Peshwari naans are incredible made this way!
If you like Peshwari naans, you are going to love this naan recipe. These naans are chewy, fluffy and delicious, everything you could want in a Peshwari naan! You will find that Peshwari naans, like other types of naans are actually quite easy to prepare and can be cooked in a pan, oven or tandoor. You can also prepare these naans to your own taste preference. All is explained in the text below.
What are Peshwari naans?
Peshwari naans are prepared using a standard naan dough. The same dough that you use for instant naans without yeast or more authentic naan recipes that call for yeast. You can use either. In the recipe below, I used the yeast dough method.
The thing that makes Peshwari naans different is the nutty filling that is just a little sweet but of course you can adjust how much sugar you add to your naans.
As you fill the naan dough with the Peshwari filling, it becomes Peshwari naan dough. The finished Peshwari naans are so good, dipped into curries. You might like to try dunking your homemade naans into one of these curry house style one pan curries.
Where is this recipe from?
I learned this recipe at a local curry house called Table Talk. The chef there took me though the recipe step by step which I photographed for you (see below). It’s always a lot easier when you see photographs after all.
I learned a lot of great recipes that day. That was also the day I learned to make keema naans.
How do you prepare Peshwari naans?
1. You start by preparing the dough. As I mentioned above, you can use either an instant naan dough or use naan dough with yeast. The instant version is of course quicker and will get you fantastic results. The naan dough in the recipe card below is for my instant naans but if you prefer a chewier and fluffier naan, go for the naan dough with yeast here.
2. Once you have prepared the dough, it’s time to make the Peshwari naan filling. You simply blend the desiccated coconut, almond flakes, cream and sultanas together into a thick paste that looks like a soft dough. If your paste is too runny, just add more almond flakes.
3. Divide the naan dough into 8 dough balls and also divide the Peshwari naan paste into 8 smaller balls. Make an indentation with your thumb into each of the larger dough balls and place one of the Peshwari paste balls into the indentation. Encapsulate the Peshwari paste and then roll the dough out.
4. Fry the Peshwari naans or place them in an oven or tandoor oven as per the instructions in the recipe card.
Pro tip!
Chances are you will be cooking these naans one at a time. If this is the case, you can keep the cooked Peshwari naans warm by stacking them and covering them with a clean kitchen towel.
Working ahead
The naan dough for Peshwari naans can be prepared a day or two ahead of cooking. Just be sure to cover the dough tightly. Your dough will actually taste better and be easier to work with if you let the dough sit longer.
The Peshwari naan filling can also be prepared a couple of days ahead of cooking.
Can Peshwari naans be frozen?
Yes! That said, you should freeze the prepared naans either as dough balls or flatted before cooking. Then just take the dough out of the freezer and let it defrost completely before cooking.
You don’t need a tandoor oven to make perfect tandoori Peshwari naans!
Many people falsely believe that you need a tandoor to make delicious naans. You will see from the photos below that that simply is not the case!
How hot should the pan be?
Think tandoor here! The sides of a tandoor oven are very hot. You need to do the same with your pan.
As the naan cooks in the pan, bubbles will form. When they form to where you like them, turn the heat down slightly and let it keep cooking.
To brown the top side, you can either flip the naan over or if you are cooking on gas in a cast iron pan, you could turn it toward the flame.
Step by step photographs of making Peshwari naans.
The following photos demonstrate the making of a yeast naan dough. If you would rather use instant dough, you will fine instant self raising flour dough here.
Get all your ingredients together before starting. It’s easier in the end.
Sprinkle the sugar and yeast into hand hot milk and wait for it to become frothy. This will take about 30 minutes.
Pour the yeasty milk into a large bowl or standing mixer and add the eggs and yoghurt. Whisk until smoother.
Add half of the flour and stir it in with a spoon or use a standing mixer.
Pour in the remaining flour and knead into a ball.
The dough will be quite wet and difficult to work with. That is the way you want it.
Place the dough ball in a mixing bowl and cover to rise for a few hours in a warm place.
The dough should double or even triple in size.
Punch the dough down and knead for at least 5 minutes.
Divide the dough into 8 to 10 smaller dough balls. Cover to rest while you prepare the Peshwari filling.
Place all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and blend to a semi smooth paste. The raisons may be left whole.
Form the finished paste into small balls, one for each dough ball.
Make an indentation with your thumb in the soft dough balls.
Put a Peshwari dough filling into each dough ball.
Encapsulate the filling inside the dough balls.
Now roll it out into a flat, thin naan.
Add some oil to the rolled out dough.
Pick up the naan with the oil side facing your hand and wet the other side with water liberally. This will help it stick to the pan.
Get a skillet really hot over a medium high heat. Think tandoor here! Slap the naan into it and watch the bubble grow.
When you are happy with the bubbles, turn the pan toward the flame and they will grow even larger. If you are cooking over an electric stove, just flip the naan. You will lose some bubble though.
You can brown the Peshwari naans to preference. I like a few charred bits.
Heat the ghee in a pan and add the sesame seeds and almond flakes. Toast them to preference.
Stack the naans as you make them to keep warm. Add the ghee, sesame seed and almond flake topping to your preference.
British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style Peshwari Naans
Ingredients
- FOR THE DOUGH
- 300ml (1 1/4 cup) milk
- 7g (1 tsp) dried yeast
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 3 eggs
- 300ml (1 1/4 cup) Greek yogurt
- 900g plain white flour plus more for kneading and dusting
- Scant 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- FOR THE PESHWARI FILLING
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
- 1 tablespoon (more or less) sugar
- 200g almond flakes
- 3 tablespoons single cream
- 20 sultanas
- 1 tablespoon melted ghee
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat the milk in a jug in the microwave until it is hand hot. Stir in the yeast and sugar and cover with a cloth. Place in a warm place for 30 to 60 minutes to awaken the yeast. It will become quite frothy.
- While the yeast is foaming up, whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the yoghurt and whisk until
- smooth. Once the yeast has bubbled up, pour it all into the bowls with the eggs and yoghurt. Whisk again until smooth.
- Now mix the baking powder and salt with the flour and sift half of it over the liquid mixture. You can mix this all by hand in the bowl or pour it all into a stand mixer as I did in the photos which is easier. At this point, the dough will be very wet. Add the remaining flour and knead into a soft dough.
- The dough will be way to sticky to handle. Add just enough flour so that you can work it into a
soft dough that is still quite sticky. - Knead this hard for about 5 minutes and then form into a large dough ball. Place the dough ball in
a mixing bowl and cover. Allow to rise for a few hours or overnight. - Once the dough has risen, punch in down and knead for another few minutes. Then separate the stick dough into 8 to 10 smaller balls. The dough will still be quite sticky which is good. Now take each clump of dough and add just enough flour so that it is workable. It should be sticky but not sticking to your hands.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover the dough balls until ready to cook. Let these dough balls rest for at least 30 minutes.
- In a food processor, blend the almond flakes, cream, desiccated coconut, sugar and sultanas until they form a thick paste. You may need to adjust the recipe by adding more cream to form the paste if it is too crumbly or more almond flakes if too wet.
- TO MAKE THE PESHWARI PASTE
- Place all of the Peshwari paste ingredients in a food processor and blend to a thick paste.
- Now take one of the dough balls and make a shallow hole in it with your thumb. Place the peshwari paste dough into it and then fold the naan dough around the peshwari paste. Roll out into a flat round or teardrop shaped disc. Slap the disc between your hands to get all the excel flour off.
- TO PAN FRY
- Heat a frying pan over high heat. When hot, place the naan disc on the pan and dry fry it for about two minutes. Bubbles should form on the top.
- Turn the naan over to colour the top for about 30 seconds to a minute and then turn it over again until cooked through.
- Brush with hot ghee and serve sprinkled with sesame seeds
- TO BAKE
- Pre-heat your oven to 250c/500f. If you have a pizza stone, use it. If not, you can cook these naans on a baking tray. Heat your pizza stone or baking tray for about 30 minutes and then place as many naans on it as you can.
- Place in the oven and cook until golden brown and bubbly on top. This only takes about 10 minutes but cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your Peshwari naans.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 545Trans Fat: 0gCarbohydrates: 57g
I hope you enjoy this curry house style Peshwari naans. If you do give it a try, please let me know in the comments. I would love to hear from you.
Sandra Rose
Sunday 9th of April 2023
What kind of dried yeast? Instant Fast acting, or just regular dry yeast? Rising for 6 hours seems quite a long time? Help please?
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 11th of April 2023
Just normal fast acting yeast works fine. I state 6 hours but it could very well work quicker than that. Thanks Dan
Jac
Sunday 27th of March 2022
Always wanted to make peshwari Nan and today I did it and omg it was amazing, this was so easy to make and will do again and pop in some crushed pistachios.
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 29th of March 2022
That's great. and sounds even better with the addition of pistachios. Thanks Dan
Emma
Monday 23rd of August 2021
I am about to try making your Peshwari Naan recipe. But, which naan recipe of yours would you recommend using - I notice you show a choice of 3.
Dan Toombs
Thursday 26th of August 2021
You can use any of my naan recipes for Peshwari Naans. Thanks Dan
Doug
Monday 14th of June 2021
this site is GREAT. Only request is a quick video on how to make the balls of dough filled with the peshwari paste. This would help with getting a feel for the actual texture of the filling and the dough. Otherwise, long live BIR!
Thanks Doug
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 15th of June 2021
Thanks for the feedback, I will try and work on that soon. Dan
Jay Tee
Friday 5th of February 2021
I make a lot of bread. A LOT. And I've pretty much got my naan recipe down, after a few years of fiddling. So, I have to confess to not having actually tried the dough recipes - I came for the peshwari paste ideas.
Mate: nailed it. This is the shizzle. My sister used to live in Rusholme and took me out to eat down the curry mile. My Indian mates have taken me to their favourite haunts in Bradford...and I've eaten in plenty of backstreet dives in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Darjeeling, Panjim, etc, etc.
And yeah. This is the shizzle.
Dan Toombs
Monday 8th of February 2021
Great to hear! Thanks very much. Dan