Yummy easy-to-make Nan

The whiff of freshly baked nan is so awesome!! When I made nan last time I got a compliment on this from my FIL who usually doesn't prefer any bread made out of maida. He said this is the first time he had such a great tasting nan. That is enough to keep me going for a long time now :)

I need to share this with all my readers :) Especially the ones who wait for my easy to make recipes. Seriuosly this is so easy to make and you will love all the compliments that you will get when you serve it. One good tip is that you should be serving it with any cream based gravy items. Good combinations are palak paneer, chicken tikka masala, methi malai etc. I will be giving you a simple recipe in the next post that you can use with this Nan.

In the meanwhile the here are the ingredients:

• 4 cups of Maida
• 2 tsp of Active dry Yeast
• 1 cup Warm Water
• 4 tbsp Dahi
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1-1.5 tsp Salt
• 2-3 tsp Oil
• A pinch of Baking Soda
• Butter or oil for frying

Easy method:

1. To start with mix the warm water and sugar and then stir in the yeast to this mixture. Let the yeast froth. This will take 3-5 minutes.
2. In the meanwhile take the maida and mix the dahi, salt, baking soda and oil into it. Now gradually add the yeast mixture into this and make a dough. If the mixture is a little sticky you can add a few drops of oil till the dough is comes to the desired consistency.
3. Now set this aside covered in a wet cloth in a warm, dark place to rise. After an hour remove it and knead the dough again to remove air sacs that get formed.
4. Let it rise for the second time in the same manner. After well risen you can take it out and shape it into a ball and roll it into the desried shape. Since the dough is made of maida it is easy to strech it into a traingle shape that the nan usually are in hotels.
5. Heat the tawa till it is really hot.
6. Now put the nan on the tawa and let it cook on one side. Turn around and let cook on the other side. You can apply oil or butter as you turn from one side to the other.
7. Serve hot with a blob of butter melting on top of it. Yummy isn't it..

Alternate method:

1. Now there is an alternative method too. This method actually imitates the tandoor in the restaurants. It is a little cumbersome compared to the previous method but will give you nice results. Try it when you have time. You will need an iron girdle for this the non-stick version will not do.
2. Follow the instructions till step 5.
3. Hold the nan in your palm . Now take some water and rub it on to the top surface of the nan.
4. Note that the water shouldn't be dripping but the entire nan should be now wet.
5. Now in one stroke put the wet end of the nan on the hot (i mean really hot) tawa.
6. Hold the tawa and now turn it upside down directly facing the flame. Because of the water the nan would be sticking to the tawa and you will need to hold it in this fashion ensuring you cook the nan gradually, without taking it too close to the flame and mannouvering to cook entire nan slowly.
7. At this point in time the nan will blow up slightly and when you see light brown spots come up on the entire nan you know that it is done.
8. Now keep the tawa back on the flame and after a minute remove the nan from the tawa.
9. The nan if cooked properly will not stick on to the tawa and comes out easily with a thin spatula.
10. I know it sounds very complex but it isn't try it you'll not regret it :)
11. You can also make nans in a gas tandoor if you have one following the regular instructions.
12. Enjoy your nan with some creamy curry. In the photograph I have the nan (made this in the alternate method) beside this yum chicken tikka masala that prepared. I will post about it soon.