Description
This easy homemade vegan naan is soft, fluffy, chewy and the perfect side to a curry or as a snack.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (or raw cane sugar)
- 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for rolling)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil,* melted
- 1 cup unsweetened plain coconut yoghurt* (or soy yoghurt)
- Olive oil, for brushing (or vegan butter, melted)
For serving: (optional)
- Cilantro/coriander, chopped
- Garlic, minced
- Nigella seeds
- Other herbs like chives and parsley
- Flaked salt
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine ½ cup / 125ml warm water (not boiling), sugar and yeast. Stir until the sugar dissolves and set aside for the yeast to activate. This normally takes around 10 minutes. (See image earlier in the post for reference.)
- In the meantime, in a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and stir well with a wooden spoon. Make a well in the middle. Set aside.
- Once the yeast mixture is ready, add the melted coconut oil and yoghurt to the mix. Stir to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the centre of the dry ingredients and gradually bring in the flour mixture to combine. I normally start to use my hands half way through as I find it easier to mix well.
- Start to knead the dough in the bowl until you have all the flour incorporated into the dough.
- Take the dough to a floured bench surface (just enough for it not to stick) and knead the dough for around 1 minute until it forms a nice soft ball.
- Rub the dough ball with some olive oil and place it back in the bowl. Cover with either a tea towel or a silicone bowl cover and place in a warm spot in your house. I put mine in the living room next to the window where the sun comes in. Leave for 2 hours for the dough to rise. Alternatively, place it in the oven with just the light on. When the dough has doubled in size, it is ready.
- Push the dough down to deflate it (I use a fist to do so) and bring it out to a floured bench surface to knead for around 30 seconds before cutting into 8 even portions.
- Knead each ball enough to make a soft ball (don’t over-handle, this shouldn’t take more than 15ish seconds). Do this with all the dough balls and place a tea towel over them to rise for a further 10 minutes.**
- Once the dough has rested, turn your cast iron skillet on high. Put some water into a small bowl as you will need it for the dough.
- Take a ball of dough and sprinkle some flour on your working bench again. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape to a relatively thin naan. (See image above for reference.)
- Picking up the dough carefully, pat one of the sides with water and put that water side down on the hot skillet. Put the lid on and let it cook for around 1 minute. Once the dough starts to bubble and it looks dry and cooked on the sides, flip it with a spatula to cook for a further 1-2 minutes on the other side.
- Take off heat and brush with olive oil or vegan butter and put in a bowl that has been lined with a tea towel.
- Repeat the process for each ball of dough until finished. Once finished, you can sprinkle with the optional toppings.
- If you have any leftovers, cover and store them at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze them in a tightly sealed bag for up to 1 month.
Notes
Coconut oil: I personally don’t taste the coconut in the naan. However, you can use refined coconut oil to ensure there is no chance of any coconut flavour coming through.
Yoghurt: You can also use full-fat unsweetened coconut cream/milk. The dough will just be a little stickier but still fine to work with. If you feel that it’s too sticky, just add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it is workable.
** If you’re super short on time, you can skip this step, but they may not be as fluffy.
- Diet: Vegan
