When there is Indian food on the menu, we often serve naan. These are the delicious Indian flatbreads that go well with Butter Chicken, Indian chicken curry, and a lot of other delicious stews. Read on here and get our recipe for Indian garlic naan bread with garlic butter and cilantro here.
Indian flatbread for curries
Naan bread is a flat, about 1 cm thick, wheat bread, which is often served with Indian or Pakistani food.
Naan contains both yeast and yogurt, making it airier and thicker than the Indian Chapati or roti bread.
Both versions of Indian bread are super delicious, but naan bread is extra suitable for various stews where the fluffy bread can really soak up some of the sauce.
Naan bread is available in many varieties, and it can also be bought ready-made in most Danish supermarkets. However, there is no reason for that, because it is really easy to bake it yourself, and then you can give the bread the flavors you like best.
Here it’s garlic naan bread with garlic butter and chopped fresh cilantro, but you can easily use all other types of herbs if you are not so fond of cilantro.
The special thing about naan is that you first bake them in the oven, and when they are done, they are brushed with melted butter, here it is butter with crushed garlic and chopped cilantro, and then they are stacked on top of each other and wrapped in a tea towel.
With that method, the bread becomes soft and delicious and perfect to break apart and eat for a delicious Indian stew such as Butter chicken.
Ingredient notes
Dry yeast – We almost always use dry yeast when baking naan. It’s just easy and straightforward. You can also replace it with about 5 grams of fresh yeast.
All-purpose flour – Use plain wheat flour. The amount of flour may well depend on the type of flour you use, so keep an eye on the structure of the dough more than the exact amount of flour.
Greek yogurt – You can also use plain neutral yogurt or other similar product.
Cardamom and Turmeric – Can be skipped, but if you have it in the kitchen cupboard, it just gives an extra Indian twist to the dough.
Butter – The ready-baked naan bread must be brushed with melted butter to become soft and delicious.
Garlic – This recipe is for garlic naan bread. You can skip the garlic if you do not like it.
Fresh cilantro – We love fresh coriander leaves, but we also know it’s a matter of taste. If you do not like cilantro, you can use other herbs for example parsley, or skip the herbs altogether.
How to make garlic naan bread?
Naan bread with garlic is delicious to serve with Indian food or all kinds of stews and soups.
Luckily, it’s really easy to bake your naan yourself.
First, we must make the dough. First, the milk just needs to be warmed until it is lukewarm together with the yogurt, and then you can add yeast, salt, sugar, and spices. Finally, knead the flour in the dough a little at a time. Once the dough is kneaded, leave it to rise for an hour before dividing it into portions and rolling out into naan bread.
The bread is baked in the oven, preferably on a baking sheet or a pizza stone. They should have 2-3 minutes on high heat, and then they should be turned and baked for a few minutes on the other side before being taken out of the oven and brushed with melted butter with crushed garlic and chopped coriander.
The finished bread is stacked on top of each other and wrapped in a tea towel, then they become delicious and soft and stay warm until they are to be served.
Find the full recipe further down this page.
Frequently asked questions
The finished naan bread must be cooled completely in a tea towel to remain soft. Once cooled, they can be stored for a few days in a plastic bag at room temperature. They can be heated in the oven before serving.
Yes, you can easily freeze naan bread. So if you do not eat them all, they can be frozen for another day.
Yes, if you are one of those who do not like cilantro, then you can omit it altogether or use another herb instead for example fresh parsley.
Naan bread goes well with Indian, Pakistani, or Middle Eastern food. You can also serve naan for all types of stews or soups where you would like to serve delicious bread.
Yes, you can also use plain neutral yogurt, sour cream, or other similar products.
Yes, you can easily cook the bread on a hot pan. They should be fried for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through.
Other bread recipes you might like
Tips and tricks for Indian garlic naan bread
- Use the herb you like best, or maybe the one that goes well with what you serve with your naan bread.
- Make your breads well in advance, they can easily be left in the tea towel for a few hours, or they can be warmed up again in the oven before serving.
- Freeze any leftovers, it’s great to have a naan bread in the freezer for dinner.
Serving suggestions
- Serve with Indian Butter chicken and rice.
- Server for Indian dhal with raita.
- Serve with all kinds of stews, for example the stew with pork and chickpeas.
- Serve with soup.
Recipe for Indian flatbread with garlic and cilantro
Here you get our recipe for easy, delicious garlic naan bread. They are much better than the ones you can buy in the supermarket and you can even give them the taste you like best.
Here we make them with garlic and cilantro, and at home, they are a hit with both children and adults when we eat Indian curries. We hope you enjoy trying out the recipe and making naan for your own family.
Garlic naan bread
Ingredients
- 3 dl milk
- 0.5 dl greek yogurt
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 pinch cardamom powder can be omitted
- 1 pinch turmeric powder can be omitted
- 500 g all-purpose flour approx
- 60 g butter
- 2 tbsp cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Mix milk and Greek yogurt together, and warm it until lukewarm. I use the microwave, but a pot can do that too. Put the liquid in the mixing bowl for the mixer and add salt, sugar, yeast, cardamom, and turmeric. Mix it together, and then add approx. half of the flour.
- Knead the dough, and add more flour a little at a time. Continue until you have a smooth dough that gathers and releases the sides of the bowl. It should still be sticky when you touch it and it is not certain that you will need to add all the flour. Knead the dough for 5 minutes on the mixer.
- Put the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
- While the dough is rising, turn the oven to 250-275 degrees Celcius. Put a pizza stone on the bottom rack in the oven or just use a baking sheet.
- Pour the dough onto a floured table and divide it into 12 equal parts. Roll them into balls and cover them with a tea towel so that the dough does not dry out.
- Roll out the dough portions into round bread, approx. 12-15 cm in diameter and preferably slightly oblong.
- While the first naans are baking, melt the butter, and mix with the chopped fresh coriander and crushed garlic.
Baking in oven
- Bake 2-4 naan at a time on the pizza stone depending on the size. Before putting the bread in the oven, spray it with a little water. Quickly close the oven, and bake your naan for 2-3 minutes until they puff up a bit, getting the characteristic dark areas. Turn the naan over and bake for another approx. 2 minutes until the bread is done and baked through.
- Remove the bread from the oven and brush it immediately with the melted butter with the garlic and cilantro. Now bake the next pieces of naan bread, and as they are finished, place them on top of each other. Continue to stack the finished naan on top of each other and place a tea towel over it so they stay soft and warm.
Baking in pizza oven
- When your pizza oven is well warm and you are ready to bake the first naan, first spray it with a little water and put it into the hot pizza oven. Keep a close eye on the bread, depending on the temperature, it should not have more than 1-3 minutes. Turn the bread in the oven along the way, to get an even baking.
- When the bread puffs up a little and has the small dark blisters, take it out and brush immediately with the melted butter with the garlic. The finished bread is stacked on top of each other and covered with a tea towel until serving.
Nutrition
How do you like the recipe?
Have you tried this recipe? We’d love to hear what you think of it. Leave a comment, add a number of stars to the recipe and share your photo on Instagram with #madformadelskere – We love seeing your dishes ♥️
Also, sign up for our Facebook group where you can show pictures of the delicious food you make! You can find the Facebook group here
In thr recipe, you use thr abbreviation of “dl” for liquid. Can you advise what the equivalent is in Fluid Ounces or Millilitres is please, as I do not know what DL means. Many thanks
Sure, dl is deciliters, so 3 dl milk is 300 milliliters milk 🙂 Hope that helps!
Best regards Tina
Hi is this your image ?
Some company is doing a scam circulating this image and asking money from people .
Please take action
Hi J
Yes this is my image. We have a company (Copyright Agent) to help us with copyright infringements.
Best regards Tina