Naan Bread

I never fail to order garlic Naan and Puri whenever I dine in Northern Indian restaurants.  My first attempt at making Naan was edible except that the butter, oil and yoghurt in it made it very heavy and I had to drag my feet to get up and do the dishes after eating two, 4 inch round pieces.  Not to be outdone, I tried again and this time without the butter and it wasn't a disappointment after all.  Served this Naan bread with 'instant' Curry Kapitan ........ yummy!

This Naan bread is not heavy, but then after enjoying it and rounding it up with a hot cup of tea, you can feel that you're getting 'heavy'!

Ingredients  (Makes 6 pieces of Naan bread)

• 8 oz plain flour
• 2.1/2  tbsp low fat yoghurt
• 2  Tbsp canola oil + a bit extra for coating the dough
• 1/2 level  tsp salt
• 2  Tbsp chopped garlic- optional
• 90 ml lukewarm water
• 1  level tsp sugar
• 1  level tsp dried yeast

Preparation

1. Mix yeast with the lukewarm water, sugar, set aside for about 5 to 10 mins. for it to become frothy.
2. Sift flour, salt into a mixing  bowl, mix well.
3. Mix in the oil and yoghurt and the yeast mixture.
4. Mix the dough into a ball and knead for about 10 mins.
5. Coat the dough with a few drops of oil and and cover with a damp cloth, set aside in a warm place, and let it rise till double in bulk, about 1 hr. to 1 hr. 30 mins. or more, depending on the climate.  Dough should be springy when it's ready for shaping.
6. Knock out some air from the dough and place the dough onto a floured surface.
7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to its highest temperature and place a baking sheet on the centre rack to heat it up, about 20 mins..
8. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces, pat with some flour to form a ball.  You can add in the chopped garlic if you wish.  Roll out into an oval shape or an oblong, not too thin, about 1/4 inch thick.
9. Brush some olive oil onto the hot baking sheet, arrange the Naan pieces and bake for about 7 mins, or till they puff up and lightly browned.  If the colour is too light, you can put it under the grill for a few seconds but do monitor.
10. Serve hot with your favourite curry.