Naan

Dishoom p. ███-███

At Dishoom, every naan is baked by hand, to order. And the truth is, unless you have a tandoor oven to hand, making naan at home will not be easy. The temperature in a tandoor can reach almost 500°C, twice what can be achieved in a domestic oven. These instructions, however, will allow you to give home-made naans a go. They won’t be as soft and fluffy as tandoor naans, but they’ll still be gratifying. If you have a ceramic barbecue and a pizza stone, you can use them to bake your naan – just make sure the barbecue is as hot as it can (safely) be. The dough can be prepared in advance, but must be stored in the fridge and allowed to return to room temperature before cooking. Naans take a little effort to knead and some time to rest, but then cook in under a minute. You will need a large heavy-based frying pan that is suitable to use under the grill. Naan goes well with all kinds of grills, curries and salads. It is also used to make our bacon naan roll (page 47) and variations.