Cheater’s Naan

My friend Sara is a genius for a lot of reasons (the iPad birthday cake she baked for her eight-year-old comes to mind immediately), but I think her idea to repurpose pizza dough as naan has got to be my favorite. You just roll out a ball of storebought dough, then fry it in about a tablespoon of oil over medium heat for roughly three minutes a side. I split the ball of dough into two pieces so they cook more thoroughly and aren’t as doughy inside. Last week we served them alongside curried chicken with apples and the girls couldn’t believe their luck.

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14 Comments

Epicurea

so simple yet pure genius. thanks! if you really want a fast meal, just eat the naan with plain jogurt mixed with curry powder and cardamon.

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bridgit

We live with a batch of artisianbreadin5.com whole wheat master dough in the fridge at pretty much all times. We fry or bake up flat rounds for use with all sorts of things (pb&j, tuna melts) but my current favorite is serving it with a smorgasbord of curried lentils, caramelized onions, and assorted veggies.

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Rachel

You can make super easy and incredibly delicious pita bread with pizza dough too. Just roll it flat, pop it in a 450 oven on your pizza stone and watch it puff up – a perfect kids activity while you pull the rest of dinner together.

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Alison

EXCELLENT idea! I live in a rural area so any way to make something taste ethnic without an hour plus drive for ingredients is awesome. Thanks!

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Maria

Oooooh, I will definitely try this. I’ve been slowly mastering some Indian recipes from Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook (which is great, by the way. Once I committed to investing in the basic spices, it’s been way easier than I thought.). Even my husband who has actually travelled to India likes my dishes, but I’ve always been too intimidated by naan (bread in general) to try it. This sounds possible. 🙂

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CharmedEarth

This is amazing. It’s like we are on the same cooking wavelength: this week I made Idian; I’m sad I already bought the naan. This will be next week.

Then, about a week back, I needed to make slaw to go with my pulled BBQ. And there you were. The first post like magic just for me: a slaw recipe. I can’t wait to get your book!

xo.

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christi @ burlap and basil

growing up our local library did something very similar. you earned little prizes, tickets for a local ice cream shop, dinner, movie tickets, etc. this is a great idea and i like how you put it all together and have them reading various forms of media.

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Tara

We did cheater’s naan on the grill tonight and served it with grilled chicken tossed in a Seeds of Change Tikka Masala simmer sauce. We used the side burner on the grill to warm the sauce. Perfect for a ‘too hot to cook inside’ night. Just brush the grill with olive oil and cook the bread 2 or 3 minutes per side. Thanks, as always, for the great idea.

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Maggie

Hello,
I stumbled upon your post through google reader. I’m from Newfoundland, Canada and here a very traditional dish is called toutons is made exactly the same way. Homemade dough is fried up and served with molasses.

Cheers!

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Meena Suhale

I am glad you like the recipe and call it Naan. Indian naan is not fried. It is baked in a clay oven and is leavened. but I like the ingenuity. I will definitely try it. But this recipe is closer to the Native Indian Fried Dough that is delicious.

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