TAVA NAAN

Tava Naan or Tawa Naan is a soft and chewy, delicious and super easy to make homemade Indian flatbread recipe prepared on a cast iron skillet. This naan recipe can be made without oven.

Naan bread is a classic accompaniment for most of the Indian dishes. It can also be served with soup, any curry or gravy of your choice, or you can even prepare a simple pizza with your favorite toppings. Today, I have served this dish with chicken kali mirch / black pepper chicken and the combination was just amazing.

If you visit any Indian restaurants naan is the first bread you see in the list and you may have also seen variety of naan listed on the menu. Each one comes with a different flavor, thickness and texture. Some of the popular flavors are plain naan, butter naan, garlic naan, cheese naan, keema naan, tandoori naan, kashmiri naan, nawabi naan, peshawari naan

Even if you have not tried making naan before at home, I highly encourage you to try this recipe. The little effort you put in, is worth it. You will make naan over and over again and stop buying store bought ones.

Because of its simplicity, I love to prepare this Naan bread at least twice a week. You can add any herbs to the dough or topping and make it even more flavorful if desired. This recipe works best when prepared on cast -iron skillet. Check tip section for more details.

WHAT DO YOU EAT OR SERVE WITH FLATBREAD? (SOME ACCOMPANIMENTS FOR FLATBREAD LIKE NAAN, ROTI, PITA BREAD)

Any Indian gravy or curry or masala tastes great with naan, roti, chapati. Some of my favorite accompaniments

• Chicken tikka masala -NEW
• Paneer Butter Masala – NEW
• Butter Chicken
• Chana Masala (chole or chickpeas curry)
• Mushroom Butter masala –popular on blog
• Palak Paneer - Tofu in Spinach gravy
• Spicy Garlic mushrooms – popular on blog
• Chicken Tikka 
• Paneer Tikka Masala (Tofu Tikka Masala)
• Mushroom in black pepper sauce (mushroom kali mirch)
• Tandoori Gobi (Oven Roasted Cauliflower)
• Grilled meats like Tikka and kebabs
• Hummus

What is your favorite accompaniment for naan or roti? Comment below. I would love to try. 

To know more about what naan is, make ahead naan dough, storing, freezing naan dough and reheating read this post .

Preparation time : 45 minutes
Serves : 4

Ingredients for Tava Naan or Tawa Naan

All purpose flour / Maida - 1 ½ cups
Active dry yeast - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Lukewarm water - ½ cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Baking soda - ⅛ tsp
Yogurt - 2 tablespoon (vegans can skip yogurt)

For Garnish: ( Use garnish of your choice)
Butter - 1 tablespoon (use olive oil for vegan version)
Coriander leaves finely chopped - 3 strands
Green chilies / Serrano pepper finely chopped - 1
Salt - ⅛ tsp

Steps to prepare Tava Naan or Tawa Naan

Step I

• In a bowl add about ½ cup of lukewarm water, sugar and sprinkle yeast, and let the yeast activate. This might take about 5 minutes.
• Once the yeast is activated, add all purpose flour, salt, baking soda, yogurt and knead until you get a smooth medium soft dough. This takes about 5 mins. Cover and let it rise for about 30 mins.

Step II

• After 30 mins, punch the dough to remove any air pockets and knead again for about 5 mins.
• Divide the dough into four equal portions. Take each portion of the dough and form a smooth ball using kneading motion (takes about 1 min for each ball).
• Rest the dough balls (cover to avoid drying) for about 5 mins.

Step III

• Heat a cast iron skillet or tawa on medium-high heat.
• In a small bowl melt butter or ghee, add finely chopped coriander leaves, green chilies and a pinch of salt. This will be used as a garnish for the naan as soon as it is ready.
• Once dough has rested for about 5 mins, sprinkle some flour on the working surface and using a rolling pin roll into 8 inch diameter flat bread.

Step IV

• Sprinkle some water on one side of the rolled flat bread, and then place the wet side down on the preheated tava or skillet.
• Once bubble starts to form on the surface of the naan (or flat bread), flip the tava / skillet such that the top surface of the naan is about 1 inch from the flame and gets directly roasted over the flame for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until it develops desired color
• Flip the tava back, remove the naan using a flat spatula and transfer it to a plate. Immediately garnish with a mixture of melted butter (or ghee) and herbs.
• Tava Naan is now ready. Serve hot with chicken kali mirch / black pepper chicken or your favorite dish and enjoy.

Tips to make easy and best naan at home without oven

• Use a cast iron pan / skillet as this allows the naan to stick to the pan using its wet side, and can be roasted directly above the flame by flipping the entire cast-iron pan half way through the cooking process. A non-stick pan will not work.
• If only non-stick pan is available, then skip the portion where naan has to be directly roasted over flame. Instead flip the bread on tawa / skillet and cook like any other flat bread for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and garnish with butter and herb mix.
• This recipe works even on cooking ranges that use electric coil.
• You can substitute green chilies with serrano pepper or jalapeno.
• You can also add the garnish ingredients to the dough.
• The amount of flour or maida to make the dough may vary depending on the flour brand and weather conditions. So it is always good to add flour in parts.

Detailed recipe for Best and Easy Homemade Tava Naan or Tawa Naan or Skillet Naan Bread

If you like this easy naan recipe,

Don't miss to check out other delicious bread and flatbread, Indian curry and gravy recipes

Paneer Butter Masala	Chicken Tikka Masala
Ghee rice or brown butter rice	Chole / Chickpeas masala / Chana Masala
Butter Chicken	Rumali Roti
Palak Paneer	Mushroom Butter Masala

For more recent updates, follow me on Pinterest,  Instagram, Twitter

***Click below to save it on Pinterest***