.: evil jungle prince :.

One of my home renovation fantasies, perhaps only half-serious (and half for comedy value), is the thought of having a tandoori oven in my backyard, adjacent to my tiny kitchen. "Half fire pit, half tandoori oven," I tell people as they grin at me curiously. Perhaps if I manage to get on H&G TV or win a contest, that will come to pass, but in the meantime I'll be making Indian naan bread with my pizza stone.

My recipe is modeled after Mahanandi's recipe, which works really well with a pizza stone. While the pizza stone offers few of its authentic counterpart's characteristics, it does provide for a hot surface which quickly bakes the naan from below and creates a crispy surface with soft, chewy interior. Who doesn't like naan?

1. Mix 2 tsp warm water and 1/2 tsp sugar with 2 tsp active dry yeast. Allow to become bubbly.

2. Place 4 cups flour, 1-2 cups yogurt (BGH-free), 2 tsp melted ghee or butter, 1 tsp sugar, yeast mixture, and 1 tsp salt in a mixer and combine until the mixture pulls away from the sides of bowl.

3. Oil a bowl and place mixture in, covering bowl with a damp towel until the mixture rises to twice its size (about 2 hours).

4. Preheat oven to 425F with pizza stone.

5. Roll into tennis ball size portions. Flatten a little and pull the top and bottom portion into a naan shape. Baste naan tops with butter and whatever topping suits your fancy -- I like garlic on mine.

6. Bake for 5-10 mins or until golden. Add a little dollup of butter and serve.

Thanks to Mahanandi for this great recipe.