15 mins Naan

Naan is a very famous leavened bread from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and north Indian regions. They are many varieties including different flours, toppings and liquids used. This is one bread I have missed terribly during my stay out of my homelands. Since this dough needs to be rested to get the yeast done its job, it needs a bit of planning. I have made naans with many recipes but the thing most bothered me was the time it takes. So i have been experimenting with a dough where I don't have to wait for it to rise. Finally it is a success and I had my naans ready in half an hour from scratch. Its a big achievement on my end. The total cooking time for making 10 naans is around 30-40 mins, I cudnot have asked for more ease :)

Ingredients

Flour                                        4+1 cup
Yeast                                        3/4 tbsp
Yogurt                                      3 tbsp
Milk                                          1 cup
Water                                        1 cup
Sugar                                         4 tsp
Salt                                            2 tsp
Baking Soda                              2/3 tsp
Oil/ghee                                     2 tbsp
Yogurt                                       1 tbsp mixed with 1 tbsp of water for the glaze

Method

In half a cup of warm water, add sugar and yeast. Let stand till frothy approximately five mins. Add remaining water and milk to it.
In a large enough bowl, add 4 cups of flour, salt, baking powder, oil and yogurt.
Pour in the yeast mixture and knead the dough. Add more flour from remaining 1 cup if required. I almost used 3/4 cups. Knead for almost 5-8 minutes till the dough is smooth and comes into one mass.
Pour a tbsp of oil in another bowl and swirl it around to coat the sides.
Put the dough ball in the greased bowl, flip it once to cover all sides. Cover the bowl with a wet towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 10-12 equal size balls. Preheat your broiler before you start making the balls.
Heat a frying pan/tawa or griddle to medium heat.
Flatten the dough balls to half an inch thickness. Make indents in the middle of the circle leaving 3/4 inch around the edges.
Put the flattened naan on the griddle/tawa/pan. Glaze the top with a thin layer of yogurt water mixture.
Once you can see the bubbles forming on top, transfer to a baking sheet and out in the oven. Bake till top is nicely golden brown. Once you take it out of oven, apply some butter on top if you wish.
Serve hot with any curry.

Note:
They can be stored by covering in the foil and then an air tight bag for later use.