Na' any Banany ( na'an )

As promised, this magical, easy na'an recipe will ACTUALLY make you feel like you're sitting in the best, hidden secret Indian restaurant in town..........     or better yet, Bangalore.

SO quick to make, on-hand ingredients and it really makes the difference in making your homemade Indian dishes LEGIT.

also in case you were wondering, the answer is no, it doesn't have anything to do with bananas.. i just thought the post name was clever so i went with it. ;)

*Give yourself 30 minutes to an hour to prep this before actually cooking it just before dinner... dough needs to sit a little. *

adapted from this blog here.
INGREDIENTS: for six large pieces

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or half and half it with whole wheat and all-purpose
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 big pinches baking soda
• 6 Tablespoons greek yogurt, or regular, European style, whatever
• LOTS of freshly minced garlic (optional.... but not really) ;)
• few Tablespoons cold water if needed

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well until evenly blended. Then add in the greek yogurt and garlic and mix mix mix it all together with your hands, making sure to press into the globs of yogurt to make sure the flour really gets in there. If the dough doesn't seem like it'll come together enough to make a large ball, add in 1 Tablespoon of cold water at a time until it does.... mine usually never takes more than 3 Tablespoons to get there. Once it can be pressed into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour. Flour your work surface GENEROUSLY and have a stick of softened butter and a knife on hand nearby. Keep in mind you'll want to continue flouring your work surface as you go, so have an extra mound of flour close by, as well.

Once the dough has rested and your awesome chickpea curry dish is almost finished, flour your hands and separate the dough into 6 balls. I like to split it in half first, then in threes.... makes it a little easier to get them roughly the same size I think. One at a time, begin to roll the dough balls out until they're thin but not sticking to your workspace. Make sure to flip the dough over if you need to for a nice consistent rolling out. Butter the front and back of each piece and if you need to, gently begin to stretch them out even thinner by hand (the baking soda will make them fluff up when they go into the skillet so the thinner the better).

And now the fun part! Get out your cast-iron skillet or just a regular large skillet and heat it up with some butter in the middle! Medium high heat will work best. Have a spatula on hand as well. Once the butter is melted and the skillet is hot, place one dough piece in the middle and wait to watch a bubble or two start to form before flipping it over. This should take anywhere from 10-20 seconds. After you've flipped it over, begin to gently press down, flattening it out one last time. Once you see bubbles forming on that side, flip it over one or two more times and it's done! Continue with the rest of the dough pieces, adding in another small pad of butter in between each one so they don't burn.

And there you have a beautiful pile of fresh, warm, garlicky na'an right from your own stove. Serve it with your favorite indian dish, the curry recipe I showed you the other day or just by itself as an appetizer before dinner with some fresh cucumber and yogurt!

This na'an will be the star of your dinner show and it's SUCH a versatile recipe, too... add in whatever you like! We prefer lots and lots of garlic but even adding just seasonings would taste fantastic too... paprika, curry, masala garam... whatever your fancy! I've even thought of making it more mediterranean and adding in chopped black olives, sea salt and rosemary! The point is, make this a regular part of your cooking repertoire because it's just that good. 

But beware... it's addicting!

XOX