Butter naan
बटर नान
Leavened flatbread, blistered, brushed with butter — the restaurant bread you can fake in a screaming-hot pan.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: बटर नान.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 1 hr 30 min
- Total
- 2 hr 10 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Naan is a leavened wheat bread cooked on the wall of a tandoor. You do not have a tandoor. A ripping-hot cast-iron pan and a lid, or a few minutes under a grill, still get you blistered bread. Yoghurt in the dough keeps it tender. Butter at the end is the restaurant move. Eat it with the gravy, not as a personality. A soft dough of flour, yoghurt, a little yeast or baking powder, salt and oil needs a real rest so it stretches without snapping. Roll thicker than a tortilla. A smoking cast-iron pan plus a lid, or a minute under a hot grill, gives blisters; flip once the bubbles set. Brush with melted butter or ghee as soon as it leaves the heat. Tear it into the gravy. Leftover naan reheats in a dry pan better than in a microwave.
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Mix flour, yeast, sugar, salt, yoghurt and water into a soft dough. Knead 8 minutes. Rise 90 minutes.
15 minStep 2
Divide into 6, roll teardrops. Cook in a dry screaming-hot pan 1–2 minutes a side until blistered. A lid helps them puff.
15 minStep 3
Brush with melted butter. Stack in a cloth. Serve with the curry, immediately.
3 min
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Yeast → A pinch of baking powder and extra yoghurt
Flatter, faster, still a pan bread.
Tips
- A grill blast after the pan gives fake-tandoor spots.
- Garlic butter is a restaurant extra. Name it.
History & culture
North Indian restaurant bread. Home kitchens more often cook roti. Naan is the treat. In North Indian restaurant service naan is the bread people order when they are not eating roti at home. Garlic and butter versions are dining-room flourishes; plain naan still does the job. Tandoor ovens belong to bakeries and restaurants. A home tawa version is an adaptation and should be named as one.
Central Asian / Persian leavened breads in South Asian tandoors. Butter naan is a restaurant flourish. Leavened wheat breads cooked against hot clay sit in a Central Asian and Persian line that South Asian tandoors made local. Butter naan as a named restaurant item is later than everyday roti and chapati. You are not reproducing a village tandoor on a hob. You are making a blistered yoghurt bread that can stand next to a wet curry.
Modern adaptation
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Butter naan take?
2 hr 10 min all in — 20 min prep, 20 min cook, 1 hr 30 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 naan. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Frying pan, Mixing bowl.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
How much sugar?
1 tsp of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Yeast → A pinch of baking powder and extra yoghurt. Flatter, faster, still a pan bread.
Any tips from this recipe?
A grill blast after the pan gives fake-tandoor spots. Garlic butter is a restaurant extra. Name it.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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