Anyone familiar with Indian cuisine without a doubt is familiar with naan. This tandoori grilled flat bread is made with yogurt and a hint of honey or sugar. It's airy, slightly sweet and absolutely FABLOUS! I could (and sometimes do) eat an entire basket when we hit the Indian restaurant here. Unfortunately for us, albeit not for my hips, dining out is a rare occasion for us these days. With a 6 month old who goes to bed at 6:30pm and a lack of baby-sitters, we dine at Chez Tavel pretty much nightly. On the bright side, I've experimented quite a bit at home trying to make my favorite restaurant dishes. Recently I went on a naan-making spree. As a result, I've had naan coming out of my ears and have had to come up with a variety of ways to use it.
Now for those of you in the states, I would highly recommend buying naan at the grocery. It's now widely available in the frozen section of many large grocery chains (Whole Foods, for sure) and sometimes in the bakery section. This is one of those foods that is actually best made authentically, and unless you've got a tandoori oven in your kitchen that's tough to do at home. I make mine out of necessity under the broiler. Indian food just hasn't made it big in Brazil yet. For those of you who want to experiment making your own, I followed the instructions on Manjala's kitchen video on youtube.
Let's get down to business... What to do with all that Naan? Obviously it goes great with almost all Indian cuisine. I love to eat it with any curry or dal. It's the perfect density and texture for ripping off and dipping a chunk into pretty much anything. If you're not in the mood for eastern cuisine, try dunking some in your favorite soup, stew or chili in leu of crackers or a sandwich. Speaking of sandwiches, try replacing your sandwich bread or wrap with a piece of naan. One of my favorite lunches is grilled naan covered with hummus and veggies. Today for lunch I heated a piece of naan and covered it with peanut butter and jelly. It was nothing shy of deicious. Perhaps a pizza sounds good? Use a peice of naan in place of a pizza crust. Or maybe you want something sweet... try heating a piece, slathering with a bit of butter and then sprinkling on cinnamon sugar. I love this dessert!
As you can see, pretty much anything that you use bread for, you can substitute with naan. It's a great way to jazz up a well used favorite recipe. It's versitile, tasty and if you use the whole grain variety, healthy as well. Give it a try and you'll be a beiever!
Happy, ripping, dipping and topping!
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