Nan is the word for bread in many eastern Indo-European languages; I assume that it's in alternation to western words like pan. Recently English-speaking people have taken to spelling it naan to emphasise the long vowel, but there's nothing in the original languages to support this, and though the Oxford English Dictionary now only lists the spelling “Naan”, it mentions the Iranian and Urdu word “Nan” and gives references as far back as 1780. But the earliest occurrence they show of “naan” dates to 1979. That wasn't always so: in the second edition they spelt it ”nan”. Clearly they're following modern usage.

This recipe is related to the Indian tanduri nan and is based on a recipe in A little taste of India.

Ingredients

The quantities here are enough for about six nan. Unfortunately, the requirement of a partial egg makes it difficult to make a smaller quantity.

quantity		ingredient		step
100 g		yoghurt		1
½		egg		1
20 g		ghee		1
100 ml		milk		1
250 g		Indian wheat flour (“atta”)		2
10 g		“Instant” yeast		2
1 g		nigella or black mustard seed		2
5 g		salt		2

Preparation

The preparation of the dough is essentially the same as any other bread.

1. Mix the liquid ingredients in a mixer bowl.

2. Mix the dry ingredients separately, then add to the liquid. Knead until uniform.

3. Let stand in a tepid oven (between 30° and 40°) until it has risen. Mix again, then divide into 10 to 12 pieces and spread out on a board.

4. Set the oven to 250°, fan-force and grill, and heat a pizza stone at the top of the oven for at least 30 minutes to get it hot. Put the strips of bread on the stone and heat until cooked, about 3 minutes. Do not turn over: nan looks asymmetric.