Tandoori Butter Naan (without Yeast)

This tandoori-style butter naan is so delicious and soft and is incredibly versatile! Learn how to make these quick, easy and traditional butter naan (Indian flatbread/bread) without yeast!

Tandoori butter naan without yeast

Have you ever tried butter naan? If so, have you ever tried making butter naan at home?

Like many people, I have enjoyed my fair share of Indian flatbreads, including naan… particularly from traditional Indian restaurants! Indian restaurants are known to make the best naan – using a tandoor (which is a clay oven) to bring out a beautiful, authentic taste that is like no other… well that is until now! 

What if I said you could make tandoori-style butter naans - without using a tandoor or yeast?

With this recipe you can!

Growing up in an Indian family, I have had the opportunity to enjoy an incredible variety of Indian flatbreads. I have tried making naan – and have not stopped experimenting until this recipe… this recipe has been tried and tested to perfection!

This butter naan recipe resembles restaurant-style tandoori naan but without the use of fancy equipment! This naan is also much healthier with no added sugar… plus there is no need to rest the dough, no yeast or rising time and no oven needed! It doesn’t get better than this! 

This butter naan recipe is one of my favourites and is my go-to recipe for easy, classic butter naan! Whether you want a flatbread with your curry, daal or eggs – this scrumptious butter naan will be perfect for you! 

Jump to:

• Tandoori butter naan without yeast
• What is naan?
• Why you'll love this naan recipe
• Notes about Recipe Ingredients
• Equipment
• How to make tandoori butter naan (without tandoor)
• Tips to make the best naan
• What to serve with butter naan
• Storage Tips
• Related
• Tandoori Butter Naan (without Yeast)

What is naan?

• Naan is a popular South Asian leavened flatbread made using plain (or all purpose) flour and a number of additional ingredients (including yoghurt, oil or milk, leavening agent). Naan can be made with or without yeast (versions with yeast require extra time for the dough to rise). 
• Naan is traditionally baked in a tandoor (clay oven), however you can also bake in an oven or cook using a tava. This recipe uses a tava to cook the naan flatbreads (the fastest and cheapest option to give you delicious restaurant-style naans!)

Why you'll love this naan recipe

1. Delicious authentic recipe – this recipe celebrates the authentic taste of naan and the method helps you replicate the taste from naan made using a tandoor!
2. Incredibly quick and easy to make – within 15 minutes you can have a scrumptious batch of buttery naan!
3. Versatile and fun – you can enjoy them with so many dishes – plus you can even use these naans as wraps (for fajitas/burritos) or as a pizza base!
4. Just FIVE ingredients (no sugar or yeast) – all you need is plain (all-purpose) flour, natural/homemade yoghurt, salt and baking powder (plus butter to put on top of each naan) – that is all (no yeast, sugar or additives).
5. No fancy techniques, machines or oven required – all you need is a bowl, rolling pin and tava (or frying pan!), you don’t need any fancy machines or costly ovens to make these delicious naans.
6. Cheap and cheerful – it is cost effective and convenient to make these naans, no machines/ovens and affordable ingredients to whip up a batch of these naans.
7. Suitable for freezing – these naans are so easy to store – they will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer, which is convenient if you have leftovers (on the off chance).
8. Mix it up and adjust as preferred – you can make so many different flavours of naan including garlic naan, chilli naan and even chilli cheese garlic naan! 

Notes about Recipe Ingredients

To make this butter naan all you need is:

• Plain/all-purpose flour: this is used to make the dough and also sprinkled on your worktop to help you roll out the naans (without them sticking on the surface) 
• Natural/homemade yoghurt: natural homemade yoghurt is mixed with the flour to make the dough for this recipe 
• Baking powder: this is a leavening agent added to the flour before adding the yoghurt, this helps give the naan some lift, helping it cook to get the perfect texture (without using yeast)
• Salt: this is added to the dough (before adding the yoghurt) to season the naan and enhance its flavour
• Butter: use salted butter, this is used to spread on top of each naan once it is cooked.

Equipment

• Tava/tawa pan: I recommend using a non-stick tava pan (also known as a tawa) with a handle, which is a large round, flat and slightly curved pan used to make a variety of flatbreads. If you do not have a tava, you can use a large flat frying pan (with a handle) instead. 
• Spatula and brush/spoon: You will also need a spatula to flip the naan 
• Rolling pin: this is used to roll out the dough to make each naan 

How to make tandoori butter naan (without tandoor)

1. Make the dough. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt). Add the whisked yoghurt (image 1) and mix together (image 2) form a sticky dough (image 3).
2. Knead the dough. Gently knead the dough with your hands to ensure all ingredients are mixed and incorporated together to form a smooth, slightly soft and sticky dough. 
3. Divide the dough into 4 sections/balls. One at a time, pinch a chunk of the dough and roll into round balls. Repeat with the remaining dough (image 4). Meanwhile, preheat your tava on low heat. 

4. Roll out into a round flatbread shape. Prepare your worktop area (by sprinkling some of the flour onto your worktop surface and placing some flour in a bowl). Take one of the balls of dough, flatten slightly, sprinkle some more flour onto the ball (image 5). Using a rolling pin, roll into a flat, round and thin tortilla/flatbread shape.
5. Cook on tava. Place uncooked rolled naan onto a preheated tava and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until you see bubbles forming on the surface of the naan (image 6). Flip to cook the other side (image 7).
6. Grill naan slightly on stovetop flame (optional but recommended): Once both sides are cooked and have bubbles/air pockets, carefully place naan directly on top of a stovetop/open flame and grill for a few seconds seconds or until you see the naan charring slightly. Use tongs to carefully flip the naan to grill the other side. Note: this step is optional but recommended for a delicious, roasted flavour of naan that resembles restaurant-style naan made using a tandoor.
7. Spread with butter. Place cooked naan on a plate or tray and spread with butter (image 8). Repeat steps above with the remaining dough. 

Tips to make the best naan

• Use a pre-heated tava: preheat the tava on low-medium heat, this will help cook the naan at the right temperature – if the temperature is too low the naan will stick to the tava and not form bubbles, resulting in an undercooked, dry naan. With the correct temperature, the naan will form air pockets and bubbles which allows the naan to become cooked, crispy and fluffy 
• Use salted butter: I recommend spreading the cooked naans with salted butter for the best results
• Cook on low/medium heat: this helps to evenly cook the naan 
• Grill naan slightly on stovetop flame: although this is an optional step, it is highly recommended for a delicious, roasted flavour of naan that resembles restaurant-style naan made using a tandoor.
• Ensure dough is kneaded to appropriate consistency: we want the dough to be slightly soft and sticky and kneaded appropriately to ensure ingredients are well mixed.
• Sprinkle your worktop lightly with flour and roll dough gently with the rolling pin: This helps to create naan of even thickness and keeps them from sticking to the worktop (if you roll them too hard the force will make them stick to your worktop, this could make you use extra flour, which will make the naan tough and reduce their softness). 
• Cook and roll simultaneously: this is a time-saving tip – in the method above, you’ll notice I recommend cooking the naan whilst rolling out the next naan, this helps you save time and make the naans faster.

What to serve with butter naan

• Naan is so versatile and can be served with many side dishes, appetizers and main dishes. 
• Serve naan with many Indian dishes including stir-fried okra (bhindi ki sabzi), lentils (daal), Indian Brussels sprouts, paneer manchurian or chana masala with a cup of masala chai (Indian spicy tea).
• You can also use naan as a base for homemade pizzas, garlic flatbreads or Mediterranean flatbread (check out our appetizers with naan for more ideas)!
• Naan can be used in a wrap with veggie scrambled eggs or green (spinach) veggie scrambled eggs and guacamole and blender salsa!

Storage Tips

• These naans can be kept for up to 3 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
• Fridge: to store in fridge, transfer cooled stack of naans onto a paper towel/kitchen towel and wrap with foil and seal to keep airtight. 
• Freezer: To freeze, line each naan with parchment/baking paper and wrap with foil and seal to keep airtight.  
• To reheat, gently wet the naan under a running tap and allow to slowly heat on a preheated tava on low heat, using your spatula to keep flipping the naan to evenly cook both sides. Alternatively, place the naan on a microwave safe plate and heat for 30-40 seconds per naan, or until hot and steaming. (Optional: you can then transfer onto a preheated tava to crisp up the naan). 

Related

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