Easy garlic naan bread

It was a cold Saturday night a few weeks back and just the husband and I, no kids and it was late and we couldn’t really be bothered cooking dinner. I was craving Indian food for some reason and I looked online for a local Indian takeaway. I was dreaming of a hot, fragrant, spicy curry and some chewy, soft, garlic filled naan bread to soak it all up. I had all the ingredients for ALL of it and said, “don’t be lazy, get in the kitchen and make it” so I did. I had this garlic naan bread made in about 20 minutes flat while the curry was bubbling on the stove. By the time it would’ve taken us to order it, pick it up, bring it home and serve it, I had dinner made.

Every country has their own bread. The Mexicans have tortillas, the Turkish have pide and lavash, the Lebanese have pita bread and it goes on and on. Indian breads are some of the nicest and so, so easy to make. Cooking them on a griddle pan on the stove stop works just fine. It’s just a matter of mixing plain flour, baking powder, a little sugar and salt, adding oil and milk and in this case, garlic and finish off with melted butter once cooked.

I believe the best utensil in the kitchen is your hand so get stuck into it, bringing all the ingredients together until a soft dough forms.

After resting for 10 minutes, take a small piece of dough and roll out flat (about the size of your hand) and place on top a little crushed garlic. Fold that over and roll out flat again.

On a griddle pan (or any pan will do), place a piece of baking paper and the rolled out naan bread dough onto the pan over a high heat.

Once cooked and charred on the underside, flip over and repeat.

You don’t have to worry about the bread being uniform in size. I think it looks better a little uneven and odd shaped. Once cooked, brush with melted butter and serve immediately.

If you can walk to the kitchen, you can make this naan bread yourself without having to order take out. Indian food at home isn’t all that difficult. You only need a few basic spices and basic pantry ingredients to recreate similar dishes, like this naan bread, at home. Save yourself a few bucks and make this at home. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll be surprised just how easy it is.

Easy Garlic Naan Bread

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 to 1 cup milk (more or less, enough to bring the dough together to a smooth dough)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbs butter, melted

1. Place the plain flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Make a well in the centre and add the oil and the milk.
3. Add the milk a little at a time, adding more until a smooth dough is formed. (You may need more than 1/2 a cup.)
4. Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
5. Take small handfuls of dough and roll out into shapes approximately the size of your hand.
6. Place a small amount of crushed garlic into the centre of the dough and fold over.
7. Roll out again, ready for frying in the pan.
8. Preheat a griddle pan (or similar) on the stove top and line the pan with baking paper.
9. Cook each naan bread in the pan until it is cooked on one side and flip over.
10. Once cooked and nicely charred brown, remove from the pan and brush with melted butter.
11. Serve immediately.