NAAN

450 G MAIDA
130 G CURD
120 G MILK
20 G BUTTER (melted)
20 G CASTOR SUGAR
10 G BAKING POWDER
10-15 G GHEE (melted)(special process for melting butter that produces ghee)
SALT TO TASTE.

For topping:
15 G POPPY SEEDS KALONJI (onion seeds)
10 G GHEE (melted)

Sift flour. Add salt and sugar and mix well. Rub in the butter well till the mixture becomes semolina like (grainy in texture) Mix baking powder with curd in a cup, till it begins to froth. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and put the curd in it. Leave for 1/2-1 minute, and then mix well.

Make soft dough with milk using a little water if required. Knead well for five minutes. Add 10 g of melted ghee and knead again. Keep dough in a large vessel, covered for 3 hrs to rise. Divide the dough in 10 equal balls (approx 80 gms each) and shape into round using fingers and palms of hands. Apply topping on one side (by mixing seeds and ghee together).

Heat tandoor, apply the naans on the inside hot surface. Using water to wet hands. Close the top of the tandoor with a lid, allow naans to cook. Cook till brown spots appear on the surface of the naan and they begin to leave the side of the tandoor. Pull out each piece with the help of a hooked iron rod or a well protected hand.

Serve hot with curries.

Variations:

I- Naans can be prepared using and empty vanaspati or ghee tin, placed on the source of heat.

II- They cake be baked in an electric oven on a baking tray.

III-On a tawa or iron griddle on which they are half cooked and then placed under a grill or on open fire to brown.

IV- Naans may be prepared plain or stuffed with vegetables, meat, pulses or mixtures to enhance their nutrition value.