Naan

Naan is the most popular Indian bread and is served at all Indian restaurants across the world. I recently started making Naan at home and I was really surprised that its so easy to prepare and actually tastes so much better than the store bought versions. The following recipe makes about 5 to 6 Naans.

 

What you will need:

• Maida / all purpose flour - 2 cups
• Lukewarm water - 3/4 cup
• Active dry yeast - 1 tsp
• Yogurt - 2.5 tbsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp

 How to prepare

Add 1 tsp of active dry yeast to 3/4 cup of lukewarm water. Make sure the water is neither too hot nor cold.  Leave it for 10 mins for the yeast to activate.

Mix the flour with sugar, salt and yogurt. Add the yeast, water mixture and mix well. Finally add 1 tbsp of oil.

Cover with a plastic wrap for about 3 to 4 hours. The dough rises and doubles up in volume.

Make balls out of the dough, dust them with some flour and roll them. Do not roll them too thin as it gets hard when cooked. I roll them as thick as stuffed paranthas.

Preheat oven to 500F and set it to broil mode. Place the rolled naans(2 or 3 at a time) on an aluminium foil and place them in the oven. They puff up in about 5 minutes and the top surface gets brown spots.

Apply butter on top and serve hot with vegetable or chicken curry.

 

Garlic fried cauliflower

Very easy to  make, yet very delicious. I don't remember when was the first time I made this dish or who I learnt it from, but now its a regular dish in my kitchen. The cauliflower when fried with chillies and garlic tastes really gooooooooood !!! Make sure the cauliflower florets are washed in hot water and all the water is drained out after the cauliflower florets are washed.


What you will need:

• Cauliflower, cut into small florets - 3 cups
• Garlic pods, sliced - 10 to 12
• Red chillies - 3 to 4
• Green chillies - 1 or 2
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

 How to prepare

Heat oil in a non-stick heavy bottomed pan. When the oil is hot, add the slit green chillies, turmeric powder and red chillies. Then add the sliced garlic. Fry the garlic and add the cauliflower florets. Add salt and mix well. Lower the flame and cover and cook. Do not add any water. If the cauliflower starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, just sprinkle some water. Cook until the cauliflower are done. Enjoy !!