Restaurant-Style Tandoori Naan
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Everybody from Asia, Europe and North America, know and love naan bread! It is one of the most popular Indian breads and is associated with quality North Indian cuisine.
It is rather disappointing that growing up, my sister and I never got to try homemade naan. This is especially shocking since now I know how easy it is to make and how tasty it can be! Naan was always saved for our far and few restaurant extravaganzas.
This recipe is amazingly simple! You will need all-purpose flour, milk, yeast, sugar and salt. I recommend that you use yeast, since this helps create the softest naan. This home recipe uses your home oven to bake the perfect naan. I will be using a baking steel to really replicate the hot tandoori clay oven temperatures in a home oven.
What if I Don’t Have a Pizza Steel?
Consider investing in one! They are cheap, about $40 CAD and they are so versatile. I use them to make all of my pizzas, breads and loaves. I love this one.
An alternative to a pizza steel would be a pizza stone, but I prefer the steel since they are much easier to maintain and don’t have a risk of breaking.
Otherwise, there are two other techniques you may use. I will discuss both here:
Bake on a Baking Sheet
Place the rolled out naan dough on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 3-4 minutes.
In case your naan is turning out crispier than you like, you can preheat the baking sheet for a few minutes in the oven and then place the naan on the sheet. This will start cooking the naan quicker, since the pan would not have to heat up with the naan.
Cook on a Tawa Pan on the Stove-top
This tawa variation will work great if you don’t have a home oven.
Anyone can enjoy naans!
How Do I know the dough balls are ready to cook?
Visually, the dough will have roughly doubled in size. When you pick up the dough, you should notice that it feels much lighter than it appears. The dough should spring back if lightly pressed on.
What Makes This Recipe so Great?
Simply mix all of the dry ingredients together and add milk to knead to a soft and tacky dough.
No need to wait for the yeast to activate.
Naan always turns out soft and fluffy.
The entire process will help you realize how easy it is to turn flour into delicious naan bread. Here’s the process in a nutshell:
1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together and add milk to knead to a smooth, soft and tacky dough.
2. Lightly grease a large bowl. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours in a warm place.
3. Divide dough into 8-10 equal portions, form the portions into boules by cupping your hands and rolling against the countertop.
4. Lightly grease the dough balls and lightly cover with plastic wrap and let them rest for another 2 hours.
5. 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500 F with the baking steel at the second to highest oven rack.
6. Turn on the broiler.
7. Roll out or stretch the dough into an oblong shape and carefully place the naan on the pizza steel.
If using a baking sheet, place naan on a baking sheet place on the oven rack.
If using tawa pan, preheat until just smoking and add naan to hot tawa.
8. Cook until light brown spots appear. Take the naan out right away using tongs. If cooking on a tawa pan, flip the naan once and cook other side.
9. Brush molten butter and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Watch How to Make Restaurant-style tandoori naan here:
Let me know which variation you tried! Oven-Broiled, Baking Sheet or Pan-Seared? If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!