Naan Bread

 

MUNCH RATING: 4.5/5

 

I copied this recipe into my recipe book ages ago, but I didn’t write down where I got it from. After the nice naan bread that I’d made using the Hairy Bikers’ recipe, Steve was reluctant for me to try a different recipe. But I love to try new recipes, particularly as the Hairy Bikers’ one wasn’t perfect enough to warrant a 5/5 Munch Rating!

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

The only thing I changed was the amount of yoghurt I used. The recipe said to use 4 tablespoons, but when I measured it out from a 150g pot there was only about another tablespoon left and I didn’t want to put it back in the fridge or in the bin so I just added it to the mix.

 

I also only used ½ teaspoon salt as I always try to cut down on salt. Perhaps that’s why they weren’t as tasty as they could have been, but I would rather add healthier flavourings, like herbs and spices, than add more salt.

 

TASTE TEST:

I made 6 small naans that were about the size of a small side plate. They were just the right size when served with curry and rice.

 

Steve said these were the closest I’ve got to making naan bread like you get from a restaurant or from a packet from a shop. They had a lovely soft texture and went really well with the curry we had (leftover from a Keema Pie I made). They didn’t get a full 5/5 because they needed more flavour, as we couldn’t really taste the garlic or onion seeds.

 

But this is definitely going to be the naan bread recipe that I’m going to stick to and just experiment with different flavourings. Not only does it taste better, but it has less ingredients than the Hairy Bikers’ recipe.

 

• Makes: 4 large or 6 small naans
• You will need: a large bowl, a large non-stick frying pan

 

Ingredients:

• 250g plain flour (plus extra for dusting/kneading)
• 7g sachet fast action dried yeast (I used Allinson Easy Bake Yeast)
• ½ – 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 level Tablespoon black onion seeds
• 1x 150g pot natural yoghurt
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 100ml warm water
• sunflower oil for greasing

 

Directions:

1. Sift the flour, stir in the yeast, salt and black onion seeds.
2. Mix together the yoghurt, garlic and the warm water, then pour this onto the dry ingredients.
3. Mix to form a soft dough, then knead on a floured board for 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic (you may need a couple of handfuls of extra flour).
4. Place the dough back in the bowl and cover with cling film/plastic bag and leave to prove for 30-45 minutes until roughly doubled in size.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and split into 4-6 pieces. Flatten and stretch the dough until approx. ½ cm thick (cover with a tea towel if not cooking straight away).
6. Lightly grease the frying pan with the oil (use a piece of kitchen towel to mop up any excess oil and use this to continue oiling the pan) then fry the naan in batches over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes on one side until golden brown, then use the oiled kitchen towel to lightly oil the naan on the uncooked side and flip over and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

 

COOK’S TIPS:

• Cooked naans can be frozen. Store them in an airtight container with greaseproof paper in between them. To reheat: bake in an oven from frozen at Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C for about 5-7 minutes.
• The warm water that you add to the dough should be quite hot, but cool enough to be able to stick your finger in it for a few seconds.

 

NUTRITION:

• 150 calories, 0.6g fat per large naan

Naan Bread – Hairy Bikers

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

 

In their ‘Hairy Bakers’ series Simon and Dave made naan bread when they visited the Peak District. I’ve made flatbread before, which was good, but their naan bread looked really lovely and more authentic. So I looked up the recipe online and found it on the bbc.co.uk website.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

I had to halve the recipe because I only had a 150g pot of natural yoghurt (which worked out as 100ml) but it worked out fine. It was a really sticky dough and I only used about 100ml of the 150ml of milk. With most bread recipes you have to use the recipe quantities as a loose guide and adjust them as different types of flour need a different amount of liquid.

 

The website recipe said to knead for 20-25 minutes, which I thought was really excessive, so I only kneaded for about 10 minutes and it was fine. I decided to double check the recipe by watching the episode again on YouTube. I found that the method was completely different, in that they added the ingredients in a different order. Plus on the show Si says to knead for 15-20 minutes, which I think is still quite a long time for bread.

 

It was an easy dough to work with because it was so soft and kneading it was easy, apart from the stickiness. I had to add quite a lot of flour, but if you watch the video of the episode then you will see Dave spill flour all over the board because the top falls off the flour duster and Si says “That’ll do, that’s perfect that dude!” so I wouldn’t worry if you need a lot of flour.

 

I would advise to add the milk to the dough very gradually, so I would follow the “wrong” BBC recipe as it tells you to add the milk at the end.

 

TASTE TEST:

Despite the BBC website providing the “wrong” method, my naan bread was actually really nice. But it wasn’t like proper naan bread from an Indian restaurant, it was more like focaccia, which is still delicious! So I would make this recipe again, but I would treat it like a focaccia bread or pizza and load it with toppings.

 

So here’s the BBC recipe that I’ve adapted to show the half recipe:

 

• Makes: 4 or 8
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 9/475°F/240°C

 

Ingredients:

Full recipe – makes 8	Half recipe - makes 4
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting 2 tsp dried yeast 2 tsp poppy seeds* 2 tsp fennel seeds* ½ tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder 1 free-range egg, beaten 2 tsp olive oil, plus extra for glazing 200ml (300g) plain yoghurt 300ml whole milk, warmed	250g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp dried yeast 1 tsp poppy seeds*  1 tsp fennel seeds* ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp baking powder ½ free-range egg, beaten 1 tsp olive oil, plus extra for glazing 100ml (150g) plain yoghurt 150ml whole milk, warmed

* I substituted the poppy and fennel seeds for cumin seeds.

 

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, yeast, poppy and fennel seeds, salt and baking powder in a large bowl until well combined.
2. Add the egg, olive oil and yoghurt and stir with a plastic spatula until well combined.
3. Add two thirds of the warm milk to the dough mixture and stir until well combined. Gradually add the remaining milk as necessary until the dough is smooth and soft (you may not need all the milk).
4. Using floured hands, knead the dough on a clean, floured work surface for 10 minutes, or until soft and elastic. Put the dough into a clean lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for one hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. When the dough has risen, divide it into 4 or 8 parts. Using your hands, stretch and flatten each of the naans until they are thin and even, then transfer to a baking sheet. Brush each naan with olive oil.
6. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 9/475°F/240°C.
7. Bake the naan breads for 7-10 minutes, or until pale golden-brown but still soft inside.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• You can freeze them after they have been baked. Defrost and then reheat in the oven at Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C for about 5-7 minutes.

Chicken Tikka Shashlik

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

I first came across Shashlik when Steve had a Chicken Tikka Shashlik Masala Curry in a curry house a few years ago. It’s not a dish that I’ve seen on any other Indian restaurant menu. This is basically the same thing without the masala sauce.

Shashlik is essentially meat on a stick. Apparently it originally comes from central Asia, but there are versions from Russia, Turkey and Pakistan.
Pieces of lamb or chicken are marinated in spices and either oil and lemon juice or in this case yoghurt. The meat is then threaded onto skewers with pieces of onion, green pepper and tomato and traditionally cooked in a tandoor or over a charcoal grill. I had to settle for under the grill.

The chicken was really nicely cooked and the marinade gave it loads of flavour and kept it moist. The vegetables became quite nice and charred, but Steve said it wasn’t quite the same as in the restaurant. I think the grill struggled to get hot enough.

Overall, Shashlik is a healthier way to have curry as it’s not laden with lots of cream or ghee, plus it’s grilled. I served it with rice, but I think it would actually be much better stuffed into a soft naan bread and slathered with loads of mayonnaise. Hey, I never said I was on a diet!

• Serves: 2
• You will need: 8 bamboo skewers, soaked in water

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs, deboned and cut into large chunks
• 2 Tablespoons curry paste (I used Korma)
• 2 Tablespoons natural yoghurt
• ½ onion, cut into wedges and layers separated
• ½ green pepper, cut into chunks
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix the chicken, curry paste and yoghurt. Cover tightly (unless you want to stink out your whole fridge) and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to marinate.
2. Preheat your grill to high.
3. Thread pieces of chicken, onion, pepper and tomato onto your skewers, leaving a gap at the end so you can turn them.
4. Cover a baking tray with foil (this will save on washing up) and place your kebabs on the tray and season with a little salt and pepper.
5. Cook under the grill for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables are nicely charred.

COOK’S NOTES:

• If using lamb or chicken breast instead of thighs, then they should only take about 10-12 minutes to cook.

Chocolate Rose Cupcakes

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

I used the recipe on BBC Good Food website (my favourite food website!) for the cake and the frosting, but I used milk chocolate instead of white chocolate. Even though I’m comfortable making cakes, the decorating aspect is something that I haven’t had a lot of experience with and I want to practice. So I used my new piping bag to pipe the frosting on – this video tutorial taught me how to do it like a pro!


I also decided to make some modelling chocolate from a new book I got today: Cupcakes by Sue McMahon. I used the modelling chocolate to make the ‘Simple Sugar Roses’ as it’s like sugarpaste and it worked really well. It was quite hot today, so I had to work quickly as it started to melt!

I thought the frosting and the chocolate roses were really nice, but I wasn’t too keen on the cake sponge. The ground almonds gave them a gritty texture and I prefer a lighter, fluffier sponge. But Steve’s family said they liked them!
I didn’t have any muffin paper cases, so I used normal fairy cakes cases, so they weren’t as deep but they still took 20 minutes to cook. I made 18 cakes, so I had to switch the bun trays around in the oven halfway through.

• Makes: 12 muffin-size or 18 fairy-size cupcakes
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C

FOR THE CAKE SPONGE:

• 150ml pot natural yogurt
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 140g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g ground almonds
• 175g unsalted butter, melted (I used Stork)

FOR THE CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

• 100g milk chocolate (I used Tesco Value)
• 140g unsalted butter
• 140g icing sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and heat oven to Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C. In a jug, mix the yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Put the dry ingredients, plus a pinch of salt, into a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
2. Add the yogurty mix and melted butter, and quickly fold in with a spatula or metal spoon - don't overwork it. Spoon into the cases (they will be quite full) and bake for 18-20 mins or until golden, risen and springy to the touch. Cool for a few mins, then lift the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely. Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze as soon as possible.
3. Chocolate frosting: Melt the chocolate in the microwave on High for 1½ mins, stirring halfway. Leave to cool. Beat the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in the chocolate. Cover and chill for up to one month.
4. Up to 48 hrs before serving (or the day before if it's really hot), bring the frosting back to room temperature, then spread or pipe over the cakes – with this amount of frosting I only managed to pipe it onto 8 cupcakes, the rest I had to spread it on.

FOR THE MODELLING CHOCOLATE:

• 50g golden syrup
• 100g plain chocolate, melted (I used Tesco Value)
• cocoa for dusting

1. Stir the golden syrup into the melted chocolate, until the mixture thickens. Transfer the mixture to a plastic food bag and chill until the chocolate is firm enough to handle.
2. Knead the modelling chocolate lightly before using to soften it. If it’s sticky, use cocoa to stop it sticking.
3. If you have hot hands, run them under cold water to cool them down before working with the modelling chocolate.
4. To make the roses: Roll out the modelling chocolate to 1-2mm thin. Then trim into a rectangle about 8cm wide. Cut off a 1cm strip of icing widthways, keeping the rest covered.
5. Carefully roll the icing up and around itself. For a more realistic rose look, start rolling slightly skew-whiff so that the outside edge of the finished rose sticks out further than the middle. With about 2cm to go, start to guide the end of the icing down and under to make a neat rosebud. Pinch to shape, then cut or pinch off the bottom. Set aside for at least 1 hr until firm. Repeat with the rest of the icing.

Chicken Tikka Masala

MUNCH RATING: 4/5
 
This is a dish you will need to prepare in advance as you need to marinate the chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight. This makes the chicken lovely and tender and really flavoursome. I served this with pilaf rice which I cooked in my Tefal 4-in-1 rice cooker, but you can do this in the oven using this pilaf recipe.

This dish is actually really easy to make, as the sauce is basically a spicy tomato and onion sauce laced with cream or yoghurt.

• Serves 4

Ingredients:
About 4 – 6 Chicken pieces, cut into 2 inch chunks (I always use thighs but they tend to vary in size, so I allow at least 1 large thigh per person and add a couple extra).

FOR THE MARINADE

• 4 cm /1 ½ inches ginger, grated
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon garam masala*
• 1 teaspoon curry powder*
• ½ teaspoon chilli powder*
• ½ ground cumin*
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons natural yoghurt (this is about half of a 150ml pot)

FOR THE SAUCE

• ½ onion, chopped (use the other ½ for the pilaf rice)
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 or 3 tinned plum tomatoes or third of a tin of chopped tomatoes
• 200ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 5 tablespoons natural yoghurt (this is the other half of the 150ml pot) or double cream for a creamier, less tangy flavour.
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional) 

Directions:

1. Make the Marinade: Put the ginger, garlic, spices, salt and lemon juice into a wide shallow non-metallic dish and mix into a smooth paste, then add the chicken and mix to coat thoroughly. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Make the sauce: Fry the onion in a tablespoon of oil until softened and golden brown. (If making pilaf rice then set aside ½ of the onion at this stage). Stir in the curry powder and cook for 2 minutes, adding a splash of water if it starts to catch on the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and stir over a high heat for a few minutes until they have broken down. Add the chicken stock and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Take off the heat and use a blender to make the sauce smooth. Return to the heat and stir in the yoghurt or double cream and honey.
3. Cook the chicken: Heat the grill to its highest setting. Arrange the chicken pieces on an oven tray and cook for 5-10 minutes until charred at the edges, then turn the chicken pieces over and cook for a further few minutes until completely cooked through.
4. Add the cooked chicken to the sauce, along with any juices from the oven tray and give it a good stir. Heat through until piping hot and serve with rice.

COOK'S NOTES:
You can adjust the spice mix to your own tastes or whatever you have in the cupboard. The 4 main spices used in curries are: turmeric, cumin, chilli and ground coriander. These were the main spices that were in my curry powder and garam masala and I added extra cumin and chilli as ‘top notes’ to my curry.

Tzatziki

The first time I tried tzatziki was in Rhodes in Greece with some fantastic meze. I wasn't sure if anything I could create would taste as good as we're lacking essential holiday ingredients of sun, sea and sand in the UK but I was very impressed that this tasted quite authentic.

I first made this as an accompaniment to spatchcock roast chicken, which is a great way to roast chicken as it cooks faster and results in lovely juicy meat.

For the tzatziki I adapted a recipe from Rachel Allen's book "Rachel's Favourite Food for Friends". Her original recipe included 1 heaped tsp freshly chopped mint and 2 tbsp cream but I didn't have any so I left them out.

The recipe serves 10-12 but any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

1 crisp cucumber, halved lengthways, deseeded & diced into 3/4 cm dice
salt & pepper
dash of lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
450ml Greek Yoghurt

1. Put the cucumber dice in a sieve, sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for about 30 minutes.
2. Dry the cucumber on kitchen paper. Put it in a bowl and mix together with the garlic, lemon and the yoghurt.
3. Season to taste.