Easy Grilled Naan (Vegan Recipe)
On your summer grill, a naan--the beloved, puffy Indian flatbread--takes on even more character and flavor. This grilled naan is completely vegan and I have you covered with options for making it the traditional way with yeast or quickly with baking powder and baking soda.
Servings: 8 grilled naan breads
Calories: 267kcal
Cost: $2.25 per recipe/$0.28 per grilled naan
Equipment
- Bowl or stand mixer
- Barbecue gas or charcoal grill
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (or instant yeast, one packet)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup vegan yogurt (or slightly warm non-dairy milk mixed with a tablespoon of lemon juice)
- 1 to 1 ½ cups water (lukewarm)
- 3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter (melted, to brush on the naan after it comes off the grill)
For quick grilled naan use the following instead of yeast:
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
Make grilled naan dough
- Place the yeast in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar, nondairy milk, and ½ cup water. Let the yeast stand at least five minutes until it starts to look frothy and "blooms".
- Add the flour and salt to the bowl and begin to knead, slowly drizzling in additional water until your dough comes together in a ball that's just slightly sticky (traces of the dough will stick to your fingers when you touch it). Keep in mind that you may not need all of the water, so don't dump it all in at one go.
- Drizzle the oil on top of the dough, turn it over once or twice to make sure the oil coats the dough.
Proof and rest dough
- Cover the bowl tightly with cling wrap or a lid or a kitchen towel, and set it aside to rise in a warm place for an hour to 90 minutes
- After the dough has risen, turn it out on your work surface. Knead it lightly, form into a disc and cut into eight even pieces, the way you would a pizza. Roll each piece into a ball, dust each ball lightly with flour, and set them aside, covered, for 15 minutes.
Shape naans and grill
- To shape the naan, either roll each ball into a teardrop shape or a round with a rolling pin. You can dust your work surface lightly with flour if needed. Or roll each ball into a small disc, then lift the disc by its edges and stretch it gently with your fingers, while letting the dough stretch and fall with the aid of gravity. Continue shaping by moving your fingers along the edges. If you're not used to doing this, it's possible your dough could tear, so be careful. If you do get a tear, patch it up by pressing the dough together and continue shaping with a rolling pin.
- Make sure the grill is screaming hot before you place the naan on the grill. You can place two to three naans, side by side, depending on the size of the grill. The naan will immediately bubble up and turn opaque. Close the grill cover and let the naan grill for a minute, then, using tongs, carefully turn it by 90 degrees to get those lovely cross-hatch grill marks. Within a few seconds flip and repeat for the other side. Altogether, you should need no more than a total of three minutes on the grill for each naan.
- As soon as you take the naan off the grill, brush it with melted vegan butter or olive oil. Keep the grilled naans wrapped in a kitchen towel until ready to serve.
For baking soda/baking powder version
- Place the sugar, vegan yogurt or non-dairy buttermilk, and ½ cup water in the bowl. Add the flour along with baking soda and baking powder. Mix, then trickle in water slowly until a dough forms. It should feel tacky and should leave slight traces of dough on your fingers when you touch it, but it shouldn't feel wet. Drizzle oil on top of the dough, turn it over once or twice to make sure the oil coats the dough, cover the bowl tightly with cling wrap or a lid or a kitchen towel, and let the dough rest five minutes.
- Divide the dough into 8 portions and form each into a smooth ball. Dust lightly with flour and set the balls of dough aside to rest for 20 minutes. This will make it easier to shape the naans.
- Follow steps 5-8 above for shaping and grilling the naans.
Nutrition
Serving: 1grilled naan | Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 387mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 3mg