This article is about the South and West Asian bread. For the Central Asian bread, seeTandyr nan. For the kibbutz, seeNa'an. For other uses, seeNaan (disambiguation).
Composed of white or wheat flour and combined with a leavening agent, typically yeast, naan dough develops air pockets that contribute to its fluffy and soft texture. Additional ingredients for crafting naan include warm water, salt,ghee andyogurt, with optional additions like milk, egg, or honey. Baking powder or baking soda can be used instead of yeast to reduce the preparation time for the bread.
In the baking process using a tandoor, naan dough is rolled into balls, flattened and pressed against the inner walls, which can reach temperatures up to 480 °C (900 °F). This method allows the bread to be baked within minutes, achieving a spotty browning due to intense heat. Naan can be prepared on a stovetop using atava. The pan may be flipped upside down over the flame to achieve browning on the bread's surface.
Once baked, naan is coated withghee or butter and served warm. This soft and pliable bread accompanies meals, replacing utensils for scooping up sauces, stews, and curries, or with dryer dishes like tandoori chicken.[5]
The term "naan" comes fromPersiannân (نان), a generic word for any kind of bread.
The earliest known English use of the term occurs in an 1803 travelogue written byWilliam Tooke.[6] While Tooke and other early sources spelled it "nan", the spelling "naan" has become predominant since the 1970s.[7][8]
Naan spread to theIndian subcontinent during the IslamicDelhi Sultanate period. The earliest mention of naan in the region comes from the memoirs of Indo-Persian Sufi poetAmir Khusrau living inIndia during the 1300s AD. Khusrau mentions two kinds of naan eaten byMuslim nobles; Naan-e-Tunuk and Naan-e-Tanuri. Naan-e-Tunuk was a light or thin bread, while Naan-e-Tanuri was a heavy bread and was baked in the tandoor.[9] During India’sMughal era in the 1520s, naan was a delicacy that only nobles and royal families enjoyed because of the lengthy process of making leavened bread and because the art of making naan was a revered skill known by few. TheAin-i-Akbari, a record of the third Mughal emperor’s reign, refers to naan being eaten withkebabs orkheema in it. By the 1700s, naan had reached the masses in Mughal cultural centers in South Asia.[10]
Naan bya (Burmese:နံပြား) inMyanmar is traditionally served at teahouses with tea or coffee as a breakfast item.[12] It is round, soft, and blistered, often buttered, or with creamypè byouk (boiledchickpeas) cooked with onions spread on top, or dipped withBurmese curry.[12]
TheJingzhou style ofguokui, a flatbread prepared inside a cylindrical charcoal oven much like a tandoor, has been described as "Chinese naan".[13] It is also an integral part ofUyghur cuisine and is known in Chinese as 饢 (náng).[14][15]
After being promoted by Kandagawa Sekizai Shoukou in 1968, which is now the sole domestic manufacturer of tandoors, naan is now widely available in Indian-style curry restaurants in Japan, where naan is typically free-flow. Some restaurants bake ingredients such as cheese, garlic, onions, and potatoes into the naan, or cover it with toppings like a pizza.[16][17][18]
In 1799, the word naan was introduced into the English language by historian and clergyman William Tooke. Today, naan can be found worldwide in restaurants serving South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, and it is available in many supermarkets. Fusion cuisine has introduced new dishes that incorporate naan, including naan pizza and naan tacos and even huevos rancheros (an egg dish) served over naan. Naan pizza is a type ofpizza where naan is used as the crust instead of the traditional pizza dough. Chefs such asNigella Lawson,[19] and supermarkets such asWegmans[20] offer recipes for people to make their own naan pizza at home, though it is certainly not traditional.
^Russia, or a Complete Historical Account of all the Nations which compose that Empire, London, p. 168: "The most common dishes areonoschi, or vermicelli;plav, or boiled rice;nan, pancakes, and the meats which the law permits." (referring to the eating habits of the central Turks). Other attestations in English can be found in theOxford English Dictionary,s.v. naan.
^"History of Naan". Times of India. 11 June 2020.Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved22 January 2023.
^Dash, MadhulIka (2015)."Breaking Bread"(PDF). No. May–June. Forbes life india. Forbes.Archived(PDF) from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved22 January 2023.
.jpg)
