Naan with Nigella seeds

Day 4 0f 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Today I decided to make Naan (Indian flat bread). This is my favorite type of bread to order, in any Indian restaurants we go.

Recipe is very simple, takes few minutes to make the dough. But has to rest for at least an hour before proceeding to roast/bake them. Once the basic dough is ready, one can top them with different spices, seeds, nuts and even herbs.

I have toped it with Nigella/Kalonji seeds (which looks similar to black sesame seeds, but has very mild onion flavor, mostly used in Bengali cuisine). I use them for its flavor and as a topping on this bread, Naan looks so pretty when topped with this seeds.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour - 1 cup ( I use unbleached flour)
• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
• Salt - 1tsp
• Sugar - 1tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp ( for kneading)
• Yogurt/curds - 1/2 cup
• Yeast - 2 tsp
• Warm water - about 1 cup (2 tbsp for dissolving yeast + 3/4 cup for kneading).
• Nigella seeds - few tbsp for sprinkling on top (substitute with sesame seeds(ellu) or cumin seeds)

1. Take 2 tbsp of warm water, dissolve yeast in it,add little sugar to it. Cover and let it sit for 5-10 mins.
2. Now add yogurt to yeast mixture. Combine all purpose flour, wheat flour and salt. Add this to the yeast mixture. Mix well, add little oil for kneading.
3. Cover and let it rest for at least 1 hour, until raise in the volume.
4. When ready, make lemon size balls, roll to circle shape(use little dry flour, if the dough is sticking while rolling).



5. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Nigella seeds on top of the rolled dough. Press/roll gently with a rolling pin(so the seeds won't fall while roasting).
6. Heat griddle/tawa on a medium high heat.When hot,put the rolled dough on the tava.



7. Leave it for few seconds, until you see small puffy bubbles on top. Flip/ turn over and cook the other side for few more seconds, till you see golden brown spots.
8. Soft Naan is ready to be served. Enjoy with a side dish.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti , Day 3- Homemade Bread.