Here is a wonderful bread recipe for you, Kashmiri naan bread.
For ease of browsing, here are all of my bread recipes in one place.
Another fantastic bread recipe is whole wheat pita bread.
I have made a few forays into Indian cooking over the years. I make plenty of “Indian inspired” food, but sometimes, I pull out all the stops and try to be as authentic as I can. Remember that time I made Lamb Biryani and about killed myself what with all the steeping and toasting and frying and layering and entombing? Even while performing all those cooking verbs, it didn’t occur to me to make naan, perhaps one of my very favorite breads of ever.
But when Renee and Stacy decided to start Bread Bakers and asked me to join up, I thought, “This is my chance!” What better way to stretch myself than in a group that posts monthly, right?
Who are the Bread Bakers, anyway?
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.
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We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to [email protected].
Now feast your eyes on all the deliciousness that is yours to explore on this, the first bread baking event for the Bread Bakers!
- Bhatura – Deep fried bread by Anshie at Spiceroots
- Cinnamon Bread by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands
- Fiona’s Wonderful Bread by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
- Kashmiri Naan by Jenni at Pastry Chef Online
- No Knead Whole Wheat Bread by Holly at A Baker’s House
- Overnight Country Sourdough by Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Pizza with peaches, prosciutto and Gorgonzola by Robin at A Shaggy Dough Story
- Potato Bread with Raisins by Kathia at Basic N Delicious
- Pumpkin Challah Bread by Sophie at Sweet Cinnamon & Honey
- Raincoast Crisps Bread by Kimberly at Rhubarb & Honey
- Yogurt Almond Bread by Cindy at Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Walnut Wheat Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
And Now, Onto the Kashmiri Naan
How I met Kashmiri naan
I thought I was a naan expert. I’m a fan of garlic naan, of aloo naan (filled with spiced potatoes–carbs stuffed in carbs! Thank you, India!–of keema naan (naan stuffed with minced spiced lamb). But I had never heard of Kashmiri naan until we ate with our friends Rhys and Lexi at their home in Winter Park, FL a couple of months ago. They had both had long days working in their respective restaurants (Lexi, chef de cuisine at Siro Urban Kitchen and Rhys, chef de cuisine at Cask & Larder), and apologetically asked if they could just pick up Indian take out. Please. Of course! Indian is my favorite, and as much as I enjoy food lovingly prepared by my talented friends, I was more than happy to order up deliciousness from their favorite Indian take out place.
And that’s how I met Kashmiri naan. The version I had was stuffed with a paste of coconut, cashews and golden raisins. It was sweet, but perfectly so against the spicy sauces we were enjoying. I’ve been dreaming about Kashmiri naan ever since; planning my Naan Strategy. And I probably would have planned myself into never making it if it weren’t for Bread Bakers. In coming months we’ll have a theme, but this first month, the theme is Your Awesomest Favoritest Bread (don’t quote me on that). Renee of the lovely southern food and lifestyle blog Magnolia Days is hosting this inaugural event. Thanks Renee!
According to the restaurant’s takeout menu, the stuffing in their version of Kashmiri naan was cashews, golden raisins and coconut, so of course that’s what I wanted to make as well. I used this post from Clawson Live: My Life as the Baker’s Wife (now A Baker’s Wife) as reference for the filling which turned out beautifully.
As far as the naan itself, I found several recipes that looked promising, but the one I settled on as my springboard, the Cheese-Stuffed Naan from A Dash of Soul, I chose for 2 reasons. Reason one: it was scaled for eight naan–some other recipes made four (way too few) or sixteen (way too many). As you’ll see if you wander over to Lauren’s blog, I made a fair number of changes to her base recipe. And one day I will stuff some naan with cheese and be a very happy girl.
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How to Make Kashmiri Naan for #BreadBakers
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 16.5 oz all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil
- 7 oz water room temperature is fine
- ½ cup full fat Greek yogurt (if you use regular yogurt, you will have to reduce the amount of water)
For the Filling
- ½ cup whole roasted cashews (salted is fine)
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)
- 2 teaspoons of honey (optional if it needs a bit of sweetness. I used it and loved it)
- heavy-ish pinch of salt (add after processing if it needs it)
- 2-3 Tablespoons water (just enough to make a paste in the food processor)
For Baking and Finishing
- A small dish of water
- A pastry brush
- Melted butter or ghee
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
For the Dough
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, thoroughly whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together in a bowl and then pour on top of the dry ingredients.
- Bring the dough together with the dough hook on low speed.
- Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is very smooth and elastic.
- I have given the measurements that made the perfect dough for me with my ingredients and in my kitchen. What you’re looking for is a dough that completely clears the sides of the mixer bowl and only sticks in the bottom of the bowl in about a 1 1/2″ to 2″ circle. At higher kneading speeds, the dough may not stick in the bottom of the bowl at all. The dough should be very soft and just a tiny bit sticky. If in doubt, err on the side of a little too wet rather than a little too dry.
- Once the dough is lovely, oil your hands and gather the dough into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for twelve to sixteen hours.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and portion into 8 equal parts. My dough weighed 828 grams, so I portioned my dough out at about 103-104grams of dough per ball. Shape each dough ball into a smooth round, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest on the counter for about twenty minutes.
- Press each ball of dough out into about a 4-5″ circle. Plop about 2 Tablespoons of filling (procedure below) in the center of each circle. (I did this one at a time. If you have a helper, you can do this assembly line style).
- Gather up the edges of your circle of dough and stretch and wrap them around so the filling is completely enclosed. Pinch all the edges together in the center. Turn the dough pinched side down, flatten just a bit into a puck and cover while you form the other rounds.
- Starting with the first puck you made, flour your counter lightly as well as the surface of the puck. Roll out into an oval shape about 10″ long and 6″ wide. You will think it won’t roll out this big, but you will be wrong, because I was wrong to begin with. The first puck I rolled was small and too fat. It still tasted good, but it wasn’t really naan. Try not to let any filling smoosh out, but if some does, don’t worry about it. Just put some flour on those spots and keep going.
- Flip the dough from one side to the other and keep rolling it until it is no more than 1/4″ thick. You may roll all the dough “halfway,” and then go back and roll them fully once they’ve rested a bit. Keep the dough covered.
- Heat a well-seasoned 12″ cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it is very, very hot.
- Lightly brush one side of a dough oval (doughval?) with water. Slap that side down into the hot pan. Quickly brush water on the side facing up and stab the dough all over with a fork. Slap a lid on and set the timer for a minute.
- After the minute is up, check the bottom of the bread, It should have some char marks on it in a few places. If not, re-lid and bake another 30 seconds or so. Through trial and error, I found that 90 seconds per side when rolled very thin worked perfectly for me.
- When the dough is ready to flip, stab any places that have bubbled up with the fork. Flip the bread, and re-lid for another 60-90 seconds (again, if you’ve rolled it very thin. If your dough is a bit thicker, it will have to cook longer and you may need to turn the heat down a bit so it doesn’t completely burn up).
- Place the naan in a warm oven and repeat with the remaining dough rounds.
- To serve, lightly brush the naan with melted butter or ghee and then sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
To Make the Filling
- Place the cashews, raisins and coconut in the bowl of your food processor.
- Pulse until coarsely chopped.
- Stream in 2 Tablespoons of the water and pulse/process until you end up with a grainy paste that is fairly uniform in consistency. If it seems a bit dry, add a bit extra water and process again.
- Add in the honey, if using, and process again, scraping the processor bowl as necessary.
- Taste. If you think it needs a bit more salt, add it. You will end up with about 1 cup of paste, enough for 2-ish Tablespoons per naan.
Did You Make Any Changes?
The subtle sweetness of this bread is a lovely foil to spicy Indian sauces. I do hope you give this one a try. I, for one, am Smitten!
Thank you so much for spending some time here today. I hope you’ve found some inspiration, and I hope I’ve made you hungry. Have a lovely day.
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Wow,Love this recipe! Indian food is a yummy,I will try this in next holiday. Looking forward to your new one. Beautiful photos too!
Thanks very much–it really is good stuff! I hope you enjoy it. =)
Your naan bread sounds wonderful! No wonder your mouth was watering after you tried it the first time.
Thank you, Beth! It really did turn out great, especially after I got brave enough to roll them out really thin! 🙂
You make it look so easy the now I want to make this bread and eat it all.
That is a huge compliment, Kathia, thank you! It isn’t too hard, and I highly recommend making some! Yes, and eat it all! lol
I never knew that naan could be stuffed. Where the heck have I been??? This looks amazing and, actually, pretty user friendly. Thanks for making it this way!
Thanks, Betsy! It really isn’t too hard to make. I just had to learn to be firm when rolling it out. It’s more important that it be thin than that the filling doesn’t squish out a little!
Wow, LOVE this! Indian food is a fave and I’ve gotten very into Indian breads lately–my daughter and I just took a class all about them this past weekend–so I can’t wait to try these. I’ve got a major aversion to nuts but I’ve learned to deal with cashews like a big girl, so this sweet naan should be a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Beautiful photos too!
I find that cashews are an excellent Gateway Nut, Robin! lol The Indian breads class sounds like a lot of fun–I would enjoy something like that!
Well, my miss Jenni, now I need to try naan. It’s been on the list for a long time, but you’ve pushed me over the edge =)
I guess we’re all being pushed over the edge with this bread group–love it!
You’ve opened the door to the wonderful world of naan possibilities for me! I have only made plain naan, and if I order it when out I have not been adventurous. That will change. Your Kashmiri naan looks wonderful and is calling my name.
I am telling you, especially if you’re a carb fan, get (or make) aloo naan! So good! And this one isn’t too shabby either! =)
Oh my! Indian food is my favorite! I’ve never made naan before, but I think I have to now! Great post!
Indian is my all-time favorite cuisine too, and it was just a shame that I’d never made naan. So glad I did, and I will definitely make it again!
My mouth is drooling imagining all the wonderful flavors that these dishes have. I haven’t made naan before but I sure do love it!! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
This was my first time too, Tara, but it certainly won’t be my last. So delicious!
Oh hello Kashmiri Naan. You look quite delightful! Now if only you would travel and come see your Kashmiri friend in Denver! Looks incredible, Jenni. Just the perfect balance of sweet and nuttiness.
Oh, hooray! I’m so glad you like it, Anshie–I’ve been awaiting your Kashmiri seal of approval! =) I must sadly report that the naan is all gone. So sad. I shall have to make more!
I have never heard of a filled naan before! This looks and sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try this!
I’ve only ever had filled naan, Kelster! So many things to stuff inside! =)
Now I thought I loved naan and yet thanks to you I can see I haven’t even touched the surface of it. The kasmiri naan sounds and looks incredible.
Thanks so much for joining in Bread Bakers and all those kind words. xoxo
Yes, Kashmiri “sweet naan” was a revelation for me, too. So fantastic, Renee! And I’m Very happy to be in the Bread Bakers group! xoxo
Ooooh, Jenni! I want that bread but really, I want that entire meal. That sauce! What gorgeous photographs! Can you believe that never in my whole life have I had a sweet naan? Yours sounds wonderful with the honey and the cashews and the raisins. And, oh, my goodness, the coconut. I can’t forget the coconut! Off to work on my Sweet Naan Strategy!
Thank you so much for joining us for the inaugural month of Bread Bakers!
It was my pleasure and just the kick in the pants I needed to stop thinking about Kashmiri naan and start making it, Stacy! I’ve seen other versions, but many contained maraschino cherries and a bunch of extra sugar. This version has just the right amount of sweetness for me. Yay! And that sauce started with jarred tikka masala simmer sauce. I added a boatload of onion, some whole stewed tomatoes, yogurt and some extra spices. 🙂
I must try this naan with this filling. Cashews, raisins and coconut, wow!
Hi, Cindy! I really do recommend this filling combo–and you can also use almonds if you prefer. It doesn’t seem like there are hard and fast rules.