For me, naan bread is the best part of an Indian meal. But I always thought that you needed a complicated naan bread recipe and a special tandor oven to make them at home. Not so my friends!
Vegan naan bread is deceptively simple to make, and I honestly think anyone, whatever their baking level, could make them. I’ve replaced the traditional ghee used in Indian cookery with a light olive oil and it works just as well. Peshwari is my naan of choice but you can keep it plain or use my alternate garlic naan bread recipe instead.
Honestly, the almonds, coconut and dried fruit in a peshwari naan is so yummy I could happily just eat it as a dessert, but obviously it works well at mopping up delicious curry too.
So what’s the secret to making naan at home? Nothing but a soft dough and a frying pan!
(If you’re not in the UK and some the ingredient names aren’t familiar then please see the UK Glossary Page for translations/alternatives.)
If you don't like peshwari then keep it plain or use the alternate garlic naan recipe.
- 440 g Bread flour
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 7 g Fast action dried yeast
- 200 ml Warm (not hot) water
- 75 g Ground almonds
- 25 g Mixed dried fruit
- 25 g Dessicated coconut
- 2 tbsp Caster sugar
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 3 tsp Garlic paste (or 3 garlic cloves minced)
- Chopped coriander leaves (optional)
-
Mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour the warm water in. Use a wooden spoon to get to a rough dough stage.
-
You can now get your hands involved and mix to a smooth dough. Knead for around 10 minutes until you have a nice soft, smooth dough.
-
Oil your mixing bowl and put the dough back in and cover with cling film. Leave somewhere warm to prove for about an hour. (I use the airing cupboard)
-
The dough should now be doubled in size. Punch it back and give it a quick knead for a minute or two to get rid of any big air holes. Weigh your dough and divide into 6.
-
If making plain or garlic naan then move to the next step, if you're making peshwari naan then stick around!
If you want to make life easy for yourself then put your filling ingredients into a Nutribullet or similar and whizz everything up for a few seconds. If you want to stay more authentic then just mix your ingredients together in a small bowl.
Using your hands, roll your dough into 6 ball shapes and press each one down into a disk large enough to hold the filling--10-15cm in diameter. Put 1/6 of your filling in the centre of the dough disk and carefully pick up the edges and squish together in the middle making sure you've sealed the topping inside the dough. Turn over so the seal is underneath.
-
Use a rolling pin to roll your dough to about 5mm thick or as near as you can. Sometimes it helps to go back to it once you've rolled the others out and then give it another roll. The dough needs to be quite thin but you should be able to handle it without it ripping. Remember, it will puff up when cooking. To be authentic you're looking at creating a teardrop shape.
-
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. It's important to not get it too hot as the outside will cook/burn and the dough in the middle won't be cooked. (Speaking from experience, it also smokes the house out :D) It should take around 5 minutes to cook, flipping halfway. If they bubble up too much then press down with a spatula or similar.
-
If you want to make the garlic naan then mix together the oil and garlic while you're cooking the naan. Once each naan is ready spoon or brush over the oil and scatter over coriander leaves if using.
If you don’t need all 6 vegan naan bread today then I’m pleased to tell you that they freeze super well, so there’s no food waste! Once cooled, put in a freezer bag and stash in the freezer until needed. Defrost at room temperatureand then warm them up by grilling them, scattering some drops of water over the top so they don’t dry out. They taste just as good as when fresh. I’ve only tried this with the plain and peshwari naan, if you want to do the same with the garlic naan then I’d recommend freezing the naan and topping separately.
Are there any other fillings or toppings you can think of that are a naan classic? It’s such a lovely soft dough and easy to do that I’d love to do more variations in the future. Let me know.
If you’re a social media fan then my favourite place is Instagram, and I’d love you pop by and say hello. I’m @veganbakeruk on Insta and on Twitter.
Thank you so very much for such a simple to do, yet truly restaurant quality naan recipe! I make my own crusty white lloaves by hand (when time permits!) so tend to have a couple of bags of flour in the cupboard – usually just the cheapest plain type. Anyway, I’ve been trying to use up any bits & pieces – the ingredients bought for those one off recipes that then linger in the cupboard for a couple of years. I had some dessicated coconut and was online looking for a recipe. Found this and have since made peshwari naans 3 times with batch 4 proofing as I type. I don’t bother with the dried fruit to keep the cost down to just what I already have. They’re incredible!! My husband devours them and it’s so rewarding seeing them practically cook themselves. Easy, footprint, very little mess & a handy staple to turn to in these challenging times of supermarket shortages. Served as a side to a vegetable curry. Fab!! Thanks again. I. not a vegan nor even a veggie but I’m going to try some more of your recipes. Even my 10 year old son can make this work with zero supervision – and he never cooks unless it involves melting.chocolate and licking the bowl. Blessings from Oxford, UK.
Oh Anne you have completely made my day! I’m so happy that you like the recipe, and actually it’s something I think I’m going to make with my young teen tomorrow. It’s so great when kids get involved in the cooking isn’t it. And yes at least we can make this with what we have in the cupboard. Anything to avoid the supermarket at the moment. Blessings right back with many thanks, Wendy (also in the UK) 🙂
Great recipe, thank you 🙂 Instead if water, I used a full tin of coconut milk (400ml) which needed using…..and they turned out brilliantly. Had some leftover, slightly soft almonds so they got thrown into the mix too… Take care, happy cooking!
Oh Heather, what a great idea! I bet it was extra soft and coconutty, yum! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Thanks so much this is a very simple and tasty recipe. As a vegan who has missed peshwari so much this is a gem! 🌱
Hi Sarah. I really miss takeaway peshwaris too but I’m really pleased with this recipe. 😊
Thank you for this recipe. They taste heavenly! Love from Antwerp in Belgium.
Thank you so much. It’s great to get such lovely feedback, so thank you for taking the time!
Hi, my dough was a bit chewy, Any tips? Still so delicious though and even my fussy 9 year old liked them and said I should get a Hollywood handshake! 🥰
Hi Sarah! Great question. When I first developed this recipe the quantities worked perfectly but I myself have noticed that in recent times the dough has not been as soft as it should be. It basically depends on what flour you’re using. Some soak up more of the moisture. Basically the answer is to add a little more water at the dough stage to make it softer. I’m still glad you got a child’s approval though. That can’t be bad 😀