Naan: a round flat leavened
bread especially of the Indian subcontinent
Tiffany's Naan: a misshapen flat
not-really-leavened bread especially of her pancake griddle
We honeymooned in India. The food was awesome.
That's not something you would have heard from me a few years ago --
until my diet of granola bars and fruit while driving around the country, I was
a pretty picky eater. Once I got hungry enough, I found out that I'll eat a lot
of stuff I never would have touched before.
The first time I went to an Indian restaurant -- probably over ten years
ago now -- I hated it. The food was so spicy my nose ran so I mostly just ate a
lot of the flat Indian bread.
But now I'm a big girl and I eat more than meat and potatoes. Whoo-hoo!
I've found I actually LIKE Indian food, at least if ordered "mild."
Naan is still my favorite, though.
So when Kevin found some packets of pre-made curry in the ethnic food
section of a local grocery store, I thought I'd whip up some naan to go with
it. How hard could it be?
Imagine my surprise when I did an internet search for a good recipe and
found a couple of scary words: "yeast" and
"knead." (My grandma would be ashamed of me; she made homemade
bread or rolls every day. Unfortunately I didn't see what a good thing that
might have been to learn. I mean, what was the point of making that stuff when
you could just go to the store and buy it?)
 |
| Pretty sure this isn't how they do it in India . . . |
After enough searching, I found a yeast-free recipe, which saved some
time. There was no avoiding the kneading, though.
Long story short . . . my kitchen may have been covered in flour, but in
the end, I made edible naan! It wasn't as good as what I've eaten in Indian
restaurants or India itself, but it was definitely passable.
The best affirmation, though, came from a sixth-grade boy the next day.
I just happened to sub for a health teacher who wanted the kids to make food
diaries. I put everything I'd eaten over the last two days up on the board as
an example. Seeing veggie curry and naan, the kid asked if I'd gone to New Taste
of India. I shook my head no.
 |
| Ta-da! And only $2 to make. Beat that, New Taste of India! |
"Where'd you get it then?" he asked, looking at me
suspiciously. New Taste of India is the only Indian restaurant in town.
"My kitchen," I replied. His look of suspicion turned to a
look of admiration.
I'm guessing he would have been less impressed with my dinner the next
night. I needed something I could eat in the car while driving to Tuesday night
Basketball for All (see Week 3), and with several pieces of naan leftover, I
smothered one in Nutella and took off.
Nutella-Smothered Naan. I'm thinking about calling New Taste of India.
I'm pretty sure it's a billion-dollar idea.
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