When I was a kid, it took me a while to understand that people couldn’t really say my name the way I’ve always heard it from my parents growing up. The ‘Ng’ sound in Vietnamese is actually extremely difficult for people to pronounce unless you are used to it. In 4th grade on a field trip, when I told the chaperone my name can be pronounced as ‘NON’, she replied with: “Oh! Like Ngan-Fat-Milk!”. Since then I’ve always used that to introduce myself.
As I’ve grown older and as California becomes more of a melting pot – lots of different cultures are adapted and tons of new cuisines are introduced. Now, whenever I introduce my catch phrase: Hi I’m Ngan, like Non-Fat-Milk – I often get the response “Oh! And like Naan bread!”. Since then, I’ve grown much more fond of this Indian flatbread. However regardless of it being synonymous to my name – Naan Bread is just already so amazing! There are so many different variations but my love is rooted in the garlic naan. Therefore, Ngan Bread is a chewy, pillowy, and garlicky slice of heaven – not to mention, it’s a crowd pleaser! I assure that it will be a hit with all your guests and they will surely be impressed. With Ngan Bread, you can make your bread and eat it too!
Garlic Naan Bread
Serving Size: 6
I N G R E D I E N T S :
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tsp Yeast (I used Instant, but you can use Active)
- 1/2 Cup Warm Milk (I use Oatly)
- 1/2 Tbsp Honey
- 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoon of Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Tbsp Chopped Garlic
- Parsley Flakes
I N S T R U C T I O N:
- Warm milk and mix with honey and yeast. Let yeast activate to ensure that yeast is not dead. (Activating yeast is mandatory for Active Dry Yeast).
- While waiting for yeast to activate, add flour and salt together and whisk to mix evenly. Create a well in the middle of the flour/salt mixture and leave to the side.
- Once yeast has bubbled and activated – add in the greek yogurt and mix until combined. Then take this wet mixture and add to the dry ingredient – pouring into the well.
- Take a spatula and mix until wet and dry ingredients are combined. Then knead the dough using a stand mixer or by hand until dough is smooth. Grease bowl with oil and place dough inside – cover with a wet towel and let proof at room temp for 1 hour or until dough is doubled in size.
- Once dough has proofed, lightly flour the surface and take dough out of the bowl. Punch down dough and knead very briefly to form into a ball. Split into 6 equal size balls and flatten with a rolling pin. Roll out the dough as thin as you would like your naan to be – 1/4 inch is a good size.
- In two separate bowls, split the 2 tbsp of butter – one tbsp in each bowl. In one of the bowls, add 1-2 Tbsp of minced garlic and parsley flakes. Optional (add a few sprinkles of Lawry’s Garlic Salt) and microwave to melt butter. Melt the other tbsp of butter without any additional seasoning.
- On the stove top – heat up a cast iron skillet and brush the surface with butter. Wait until the skillet is hot, then brush one side of a flattened dough piece with butter and place that side down on the skillet. Cook that side of bread for 1-2 minutes until the bottom is nice and browned and bubbles form on the upper layer. Brush the top side with butter and flip to fully cook the naan bread. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until both sides are browned.
- Take naan off of the skillet and brush with the butter, garlic, and parsley mixture. Repeat process for remainder of the dough pieces.
- Serve hot!
#Nganstoptips to make life easier
- You can make the dough ahead of time and roll it out to eat fresh! Dough will last three days in the fridge. After you punch down the dough, you can form it into a ball and cover the dough ball with cling wrap and pop in the fridge until you are ready to use.
- Alternatively, you can also roll out and cook all of your naan bread first, and then freeze them for later. Just pop it back into the oven or air fryer to warm up and you will be able to eat delicious naan any time you want.
- Feel free to add whatever toppings you want for your perfect naan. A few ideas: cheese, herbs and spinach! You can also use the naan as a flatbread for pizzas.
- Remember, naan comes in all shapes and sizes. The simplicity in the recipe and the bread itself is that there is not formation you have to follow.
- TSA Approved: not only does this get a taste-test stamp of approval, it is also TSA approved. You can have delicious naan with you at all times! It’s easy to eat while waiting to board or even on the plane. No matter when you choose to eat it – the final destination will always be flavor city.
