Baby naan is a popular food in West Bengal. It is often served to guests in a social party. It becomes a regular item in a food menu of social gettogether on the occasion of annaprashion, birthday, wedding ceremony, wedding anniversary etc. It is very soft & delicious and served with mouthwatering chana masala, paneer masala etc. I love the combination or partnership. Each bite of baby naan with chana masala or paneer masala is very enjoyable. But is Bengali style baby naan actually a naan or kulcha?
I mean naan looks different because naan is soft but at the same time it is slightly crispy too because it is normally prepared with milk and/or egg. Whereas kulcha is very soft & fluffy because here the dough is fermented by using yeast or curd/yogurt.
I love to have chole kulcha when I was in Delhi. Though they used to serve matar masala instead of chole but those are so delicious. There was a big crowd in front of every popular chole kulcha wala selling from his roadside stall. Those are almost similar to Bengali style baby naan except the size.
In West Bengal, I noticed caterers make baby naan by using fermented dough. That is why those were so soft & fluffy.
But whatever it is named those baby naan are super delicious and very easy to make. Not just chana masala or paneer masala, those naan are super delicious when those are served with mutton curry, chicken curry, egg curry, mushroom curry, shahi paneer etc.
Last day tried homemade baby naan with Bengali style fulkopi curry (Cauliflower curry) and it was so enjoyable. Actually, during this season, everybody prepares something with cauliflower almost every because those are fresh & cheap. You can get a medium size cauliflower head for Rs 5 or 7. It does not end here because, within a few days, vegetable sellers will sell those 3 cauliflower heads for Rs 10. Yes, it happens every year. I do not know how farmers make a profit because I used to grow cauliflower in my rooftop garden and believe me those plants are heavy feeders. They need a lot of fertilizer to grow otherwise you will land up with a small size cauliflower head.
Okay, now I am deviating from the topic.
Oh, here is the recipe for Bengali baby naan
- 2 cups maida (all purpose flour)
- 2 tablespoons curd/yogurt/dahi
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons sugar powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons any refined oil
- warm water as needed to make dough
- Take all purpose flour (maida), curd, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, refined oil and mix all
- Now add water step by step as needed and make soft dough
- Grease the dough with oil and rest it for next 2 hours
- Now make 10-12 small balls from that dough
- Take one small ball, roll it to flatten and give round or oval shape
- Now bake those over a hot tawa and bake both side of the naan
- Grease butter on the top and repeat same process for other dough made small balla
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