Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Naan

This recipe it sooooo delicious, we had it last night and Shawn and I already want it again (Brooke you need to try this).  Shawn and I like Greek/Mediterranean food.  It is usually pretty fresh, healthy stuff with lots of flavor.  I found this recipe for Naan and really wanted to try it, but traditionally in Greek Cuisine these are served with lamb and Taziki sauce (for those of you who have had a Gyro, they are the same thing).  While Shawn likes lamb, I haven't conquered my fear of cooking it. I've promise Shawn one year for Christmas I'll make a big roasted lamb, but until then I'll just stick with chicken:)

Here is the Naan recipe.  The dough is really simple, like any yeast dough, but it does take time rolling each one out.  But, I PROMISE, it is totally worth it.  It is like having homemade tortillas, they are pain to make, but sooo worth it.

NAAN
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp. yeast (make sure to always use good yeast, it makes a difference)
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast and sugar.  Let stand for 5 minutes or until foam so you know the yeast is working.  Stir in flour, salt, canola oil, yogurt, and egg.  Mix together and knead until smooth.  Cover with towel and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out into thin circle.  Cook each Naan in a nice hot skillet drizzled with oil and a dab of butter.  Cook about 2-4 minutes until golden and the surface has blister looking things, then flip is over and cook the other side.


You can serve these many ways, but I decided to mix my Greek Food with Mexican.  So I made some taco spiced chicken (I'll post that recipe someday because it's good), and served it with the Naan, Guacamole (Shawn's homemade, I'll have to post that also someday), lettuce, Colby/jack cheese, and my own Mexican Cilantro Taziki Sauce.  I actually make up my own sauce.  I have a recipe for a lime/cilantro vinaigrette, so I made that and added about 1/2 cup plain yogurt to it to thicken it up.  The base of Taziki sauce is yogurt, so I made it the base of my vinaigrette, and I think it turned out delicious.  Here is the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette Recipe (from www.ourbestbites.com).

Cilantro-Lime Viaigrette
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup canola oil (the recipe actually calls for 1 cup, but I decreased it because I knew I wanted to add the yogurt and wanted a thicker texture)
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients in blender, except oil.  Blend together and gradually add oil.  This vinaigrette can be served with salad greens, on any type of Mexican dish, or use it ask a marinade.

ENJOY!

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