Soft and healthy whole grain naan (Indian flatbread)
Make a soft and healthy naan, an Indian flatbread from whole grain flours. Whole wheat flour, chickpea flour and jowar (sorghum) flour combined together makes a healthy and delicious soft naan.
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Who doesn’t love naan? Soft, slightly chewy, be it plain or slathered with garlic butter, it is an all-time favourite with kids or adults. You will see it everywhere, in marriages, parties and so many Indian restaurant menus.
In a lookout for increasing the nutritional value of this delicious bread, I hit upon this idea of making a naan with multigrain flours. There are several whole wheat naan recipes out there, however, this recipe is not only about whole wheat but whole grain flours. It is a naan with a combination of flours of whole wheat (atta), chickpea flour (besan) and jowar (sorghum) flour. Binding it all together with yogurt makes for a super soft delicious naan.
There are few pointers you need to keep in mind while making this naan though:
- It is a much stickier dough to deal with since it has high hydration (98%) and also since both chickpea flour and jowar flour are gluten free flours. When I made it for the first time, I thought it won’t come together but trust me, it will. Do use a bench scraper to help you through the process.
- After the proofing, it will be still a sticky dough but you will be able to roll it gently. If needed, you can use a grease proof paper while rolling as well to transfer it to the skillet.
- Traditionally naan is cooked in an extremely hot clay oven. However, at home, we can replicate the high heat of the tandoor oven by cooking these delicious naans on a hot iron skillet.
Brush the naan with roasted garlic butter and you will not believe how delicious it is. Enjoy it plain or with my healthy malai kofta, I am certain you will make this combination again and again.
Some other jowar (sorghum flour) recipes that might interest you:
- Jowar vada with moringa leaves
- 10 minute bajra-jowar dosa
- Gujarati muthia
- Whole grain chocolate cake with zucchini
- Dhansak (vegetarian), Parsi style
Go ahead, make these and don’t forget to report back on how it turned out for you.
Recipe Card
Soft and healthy whole grain naan (Indian flatbread)
Recipe Rating
AUTHOR
Hema B Kathrani
CUISINE
Indian
PREP TIME
3.30 hours
COOK TIME
20 minutes
SERVINGS
makes 12 naan
Author: Hema B Kathrani | Cuisine: Indian | Category: Breads
Prep Time: 3.30 hours | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Servings: makes 12 naan
Make a soft and healthy naan, an Indian flatbread from whole grain flours. Whole wheat flour, chickpea flour and jowar (sorghum) flour combined together makes a healthy and delicious soft naan.
Ingredients
- For activating the yeast:
- 100 ml water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- For the dough:
- 1 ¼ cups (180 gm) whole wheat flour (atta)
- ½ cup (65 gm) chickpea flour (besan)
- ½ cup (70 gm) sorghum flour (jowar)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp malai (heavy cream)
- ½ cup (130 gm) plain yogurt (dahi)
- 80 ml water *see notes
- Whole wheat flour for dusting
- For the garlic butter:
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
Method
- For activating the yeast:
- In a bowl, mix 100 ml of warm water, sugar and instant yeast. Stir well.
- Keep it aside till the mix becomes frothy.
- For the dough:
- In a big bowl, combine all the flours, salt, malai (cream) and plain yogurt.
- Add the activated yeast and additional 50 ml water and bring the dough together. Add the remaining water little at a time to make a wet dough.
- Transfer the sticky dough to a clean counter surface and knead for 10 minutes until you have a sticky but pliable dough. Use a bench scraper to help you through the process.
- Place it in a greased bowl and cover it for an hour or until it doubles.
- Once the dough has risen, gently deflate the dough and transfer it to a clean counter surface.
- Divide the dough in 12 equal portions, roll it in a ball and cover it to proof for another 30 minutes.
- To make the naan:
- Heat an iron skillet on high. Once fuming hot, lower the flame.
- Take one dough ball and dust it generously with the whole wheat flour.
- With gentle hands, roll the ball in an oval shape.
- Brush one side of the naan with water
- Carefully transfer the naan on the skillet, water side down.
- Once you see bubbles on the naan, increase the heat to high.
- Flip the skillet with the naan on directly on the flame. Do not worry, the naan won’t fall off.
- Rotate the skillet over the flame for it to cook evenly.
- Turn the skillet and with a spatula, remove the naan gently.
- Keep it covered under a clean cloth.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough balls.
- For the garlic butter:
- In a small pan, heat butter and oil.
- Add finely chopped garlic and cook till aromatic and golden.
- Remove from the heat and keep it aside.
- To serve:
- Brush the naan with the garlic butter and serve with your favourite gravy.
Notes
- You may need to adjust the water depending on the consistency of the yogurt.
- This dough is much more wet (high hydration- 98%) than the usual bread dough. Addition of yogurt and a wet dough are the keys to ensure you get a soft naan with the whole grain flours. It will come together as a sticky but workable dough after kneading.
- You can also use a grease proof paper to roll the naan to help you through the rolling process.
- You can use unsalted butter in the garlic butter as well. Just add a pinch of salt when the garlic is sautéing in the butter + oil mix.
- Always store the jowar (sorghum) flour in the fridge to maintain its freshness.
- I use US cup measurement which is 1 cup = 235 ml
- I did a short video of cooking tandoori roti that has a similar cooking process of this naan on my Facebook and Instagram accounts. I have saved it under ‘Dinner ideas’ in my Instagram account for future reference.
Did you make this recipe? Follow me on Instagram handle @acookwithin or @acookwithin on Facebook.
www.acookwithin.com
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Let me know how this recipe turned out for you by writing to me in the comments below. And if you take a picture, please tag me on my instagram handle @acookwithin 
to share your creation😊 It would make my day!
2 thoughts on “Soft and healthy whole grain naan (Indian flatbread)”
Healthy, soft and yum! Made the naans today and unbelievable that they don’t hv any maida! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your feedback Anuradha!! It is wonderful to know that it worked out so well for you 🙂