Avocado naans
Some ripe avocado in the dough is a wonderful twist on the traditional naan bread, and a wonderful way to make it soy-free (as I usually use soy yogurt in the dough). This is how I avoid wasting overly ripe avocados, and the naans turn out just as soft and fluffy as the yogurt-based version (albeit not as protein rich).
Recipe taken from Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen Cookbook.
Ingredients
- 500g white flour
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 173g ripe avocado
- 30g canola oil
- 140g warm water
Instructions
- Mix together the sugar, water, and yeast and let it sit for ~ 10 min to get bubbly.
- In a large bowl, mash the avocado with the oil.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Briefly mix.
- Add the yeast mix, and knead the dough until it is nice and smooth.
- Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it double in size at room temperature (~3h).
- Punch the dough down to let the air out, and divide the dough into 8 balls.
- Flatten each ball on a floured surface with your hands or with a rolling pin, making sure not to overstretch the dough (it shouldn't be too thin or else it will dry out).
- Heat up a pan on the stove over medium/high heat.
- Cook naans in the pan for a few minutes on each side, without adding any oil/grease to it. The dough is fatty enough that it won't stick to the pan. I usually cook one side of the naan over high heat for ~ 1 min, then flip it over, reduce to medium heat and cover the pan with a lid. This ensures the naan is cooked through, and maintains a decent amount of moisture.
- Let the naans cool down on a rack very briefly. Enjoy with any Indian curry, preferably lean ones such as a brown chickpea curry, a red lentil dal tadka, a brown lentil stew, or a brown lentil dal with green beans.