Video of professional chef making naan in a tandoor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7y1mDJL-SE&

He makes it look so easy!

Interesting tool he's got for slapping it onto the wall of the tandoor.

That's very cool! And finally! I wondered how the tear drop shape was achieved. (I love how elastic his dough is.) I've been trying to shape it from the outset in a teardrop. Thank you for posting the link.

Incidentally, you don't have to have a tandoor to make great naan. We make really good naan (even if I'm the one saying it) on a stone in our electric oven OR on directly on the grill in the barbecue. We've also made naan on the stove-top - the stove-top method naan were not quite as good as oven or bbq, but still pretty darn good.

-Elizabeth

(our recipe for naan)

Incidentally, one thing I've gotten into the habit with, re making naan in the oven, is to switch the oven to a high broil once the stone has pre-heated at 500 for a good 20-30 minutes. Then I bake on the middle rack until spotty down brown... gets you the nice, thin, crispy bits and the hot, soft center that's characteristic of naan. Here's the result:

Here in Edmonton, Canada, there are a number of Indian restaurants that have Tandoors, and it's truly fascinating (and mouth watering) to watch them make the naan. 'tis a shame I'd never be able to truly replicate the authentic stuff at home (then again, I'd be eating it all the time, so maybe it's a good thing).

Oh, and incidentally, that "tool" they use is typically just a damp cloth or towel that's wrapped around itself (although, in that video, it looks like he's wrapped a towel around a more rigid frame of some kind).

There's a description in Flatbreads and Flavours by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid of how to "duplicate" the tandoor oven, using a wok overturned on a gas flame. I'd try it, but I think our wok was demolished in one of our moves from house to flat, and we've only got an electric stove. That, by the way, is one of the best cookbooks ever for flatbreads. If you can find it anywhere, new or used, I suggest you get it.

Thanks for the suggestion! My wife and I absolutely *love* flatbreads of all types (though, I think I'm going to regret learning to make (passable) naan at home), and that book looks great! Looks like I'm gonna have to submit an order to Amazon... :)

I really like Alford and Duguid's book "Flatbread and Flavours"; you won't be sorry to have it. The travel descriptions are worth the price of the book (and of course, there's the added bonus of several flatbread recipes).

But I don't use Alford and Duguid's naan recipe, preferring Madhur Jaffery's.

We haven't tried using the upsidedown wok method either but we have cooked naan on the stovetop, using a tava and rack to finish (same method as for making chapati) Next time our oven fails, we'll have to try the wok method!

-Elizabeth

(photos of naan made in oven and of barbecued naan)