Butter naan is made from a soft dough consisting of refined wheat flour mixed with milk, curd, cooking oil and other ingredients. It is rolled with a bit of nigella seeds along with coriander leaves for added taste experience and cooked on an iron tawa as well as directly on fire. The steps to make butter naan at home are quite easy which you can learn from my recipe.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Butter naan is one of the most consumed flatbreads in India.
- Serve it hot with any stir-fried vegetables, chicken or mutton dishes, or any creamy sabzi.
- Butter naan tastes soft, fluffy, buttery and mildly smoky.
- Other similar recipes are garlic naan, kulcha, tandoori roti, and lachha paratha.
The Ingredients:
- 500 grams refined wheat flour (maida) (3 cups)
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ cup curd (dahi)
- 4 tbsp milk (slightly warm)
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- Water as required
- Cooking oil to grease the hand and rub on the dough
- ½ tsp nigella (kalonji) seeds (or black sesame seeds)
- Coriander leaves (fresh, finely chopped, just a little bit)
- Butter as required to grease the naan
I found this recipe in the margins of my old diary from my college days, where I had once jotted it down while dining at a restaurant with my friends. The friendly chef had shared it, smiling all the way, as I wrote it hastily in my diary. Over time, I had completely forgotten about it and ordered them from a local restaurant whenever needed.
I made it recently at home. My husband called it a “sweet-memory treat,” and the boys loved the simple flavor. Now, it is a regular feature on weekends. That note reminded me how food stories can begin anywhere and be shared between people, packed with love straight from the heart.
How to Make Butter Naan? (Step by Step Guide with Images)
Step 1: At first, take 500 grams or 3 cups of refined wheat flour (maida) and strain it as shown in the image below.
Step 2: Now, make a hole in the center and add 1.5 tsp of sugar, salt to taste, 1.5 tsp of baking powder, ½ tsp of baking soda, ¼ cup of curd (dahi), 4 tbsp of slightly warm milk, and 1 tbsp of cooking oil to the all-purpose flour.
(Pro tip: If the curd is too sour, add only 2 to 3 tablespoons of it to the maida.)
Step 3: Then mix the ingredients at the center with a spoon to mix the sugar and salt nicely first.
Step 4: Now, mix the maida first with the ingredients with your hand and then gradually add water as needed to knead it nicely to make a dough.
Step 5: Knead for at least 5 to 6 minutes to make a soft dough. Grease your hand with a little bit of cooking oil and rub it on the dough. Cover the dough and keep it aside to set properly for not less than an hour, the more, the better.
(Pro tip: Rubbing the dough with a little bit of cooking oil is necessary as it will prevent the upper layer from drying up.)
Step 6: After an hour, knead the dough gently once again. First cut it to divide it into two halves. Take one half, and roll it with your hand to give it a cylindrical shape. Then cut small portions of it, roll it gently between your palms and make large pedas as shown in the images below. Make all the pedas and keep them all on a plate. Cover the plate properly from all sides with a clean towel and keep it aside.
Step 7: Now, sprinkle some maida on the rolling surface.
Step 8: Remove a corner of the towel, take one dough ball out from the plate and cover it again immediately. Roll it into a long oval-shaped paratha. Sprinkle just a bit of nigella (kalonji) seeds or black sesame seeds and coriander leaves (fresh, finely chopped, just a little bit) on it. Roll it again gently to stick the ingredients to the paratha.
(Pro tip: You may skip using nigella seeds or black sesame seeds if you want).
Step 9: Now, heat an iron tawa on your gas stove on a high flame. Apply some water and put it carefully on the hot tawa, the side with water facing down. Press it gently so that it sticks to the tawa. Let it cook on a high flame for a minute or so.
(Pro tip: Do not use non-stick or any other tawa to make naan. Never cook naan on a medium or low flame or else it will be a chewy and rubbery naan once it cools down).
Step 10: When you see bubbles and a slight color change in the naan, flip the entire tawa to cook the naan directly on the high flame.
(Pro tip: Ensure you keep a reasonable distance between the tawa and the flame or else it will burn the naan, the seeds, and the coriander leaves to render a bitter taste).
Step 11: When both sides are roasted nicely, brush the surface of the naan with a generous amount of butter.
Step 12: Your butter naan is ready. Remove it from the tawa.
Step 13: Repeat step 9 to step 18 to make all the naans and serve them on a plate or in a basket. Enjoy it with a veg or non-veg dish of your choice.
Recipe Notes
Butter Naan
Ingredients
- 500 grams refined wheat flour maida (3 cups)
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ cup curd dahi
- 4 tbsp milk slightly warm
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- Water as required
- Cooking oil to grease the hand and rub on the dough
- ½ tsp nigella kalonji seeds (or black sesame seeds)
- Coriander leaves fresh, finely chopped, just a little bit
- Butter as required to grease the naan
Instructions
- At first, take 500 grams or 3 cups of refined wheat flour (maida) and strain it as shown in the image below.
- Now, make a hole in the center and add 1.5 tsp of sugar, salt to taste, 1.5 tsp of baking powder, ½ tsp of baking soda, ¼ cup of curd (dahi), 4 tbsp of slightly warm milk, and 1 tbsp of cooking oil to the all-purpose flour. (Pro tip: If the curd is too sour, add only 2 to 3 tablespoons of it to the maida.)
- Then mix the ingredients at the center with a spoon to mix the sugar and salt nicely first.
- Now, mix the maida first with the ingredients with your hand and then gradually add water as needed to knead it nicely to make a dough.
- Knead for at least 5 to 6 minutes to make a soft dough. Grease your hand with a little bit of cooking oil and rub it on the dough. Cover the dough and keep it aside to set properly for not less than an hour, the more, the better. (Pro tip: Rubbing the dough with a little bit of cooking oil is necessary as it will prevent the upper layer from drying up.)
- After an hour, knead the dough gently once again. First cut it to divide it into two halves. Take one half, roll it with your hand to give it a cylindrical shape. Then cut small portions of it, roll it gently between your palms and make like large pedas as shown in the images below. Make all the pedas and keep them all on a plate. Cover the plate properly from all sides with a clean towel and keep it aside.
- Now, sprinkle some maida on the rolling surface.
- Remove a corner of the towel, take one dough ball out from the plate and cover it again immediately. Roll it into a long oval shape paratha. Sprinkle just a bit of nigella (kalonji) seeds or black sesame seeds and coriander leaves (fresh, finely chopped, just a little bit) on it. Roll it again gently to sticks the ingredients to the paratha. (Pro tip: You may skip using nigella seeds or black sesame seeds if you want).
- Now, heat an iron tawa on your gas stove on a high flame. Apply some water and put it carefully on the hot tawa, the side with water facing down. Press it gently so that it sticks to the tawa. Let it cook on a high flame for a minute or so. (Pro tip: Do not use non-stick or any other tawa to make naan. Never cook naan on a medium or low flame or else it will be a chewy and rubbery naan once it cools down).
- When you see bubbles and a slight color change in the naan, flip the entire tawa to cook the naan directly on the high flame. (Pro tip: Ensure you keep a reasonable distance between the tawa and the flame or else it will burn the naan, the seeds, and the coriander leaves to render a bitter taste).
- When both sides are roasted nicely, brush the surface of the naan with a generous amount of butter.
- Your butter naan is ready. Remove it from the tawa.
- Repeat step 9 to step 18 to make all the naans and serve them on a plate or a basket. Enjoy it with a veg or non-veg dish of your choice.
