Happy weekend everyone! Where did this week go? Since my last recipe was a vegan sag paneer curry recipe with homemade naan and I remembered that one of my readers asked me to publish a vegetarian naan recipe many years ago and I failed to provide one then, I directly corrected this oversight. I ran to do You see, the problem is that I have more recipe ideas than I know what to do with, my food obsessed brain just won’t stop thinking about what to eat next…
While a traditional naan – made in a proper tandoori oven – is hard to beat, making good enough vegan naan at home is not difficult at all. I’ve tried buying vegan naan a few times and it often looks the part, it rarely tastes good. I guess it’s bread after all so it’s one of those things that don’t keep. The good news is that making a vegan naan from scratch is really easy and not labor intensive. All you need is a few simple ingredients, a few minutes of grinding and 20 minutes of roasting while your curry reheats.
More about ingredients
Flour: A regular all-purpose (also known as plain) flour is used to make this vegetarian naan soft and pliable.
Sugar: A small amount of sugar is used to give the yeast a helping hand and a touch of flavor but I don’t think it’s necessary – your nan will still work well without it.
Yeast: Yeast is what gives naan its puffiness and softness. I used instant yeast, which requires no activation – it’s added directly to the dry ingredients. The other two types of yeast – active dry yeast (which looks a lot like instant yeast, but requires a completely different treatment) and fresh yeast (which comes in a block) require activation in liquid first. Follow the packet instructions and use a portion of the liquid allotted for the recipe.
Salt: Salt is used to flavor the naan and the amount can certainly be adjusted according to taste! I feel just under a teaspoon of it is perfect for this amount of dough and I also sprinkle my naan with some salt flakes after glazing – what can I say, I’m a salt fiend!
Oil: Oil is what gives the naan its pliable texture. I use light olive oil, but any neutral flavored vegetable oil or even melted vegan butter will work just as well.
Vegan yogurt: Yogurt gives softness to bread dough. Use any plain vegan yogurt that you enjoy or already have in your fridge. We use a small amount of it here so the flavor doesn’t come through too strongly. I used thick coconut yogurt because I like to eat it with my granola but the coconut flavor is undetectable in the end product.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl – be sure to use the right type of yeast if you don’t want the hassle of activation. Instant yeast is the only type that can be added directly to dry ingredients. The other two types – active dry yeast (which looks like instant yeast) and fresh yeast need to be activated in liquid first. Make a well in the center and add all the wet ingredients.
First use a spoon and then mix all the ingredients together with your hands. You want a soft and fairly sticky dough – the high hydration of the naan flour means the naan will come out soft and chewy rather than dry and crunchy.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5-10 minutes, using as little extra flour as possible. Once your dough is smooth, form it into a ball and place in a warm place to prove – double in size. Proofing usually takes between 1-2 hours but depends on the ambient temperature.
Once the dough is proofed, use your hands to deflate it and divide it into 6 or 5 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and then roll out into a naan shape on a lightly floured surface.
Cook your naan in a pre-heated skillet (cast iron is best) for about 1-2 minutes on each side. You want to lightly brown the first side and once the naan puffs up, flip it over and gently (or heavily) pop the air pockets. If you like very chewy naan, cook the hotspots until just light-medium brown.
Brush warm naan with garlic-infused vegetarian butter or oil, sprinkle with salt, chopped coriander/cilantro and fine chili flakes.
Curries you can make with this vegetarian naan:
- 250 g / 2 cups plain flour, extra for dusting
- 3 g / 1 teaspoon instant yeast*
- 7 g / 1½ teaspoons caster (superfine) sugar
- 4 grams / ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp oil (I use light olive oil)
- 60 g / ¼ cup plain vegan yogurt
- approx. 125 ml / ½ cup + 1 teaspoon lukewarm water
Topping suggestions
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp vegan butter or light olive oil (I used 1 tbsp each)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt, for sprinkling
- corinader/cilantro (or parsley), finely chopped
- Fine chili flakes (optional)
method
- Mix flour, instant yeast, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. If using activated dry yeast or fresh yeast instead, it needs to be activated first in the liquid (allocated for this recipe) – please read the package instructions.
- Make a well in the centre, add the oil, vegan yoghurt and 120ml (½ cup) lukewarm water. Mix first with a spoon and then with your hands, if the dough doesn’t come together, add another teaspoon or two of water – the dough should be soft and quite sticky.
- Knead the dough with your hands on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth – about 5-10 minutes. If the dough is too difficult to handle, use a touch of flour to dust it, but avoid using a lot of flour – you want the dough to be stiff, the higher hydration of this dough makes for a softer/chewrier naan.
- Form the dough into a ball, grease it with a little oil and place it in a bowl covered with a kitchen towel. Leave it in a warm place (eg switch off oven) until it doubles in size, it takes between 1-2 hours depending on the ambient temperature.
- Extrude the air from the dough and shape it into a disk. Divide into six or five equal parts and shape each part into a ball. Use scale if you want them to be identical.
- Roll out portions of dough into thin 16-17 cm / 6-6.5 inch circles (or any shape) on a lightly floured surface. Make sure you have at least one ready before you heat the pan, and keep rolling the rest as you go.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over low-medium heat. A heavy non-stick pan will also work if you don’t have one.
- When the pan is hot, shake off the excess flour from the naan and place it in the hot pan. Make sure the heat is set to medium and leave it undisturbed for about 1-2 minutes before checking it.
- Once the naan has puffed and blistered, check the underside using kitchen tongs. If the underside looks cooked (pictured right), flip it over and continue to cook it until charred spots form on the reverse side (about 1-2 minutes depending on the type of heat and the pan you’re using). If you want a really chewy naan, take off the heat when the hotspots are just light-medium brown.
- Uncover the pan and keep warm – stacked on top of each other and wrapped in kitchen foil – while you do the rest of the cooking. You can store them in the fridge overnight and reheat them in a warm oven to soften (wrapped in a piece of kitchen foil).
Topping suggestions
- Melt the vegan butter or heat the olive oil in a small pan over low-medium heat.
- Reduce the heat as much as possible and add the minced garlic. Let it fry (stirring often) until cooked and fragrant, but you don’t want it to brown – about 1-2 minutes on low heat.
- Brush warm naan with garlic butter/oil, sprinkle with salt, fresh herbs and pepper flakes (if using).
Comment
*Yeast: Be sure to use the right type of yeast and activate it properly (if needed). i use instant shout, which requires no prior activation and is added directly to the dough. If you use Active dry yeast, use 4 g / 1¼ tsp or 8 g / 0.25 oz if used fresh. Both of these types of yeast require liquid (use the portion of liquid allotted in the recipe) activation before adding the dry ingredients. Read the packet instructions for more details.
Nutritional information
*1 in every 6 (without toppings)