A CRUST OF BREAD & A CORNER TO BLOG IN…LIFE IS!
“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”
Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Have been on an Indian flatbread making spree of late. Recently rediscovered a book that I haven’t used in a while…The Indian Menu Planner. The recipes in this book have been put together by the master chefs of the Welcomgroup Maurya Sheraton Hotel & Towers, New Delhi. With loads of naans popping up every now & then, that was the first bread I wanted to try, & the second on my list was tandoori roti, an unleavened bread made from wholewheat flour. Both came out delicious. 
The naan needs prior preparation as it is a leavened bread, but the tandoori roti can be made with about 30 minutes in hand.
The naan needs prior preparation as it is a leavened bread, but the tandoori roti can be made with about 30 minutes in hand.
To make these flatbreads, I use a contraption substituting a tandoor. It is basically a simple ‘black box’, with a heater element, under which a metallic tray slides in like a drawer. It goes up to very high temperatures & is ideal for making these; each bread takes 2-3 minutes.
The oven serves the purpose quite well though, just takes a wee bit longer! These breads are ideally served fresh & hot with Indian meals like a butter chicken, dal makhani, tadka dal, tandoori chicken, vegetables, smoked butter paneer, kebabs etc. 
NAAN as adapted from the Indian Menu Planner…
Naan…A light leavened Indian bread that can be made rich by applying butter when ready.
Naans are traditionally cooked in a Tandoor or earthen oven but can also be made in your oven at home. Serve this delicious bread hot, with popular dishes like Tandoori Chicken or kebabs of different kinds. The dough for Naans needs to be made in advance so factor that into the preparation time.
“Crusty, yet tender, delicious NAAN…”My entry for CLICK:September 2008 @ Jugalbandi
…the call this month is for ‘CRUSTS’!
Ingredients:
Flour -2 cups
Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
Soda bicarb – 1 tsp
Baking powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Milk – 4 tbsps
Yogurt – 7 tsp
Sugar – 3 tsp
Oil – 3 tbsps
Water -1 cup
Method:
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Sieve the flour, salt, soda bicarb & baking powder into a kneading platter / bowl.
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Whisk the milk, yogurt & sugar together.
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Make a well in the flour, add the cup of water & milk mixture & knead to a soft, smooth dough. Add more water if required.
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Cover with a moist cloth & keep aside for 10 minutes.
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Add the oil & knead again until all the oil has been absorbed by the dough.
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Cover with a moist cloth, & keep in warm place for 2 hours until the dough rises.
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Divide the dough into 10 balls. Flatten & sprinkle nigella (onion seeds, not Lawson), melon & sesame seeds. Cover & rest for 5 minutes.
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Roll & flatten each ball within your palms. Stretch dough to one side to give the naan an elongated shape.
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Place the naan on a greased or foil lined tray & bake in hot oven, at 190 degrees C for 10 minutes.
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Brush with melted butter or ghee if desired & serve immediately.
Tandoori Roti as made from The Indian Menu Planner
A popular unleavened, wholewheat flour bread, baked in cylindrical clay ovens or the tandoor. It is the staple bread of most of rural North India.
Ingredients:
Wholewheat flour – 2 cups
Salt – 1 tsp
Water to knead
Clarified butter/ghee to grease baking tray (I lined my tray with foil & omitted the ghee)
Method:
-
Sieve the flour & salt into a kneading platter / bowl.
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Make a well & pour in about 300 ml (a little more than a cup) of water, & knead to a soft dough. Add more water if desired. The dough should be silky smooth & not sticky.
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Cover with a damp cloth & set aside for 20 minutes.
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Divide into 8 portions. make into balls & dust with flour.
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Pat & flatten each ball with the palms of your hand to make 6″ wide discs.
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Place on greased tray/foil lined tray & bake for 5-6 minutes in an oven preheated at 180 degrees C.
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Brush with melted ghee if desired. Serve hot.
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
28 Comments
Manggy
I NEED THAT MACHINE. Ha ha ha. Maybe I can just use my oven toaster– prop up the tray inside so it’s very close to the heating element.
My naan was a disaster. The flour wasn’t any good and I wasn’t thinking, so it didn’t rise. Sigh. Just mail me some of your delicious, well-risen ones…
Divya Vikram
Love the machine..Lovely naans.
Ivy
Ooooh, I like that black box. Your bread looks perfect, the smell is penetrating through my screen.
bee
that is real food porn. nothing excites me more than seared breads.
noble pig
Oh wow this looks so good! I love breads cooked this way.
Salt N Turmeric
I love naan with chicken tandoori. its been 4 yrs since i had any tho. Your naan looks so good.
Elle
Someone please tell me why I’m surfing food blogs right before dinner. These look so beautiful and delicious! All of them!
Bonbon Oiseau
wow! you have a table top tandoor lucky lady!!! your naan look incredible–i want some! now!
Maria
That is great machine! Your bread is fabulous!
Cham
Wow, love the machine and of course ur tasty bread Deeba 🙂 They re absolutely delish!
meeso
Yum, all those breads are making me hungry!
Cynthia
I too love to make flat breads. The only thing is that I don’t get the time to make them as often or to experiment 🙁
Bellini Valli
I wonder if there would be anything like that little black box available here?
Helene
Some day I’ll have to try to made these. Thanks.
Meeta
wow! i love this post. brilliant ideas and recipe – each crust looking better than the other.
btw: did you know my dad worked for 2/3 months at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel & Towers and we got to stay there! i love the restaurant bukhara and the disco !!!
Myah
This ia an awesome blog. Im so glad I stopped by.
arundati
ooo…. i should just swipe my mother’s electric tandoor on the next trip….its anyways sitting sadly in its box on the attic….loved the breads….they look lovely….
nicisme
I love home-made Indian breads, and I’m liking that black box even more! Great post Deeba.
Jeanne
I love the black box instead of a tandoor – too clever! All the breads look sublime and fluffy – just perfect 🙂 Thanks for sharing these recipes.
Gloria (Canela)
Deeba, really I would take this machine is lovely! your bread is crusty and yummy, lovely!! xxGloria
Simran
I love bread in all it’s forms. But naan’s the best, always!
A_and_N
Love it! Want some naan now 🙁
Bharti
Naans are the only reason I go to Indian restaurants. Everything else can be made at home for me except these guys. Obviously, you have no such issues Deeba. Your naans look outta this world! Lucky family- tw.
Cynthia
i love naans, plain, laced with garlic or stuffed with cheese or kashmiri style. yours looks incredibly lovely! 🙂
Aran
i love naan and these photos are fantastic!
Rajani
oh this is great. my brother bought one of this tandoor for our home and it just basically sits around gathering dust until one of us reaches home. last time i made practically oil free koftas in this – the brother made pizza – never got around to tandoori roti. now that i am home, i will now make some roti etc – thanks to your recipe!
Pearlsofeast
Deeba,couldn’t resist and I made ur Naan,was really great.Rohan loved it.We had it with Chole.
The Cooking Ninja
I'm making your tandoori naans tonite 🙂