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If you are unfamiliar with Naan bread, it is a great time to meet each other.
Naan bread is a traditional Indian bread. It is a type of flatbread that you make in a skillet. It is not a just flatbread, but also a soft and pliable type of bread.
This Naan recipe is quick and easy to make and requires no yogurt. This recipe is probably my favorite recipe for the Naan bread as it is not only quick but super delicious.
Sometimes people mix pita and Naan bread, but although both being types of flatbread, they are completely different. Pita bread is cooked in an extremely hot pan or oven and has a characteristic air pocket in the middle.
Naan bread is cooked over medium-high heat on a skillet and it has more air bubbles than pita bread, which has one big giant bubble.
Naan bread can be served with any type of meal. You can eat Naan along with soups, gravy, meat dishes, or simply used for sandwiches.
Can You Make Naan Bread Without Yogurt?
Yes, you can make the Naan bread without yogurt. The yogurt is used to make the bread soft and fluff, but making Naan bread with yeast and allowing it to raise will give the same results.
Yogurt of any type is not mandatory in this recipe. Yeast will do the trick and turn the Naan dough into the softest and most bubbly bread.
How Is Naan Bread Traditionally Made?
Naan bread uses really simple ingredients:
Flour
Yeast
Salt
Milk
Warm water
First, you want to make the dough by combining the yeast and flour together. Knead the dough by hands or using a stand mixer with dough hooks attached. Divide the dough into six to eight portions and let it raise for at least 1 hour.
Once the dough is made, the bread itself is baked in a very hot clay tandoori oven, with charcoal or wood. Of course, we do not have a tandoori oven so the next best thing is a heated skillet.
You can use either a plain non-stick skillet or a cast-iron skillet (this one that you can pick up on Amazon is by far my favorite, and perfect for making Naan).
The baked bread will have distinguished brown spots on top. The spots are actually air pockets and a great indicator when the Naan bread is done.
Once it’s cooked, you can serve the Naan bread with olive oil, ghee, or butter.
How to Serve Naan
You can make Naan bread plain or with herbs or spices. Although Naan bread is not traditionally made with spices, you can always feel free to adjust this recipe to your personal taste.After all, you’re the one eating it!
You can use some of the traditional Indian spices such as turmeric or a pinch of curry powder, or choose a variety of herbs such as thyme, oregano or basil.
For some extra crunch, you can sprinkle the Naan bread with black cumin seeds.
Now let’s get into our yogurt-less Naan recipe!
How to Make Naan Without Yogurt
Ingredients
½ cup warm water
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp almond milk or plain milk
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil + some extra for brushing
Instructions
Step 1
Gather your ingredients.
In a mixing bowl, combine water, sugar, and yeast. Cover and let it stand for 5 minutes at a warm place.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, milk, lemon juice, olive oil, and the yeast mixture. Stir to combine until dough comes together.
Step 3
Divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll each piece in a ball. Arrange the balls on a plate and cover with a damp cloth.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour.
Step 4
Heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat.
Roll the dough balls to a 1/4-inch thickness and place into the heated skillet. Cook the Naan bread until it starts to bubble.
Flip the bread and brush with some olive oil.Cook the bread on the other side.
Serve bread warm with olive oil, butter, or ghee, and enjoy!
Naan Recipe Without Yogurt
Yield: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour20 minutes
This authentic Naan bread without yogurt is soft and fluffy, just like Naan should be!
Ingredients
½ cup warm water
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp almond milk or plain milk
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil + some extra for brushing
Instructions
In a mixing bowl, combine water, sugar and yeast.
Cover and let it stand for 5 minutes at warm place.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, milk, lemon juice, olive oil, and the yeast.
Stir to combine until dough comes together.
Divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll each piece in a ball. Arrange the balls on a plate and cover with a damp cloth.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour.
Heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat.
Roll the dough balls to a 1/4-inch thickness and place into the heated skillet. Cook the Naan bread until it starts to bubble. Flip the bread and brush with some olive oil.
While making naan, yogurt can be substituted with buttermilk, lemon juice and milk, curd and butter, sour cream, soy yogurt, and coconut milk yogurt. Some of these substitutes are dairy products while others are vegan-friendly non-dairy products.
My favorite homemade naan recipe is made with basic bread ingredients (flour, water and yeast) plus a generous dollop of yogurt, egg and baking powder to make the bread extra soft and chewy. I also prefer to use touch of honey as a natural sweetener for the bread.
Opt for whole wheat naan if you're looking to maximize your health benefits, and try to serve it alongside other nutritious foods. Of course, consider the full scope of your diet. Naan, while nutritious, cannot be a cure-all for a diet that's high in processed sugars and fats and low in nutrients.
Kulcha. This next bread is often confused with naan due to its similar appearance. While naan is usually made with yeast and yogurt or milk, kulcha is usually made with baking powder and baking soda.
If you don't have access to traditional Indian or Greek yogurt, some alternatives include regular cow's milk yogurt, coconut yogurt, almond yogurt, soy yogurt, or goat's milk yogurt. Depending on the recipe, it is also possible to substitute other dairy products such as ricotta cheese or crème fraîche.
The take-away: In a pinch, substitute buttermilk, or milk that has been spiked with a little lemon juice or vinegar (aka homemade buttermilk) and use 1/4 less milk than the amount of yogurt called for in the recipe.
Naan has a thicker, fluffier texture because it is made with yogurt. Pita is thinner bread made with less ingredients (flour, water, salt, etc) and no yogurt. Naan is cooked in a skillet while Pita is usually baked at very high temperatures in the oven.
I also found the baking soda doughs burned more easily. The baking powder-yeast dough compared to the yeast-only dough were nearly identical — similar air bubbles in the pan, similar dough texture, similar flavor — so, in the end, I stuck with yeast alone as a leaven.
Naan breads --made of refined flour--are to be avoided as they can promote weight gain. While filling up your plate, try to focus more on the veggies, preferably green vegetables instead of starchy veggies. Vegetables that are cooked in a cooker, instead of being deep-fried, are always a better option for weight loss.
Naan made from whole grain, sourdough, rye, or other grain alternatives is richer in dietary fiber than those made with enriched flour or refined grains. Fiber helps to maintain bowel health and regulates bowel movements.
And for God's sake, decline the naan bread, which can have as much as 650 calories per portion. Next, get your rice boiled and avoid the pilau - you're saving more than 200 calories. As for the main event, as a general rule, avoid the creamier curries like kormas and pasandas.
Parathas are a flaky, buttery, and layered style of flatbread that can be served alongside curries, rolled up and dipped into hot chai, or made into a meal by themselves with a side of raita for dunking.
Naan is another flatbread traditionally served in Indian restaurants but the difference is that there will already be a filling inside these flatbread pockets. Naan may be stuffed with curd, fresh desiccated coconut, butter, nigella seeds, and raisins.
One of the most well-known varieties of Naan is the traditional Indian flatbread known as butter naan. Flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and yogurt are used in their preparation.
2> If there's no homemade yogurt for starter, any good quality organic store bought plain yogurt will work well as long as it contains live culture (like S. THERMOPHILUS, L. BULGARICUS, L. ACIDOPHILUS, BIFIDUS, L.
If the recipe calls for one cup of milk, use 1/4 cup of yogurt paired with 3/4 cup of milk (if you're just short on milk) or water. Substituting yogurt for a liquid oil works best in small quantities, like a few tablespoons. Above all, feel free to experiment.
Although traditionally tandoori chicken recipes call for plain yogurt as the base, I'm not a big yogurt fan. I decided to try using coconut milk instead, and it turned out great!
Introduction: My name is Stevie Stamm, I am a colorful, sparkling, splendid, vast, open, hilarious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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