffs up and starts to turn golden brown. Brush generously with ghee or butter and serve hot.
Video
I made the naan yesterday and they turned out perfect!! the restaurant naans are so much over rated for me now !!
too good!! definitely to be tried!! and your clicks!! jawdropping ones! well done!
Looks so good. I am bookmarking to try this once.
Book Marking this one too…..I loved the idea of turning the griddle and cook it…do we have to rest the griddle on another pan??
naan has turned out wonderful neha….perfectly made
These look great. Am going to try them. Will also cheat a little for the sake of good health and use half aata, half maida. 🙂
You made this look so easy !! thanks for sharing…worth a try 🙂