Avoca-dough is naan the better

STUFFED NAAN AND AVOCA-DOUGH NAAN 

I couldn't pass up the hunk of gouda selling at a discount. With cheese being so expensive over here, it's a good idea to snap up the deals any chance you get. Even if the cheese is about to expire. I just get my fill of it and then ration myself until the next good deal comes along.

So it goes without saying that I've been making a lot of things with cheese. One of them is cheese-stuffed naan, which I cook on the stove top. Once cooked, the naan can be stored in the fridge or freezer, so the expiry date on the cheese is no longer an issue. I don't know if that's how it really works but if I tell myself that, then it true for me, hehe.

Stuffed naan made from plain dough

Naan dough typically contains yoghurt and sometimes egg as well, which help produce a soft and flavourful dough. I have both in mine.

And then I came across Vegan Richa's avocado naan. Not a naan stuffed with avocado, but a naan dough made with avocado mash. The avocado is the substitute for the yoghurt and egg. It's the fat from the fruit that you're after and not the flavour, because you can't really tell that there's avocado in the dough. And I found that the naan doesn't puff up as much as the ones with egg and yoghurt. But the avocado does give the dough a delightful natural pale green tinge.

As the blog name suggests, it's about vegan cooking. But while the recipe certainly gave me the inspiration, my dough is non-vegan. I always have dairy milk at home, so that's what I use.

Chickpea-yoghurt dip

I had the naan with a chickpea-yoghurt dip one day. Whizz up some cooked/tinned chickpeas, a clove or two of garlic, a pinch of cumin seeds and some Greek yoghurt. Drizzle in some olive oil while the motor is running until the mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper and top with argan oil (or olive), chopped herbs and sumac before serving.

Stove-top cheese-stuffed naan cooked in a griddle pan

Stove-top Stuffed Naan

Makes 3. Variation for avocado naan dough in bold in recipe instructions.

225g (about 1¾ cups) bread flour (or substitute some white flour with 

½ tsp table salt

½ tsp instant yeast

60ml (about ¼ cup) milk

1 egg

2 tbsp natural yoghurt*

1 tbsp sunflower oil (or other neutral-flavoured oil)

Stuffing (examples: roasted eggplant purée; chopped cheese and fresh herbs; date-tamarind chutney)

Combine flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl.

In a measuring jug, combine milk, egg, yoghurt and oil; stir well to blend.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough. Knead until smooth and form into a ball. Cover the bowl and set aside for dough to rise, one to two hours.

* For an avocado naan dough, omit the egg and yoghurt, and use the mashed flesh of one medium avocado. The milk can be substituted with a non-dairy milk, if desired.

Divide dough into three, form into balls and set aside, covered, to rest for 5 minutes.

The avoca-dough has a pale green tinge

On a lightly floured surface, press each ball out into a circle, with the edges thinner than the middle. Place a generous amount of filling into the centre of each circle and bring the edges up to enclose the filling, pressing the edges together to seal. Press down lightly to form a disk and set aside, covered, to rest for 10 minutes.

Press and stretch out the disks into elongated ovals or teardrop shapes.

Heat up a large non-stick frying pan or griddle.*

Place one naan at a time into the pan and cook over medium heat until the bottom is brown and it puffs up. Flip and brown the other side. Transfer to a plate and keep under a clean towel as you cook the other naans.

* Instead of cooking on the stove, naan can also be baked in the oven. Place a heavy baking tray on the middle rack of the oven and preheat oven to 225°C. Transfer naan onto the hot tray and baked until they are darkened, blistered and puffed, about five minutes. There is no need to flip the naan.