Peshwari Naan

You can't beat a naan bread with a homemade curry to mop up all that delicious sauce, and our Homemade Peshwari Naan is the perfect curry side. This naan bread recipe is filled with coconut, nuts and raisins and goes so well with a creamy curry. Soft and fluffy pillow like bread that cooks in under 5 minutes.

Whilst making your own Peshwari naan bread might seem complicated, it really isn't. It is made with a lot of ingredients that you already have in your kitchen, and there is nothing more satisfying than homemade bread. The sweet filling really helps to balance out a spicy curry, and this side dish will make curry night that little bit more special.

Jump to:

• What is peshwari naan?
• Why should you try it?
• What you will need
• Step by step
• Is it easy?
• How to cook naan at home
• What to serve them with
• FAQs
• Extra tips
• More curry side dishes
• Recipe

What is peshwari naan?

Peshwari naan is a yeast-leavened bread, that is filled with desiccated coconut, fruit and almonds. Traditionally it is made with sultanas, but we have used raisins instead. Dried cranberries are also a good option. Crushed pistachios or hazelnuts would work well instead of almonds. It originates from the city of Peshawar in Pakistan. 

Why should you try it?

What you will need

Step by step

One: In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and yeast.

Two: Stir in the yogurt and water. Mix firstly with a fork and then with your hands to form a soft dough.

Three: Put on a lightly floured surface and knead for 4-5 minutes until smooth and stretchy.

Four: Place the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Put in a warm place and leave for at least 90 minutes (if using fast action yeast) or 3 hours if using normal yeast. The dough needs to have doubled in size. See the FAQs below for proofing in an oven.

Five: While the dough is proofing, put the raisins, coconut and almonds in a food processor and blend into a paste. It might be quite crumbly, but that will be okay.

Six: When the dough has doubled, carefully remove from the bowl and cut into 6 pieces. Lightly flour a surface and roll each piece of dough into a circle about 15cm/6in diameter.

Seven: Divide the almond mixture into 6 and place a piece into the centre of each circle of dough. Pull the sides of the dough up to encase the mixture and form into a ball again making sure the dough is sealed so no filling is visible.

Eight: Keeping the dough on the floured surface, roll the filled dough ball out into either a circle or (traditionally) a tear-drop shape. Each naan should be about 20cm/8in in diameter.

Nine: Heat a frying pan over a very hot heat. Don't add any oil to the pan - keep it dry. Dry fry each naan for around 2 minutes each side until they puff up and get a nice char.

Ten: Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with raisins, almonds and chopped coriander (cilantro).

Is it easy?

This Peshwari naan recipe is so simple and it makes a great side dish to a delicious curry. These delicious flatbreads are traditionally stuffed with a fruit and nut mixture then baked in an Indian clay oven called a tandoor, but ours are done in a frying pan and take just 2 minutes. The sweet flavour balances out a spicy curry perfectly.

How to cook naan at home

You might think that cooking your own naan at home is difficult, but it really isn't. The best thing is that you don't need any special equipment or fancy ingredients to make it.

Whilst traditionally a Peshwari naan would be cooked on the walls of a clay oven called a tandoor, most people don't have one of those in their own home. Cooking it in a tandoor means it cooks at a very high heat, which is what gives it those bubbles and char. However, you can recreate that with a very hot dry frying pan.

Cooking it at a very very high heat in a pan is what keeps is soft and fluffy, and makes it puff up. If you cook it too slowly, at a lower heat, then you will have a hard and crunchy naan and that's not what you are going for.

What to serve them with

This is the perfect side dish to any curry you have made. This Peshwari naan goes perfectly with a curry, especially to mop up all the sauce at the end so that none of it is wasted. Because this naan originates from Pakistan, it would ideally be served with a Pakistani curry. However, we have eaten it with many different curries (some not at all traditional) and it's always delicious. Here are some of our favourite curries to serve this homemade naan bread with:

• Easy Salmon Curry
• Slow Cooker Lamb Rogan Josh
• Tomato and Garlic Chicken Curry
• 10 Minute Chickpea and Spinach Curry
• Lamb Korma
• Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry
• Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
• Chicken Korma
• Halloumi Curry
• Chicken Rendang
• Easy Lentil Curry

FAQs

Extra tips

• You need to make sure your pan is VERY hot to cook a Peshwari naan. They are usually cooked on in a tandoor, which is very hot, so you need to replicate that heat.
• Cooking it at a high heat means that it cooks quickly. If it is cooked too slowly, it can go crunchy and hard, which isn't the texture we are going for.
• It needs to be cooked in a dry pan without oil, this is so it bakes rather than fries.
• We made ours by hand, however you can use a stand mixer to make this recipe much easier.
• We always recommend using scales to make this recipe, rather than cups. This is because depending on the cups, and how you fill them, the amount of flavour can differ quite a lot. Weighing the flour ensures you have the exact right amount you need. 
• If you are using cups to measure this, then be aware that not all cups are created even. Add the flour a little at a time and if the mixture looks the right consistency, then don't add any more. If it is still too wet, then add a little more flour at a time.

More curry side dishes

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