This garlic butter naan recipe is perfect for making homemade flatbread at home without a tandoor. By using a cast iron skillet, you can mimic the high even heat of a tandoor and get beautiful bubbles and delicious char on your naan. Pressing fresh garlic and cilantro into the naan, then brushing it with melted ghee is one of my favorite ways to enjoy naan.
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Instructions
In a microwave safe container or on the stovetop, warm the ⅔ cup milk until it’s about 110F (about 45 seconds, use a thermometer to check). In a medium bowl or large measuring cup: add ½ cup of warmed milk, yogurt and 2 tsp oil. Whisk to combine.
In a large bowl add: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp sugar, instant yeast, ½ tsp kosher salt and mix to combine all the ingredients.
Pour half of the milk mixture into the dry bowl ingredients and using a silicone spatula, stirring to combine with the flour. Continue stirring while slowly adding the rest of the milk mixture. Dough should be sticky, if it is too dry add a little bit more of the warmed milk you had leftover.
Lightly dust the countertop with flour and oil your hands with a little bit of olive oil. Begin kneading the dough for it to come together. Continue to knead for 5 minutes, dough should be sticky. If it is overly sticky, add a little more flour, but you want it to remain tacky to the finger. Cover and allow to rise for 2 hours in a warm place.
After 2 hours remove cover and punch down on the dough to deflate.Rub a little olive oil on your hands and divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each one into a ball.
Sprinkle a little flour on your countertop and on your rolling pin. Place a ball of dough down and roll it into a thin oval. Sprinkle some of the garlic and chopped cilantro over the top and roll the pin once more over the top to press it into the dough. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Once it’s very hot, place the naan on the skillet and allow it to cook for 1 minute, it should bubble. Flip it over and cook another 1 minute.
Remove from skillet and immediately brush with melted ghee, then place on a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining naan.
Notes
Naan is best served warm freshly prepared
You can freeze the naan for up to 6 months. Warm in an oven at 350F until warmed through to enjoy at a later date.
If using active dry yeast, bloom the yeast in ¼ cup of the warm milk + the sugar from the recipe for 5 minutes prior to incorporating into the recipe.
If you do not have ghee (although it is highly recommended to use when making this recipe), you can substitute clarified butter, olive oil, or coconut oil. In a pinch you can use unsalted butter. This recipe has only been tested using ghee, not the other substitutions.
I have tested this recipe using ¾ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp baking soda instead of the yeast. It also yields delicious naan, but texturally I preferred using the yeast.
*See in-post for step-by-step photos of making this recipe*