Indian Appetizer
GARLIC NAAN
INGREDIENTS – NAAN
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons yeast (room temperature)
⅓ cup warm water
3⅓ cups flour
½ cup warm milk
¼ cup olive oil (a total of 6⅓ tablespoon more later)
½ cup plain yogurt
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil (5⅓ tablespoons more later)
5⅓ tablespoons olive oil (16 times with 1 teaspoon each time)
INGREDIENTS – GARLIC SAUCE
2½ tablespoons ghee or butter
1½ tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Makes 8 naans. Takes 2 hours.
PREPARATION – NAAN
Add sugar, yeast, and warm water to large mixing bowl. Mix with fork until sugar and yeast dissolve. Let sit for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add flour, warm milk, ¼ cup olive oil, yogurt, and salt. Mix with fork until well blended. Knead with hands until a smooth dough ball forms. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Rotate dough ball in oil until well coated. Cover and let sit for 1 hour or until dough ball doubles in size. Push down on dough.
Add dough ball to flat surface. Divide dough ball into 8 mini-dough balls. Dust flat surface with 2 tablespoons flour.) Roll out mini-dough balls until they are ⅛”-to-¼” thick and about 6″ wide. These are your naans. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan. Warm at medium-high heat until a tiny bit of dough starts to dance. Add 1 mini-dough ball to pan. Sauté at medium-high heat for 1 minute or until bubbles form on top. Carefully flip naan, add 1 teaspoon olive oil and sauté for another 1 minute. Repeat for remaining naans. (Sauté tend to diminish with each naan.
PREPARATION – GARLIC SAUCE
Mince cilantro. Add ghee to small pan. Melt ghee at medium heat. Add garlic. Sauté at medium heat for 30 seconds. Stir frequently. Brush naans with equal amounts of ghee/garlic. Sprinkle with cilantro .
TIDBITS
1) It’s rainy outside. This makes people, like me, silly. So these tidbits will be devoted to naan sense.
2) Q: What’s the IT’ crowd’s favorite food?
A: Naan o’ Bytes.
3) Genghis Khan, a Haiku
Mongol Genghis Khan
Who conquered lands far and wide
Ate our Garlic Naan
4) Naan
Nan’s Naan
Nun Nan’s Naan
Nun Nan’s Nantucket Naan
Nun Nan’s Nantucket Naan needs
Nun Nan’s Nantucket Naan needs nearly
Nun Nan’s Nantucket Naan needs nearly nervous Ned’s
Nun Nan’s Nantucket Naan needs nearly nervous Ned’s nerdy
Nun Nan’s Nantucket Naan needs nearly nervous Ned’s nerdy named
Nun Nan’s Nantucket Naan needs nearly nervous Ned’s nerdy named gnomes’ knowledge
Nun Nan’s Nantucket Naan needs nearly nervous Ned’s nerdy named gnomes’ knowledge now
5) Q: Can a naan become an American president?
A: Yes, if was baked in America more than 35 years ago.
6) Q: Doesn’t a president have to be alive?
A: That’s why naans who want to become president get frozen.
7) Q: Doesn’t the American Constitution say anything against cryogenically frozen people?
A: No, it does not, but neither does it specifically rule out naans.
So probably frozen naans are okay to preside over America.
8) Q: But won’t the frozen naan will need to thaw when it’s time to run things? I mean, once it’s thawed, it will only last a few days if left out or at most a few weeks in the fridge?
A) Yes indeed. This is why political parties try to pick a qualified candidate for vice president.
9) Q: Couldn’t a progressively stale naan picked a fresh naan to be vice president? Then when that naan becomes president, select another naan to follow in its footsteps? Couldn’t we have one naan president after another until the next election?
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