India has had my heart for a long time. There is something about the colour, the chaos, the extraordinary generosity of the food, and the way that a meal can be both deeply comforting and completely transporting all at once. I have been lucky enough to travel there more than once, and each time I come home, I find myself in the kitchen trying to recreate those flavours — trying to hold on to something of that feeling.
Naan is one of those foods. In India, proper naan is cooked in a tandoor — slapped against the fierce heat of a clay oven until it blisters and puffs and chars at the edges. I don’t have a tandoor in my Cornish kitchen (yet!), but I do have a very hot cast iron pan and a sourdough starter that has been bubbling away on my counter for years. It turns out, that’s all you need.
This recipe uses sourdough starter in place of commercial yeast, which gives the naan a beautiful depth of flavour and a slight tang that pairs wonderfully with rich, spiced dishes. It’s a brilliant way to use up some of that starter if you’ve been feeding it and not quite knowing what to do with the discard.
The most important thing to know about sourdough naan is this: eat it fresh. Unlike a loaf of bread, naan is really at its best straight from the pan — warm, soft, and just a little charred. Make your curry, heat your pan, and cook the naan as you serve. It will be gone before it has a chance to go cold, I promise you. I love to brush mine with this delicious organic ghee from Fushi.
Sourdough Naan
Adapted from Little Spoon Farm
Makes 6–8 naan
Ingredients
- 125g active sourdough starter
- 120ml warm whole milk
- 300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp salt
- 60g natural yogurt
- 1 tbsp melted butter, ghee or olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- Garlic and fresh coriander to finish (optional but highly recommended)
Method
- In a large bowl, combine the sourdough starter, warm milk, yogurt and oil. Mix to combine.
- Add the flour and salt, Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead until smooth and slightly tacky. You can do this by hand or use a mixer.
- Cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 4-8 hours, or until roughly doubled. This will very much depend on your room temperature so keep an eye on it!
- Divide the dough into 6–8 equal pieces and shape into small balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into an oval roughly 5mm thick.
- Heat a cast iron pan or heavy-based skillet over a medium heat. Cook each naan for 1–2 minutes per side, until large bubbles form and the surface chars in places.
- Brush immediately with melted butter or ghee. Add a little crushed garlic and torn coriander if you like.
- Serve straight away — this is not a bread that waits!
You can keep the little uncooked dough ball in the fridge for us to 3 days - just be sure to bring them to room temperature before cooking.
If you love cooking with bold, spiced flavours and want more recipes inspired by my travels in India, do try Olo — a traditional spicy aubergine dish from Gujarat, which would be absolutely wonderful served alongside this naan. And when the meal is done, settle in with a cup of Masala Chai from Rajasthan — the perfect end to an Indian-inspired evening.
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