Monday 7 April 2014

365 Recipes: Butter Chicken and Naan Bread

The Recipe:
I came to an important discovery tonight. If I make naan, I need to make enough so that there's decisively too much left for me to eat. If I make enough that it's up in the air whether I can manage to finish it all-- I'mma finish it all.

The Ingredients:
For the Butter Chicken:
3 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 medium carrots
1 large onion
Patak's Butter Chicken Sauce
1-2 tablespoons butter
For the Naan:
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup water (80-90F)
2.5-3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup sour cream/Greek yogurt
1 large egg

The Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place chicken breasts in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 25-30 minutes, until just done (but not dry). Cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.
2. Start the naan bread 1 hour before you'd like to eat. Combine the yeast, sugar and water, stir to dissolve, and let sit for a few minutes until frothy on top. Stir in the oil, sour cream, and egg until evenly combined.
3. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of flour with the salt. Add the bowl of wet ingredients and stir until well-combined. Continue adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until mixture can no longer be stirred with a spoon.
4. Knead the dough on a well-floured countertop for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky. Loosely cover the dough and let rise for about 45 minutes.
5. Roughly chop carrots and onions and cook in butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When cooked through, add chicken, let brown for a minute or two, and add sauce. Stir to combine, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes while you finish preparing naan.
6. After the naan dough has risen, heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or griddle over medium heat and butter it generously. Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness and carefully transfer to skillet (make two rounds if pan is too small for one large bread. Cook on one side until large bubbles form on the surface. Flip the dough and cook the other side to golden brown. Brush with butter and serve with butter chicken.

The Verdict:
Sometimes dinner is so good I just go ahead and compliment myself on it. Tonight was one of those nights.

Note: If you want to serve a larger crowd with this, you can also serve it over rice with naan on the side. 

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