This Homemade Peshwari Naan recipe is simple to make and easy to cook. It makes the perfect side for any Indian curry.
The sweet filling is a mixture of sultanas, almonds, coconut, and butter. This makes the naan a delicious sweet Indian bread great with an extra spicy curry!
The bread is fluffy and soft; it is a simple yeast dough that is easy to work with and cooks in a skillet or frying pan in under 5 minutes! And don’t worry about making a yeast dough, I promise with this recipe it is a doddle!
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What is Peshwari Naan?
Peshwari Naan (or Peshawari naan) is a yeast-leavened bread, filled with desiccated coconut, sultanas (or raisins), and almonds. It originates from the city of Peshawar in Pakistan.
This sweet naan bread is usually brushed with melted butter or ghee once cooked. Some Indian restaurants will also add flaked almonds and sultanas to the top of the naan and drizzle it with honey or syrup.
It is a sweet bread that is served with Indian curries. We love Peshwari naan with spicy curries, as the sweetness balances the spice!
Making Naan Bread Dough
Making the dough for these naan breads is super simple, especially if you have a stand mixer! The yeast and water are added to the stand mixer first, then the flour, salt, sugar, and oil. After this, the mixer does the work!
Measuring the flour
Not all cup measures are created equal! I have found that my four different cup sets, give me a different amount of flour! And then, depending on how you fill your cup, the quantity of flour will vary quite significantly as well!
If I lightly fill my cups and then level them off, I need 2 cups of flour for this recipe. If I pack the cups, I need just 1 1/2 cups!!
To ensure the dough isn’t too wet or too stiff, start by adding 1 1/2 cups of flour and mixing it, if you find the dough is too wet, add up to 1/2 cup more flour.
If you have scales in the house, then this is the perfect time to use them. By weight, you need 10.5oz/300g of flour.
How to cook Naan at home
Cooking naan at home isn’t hard, and you don’t need any special equipment.
Naan is traditionally baked on the walls of a clay oven called a tandoori. This quick hot cooking is what gives it the beautiful soft fluffy texture and distinctive bubbles and char.
Not many of us have a clay tandoori oven in the garden – although wouldn’t that be amazing! But you can recreate the effect by using a superheated dry skillet, smooth griddle, or large frying pan.
The pan needs to be very hot, so it cooks the naan quickly. This is what puffs it up and keeps it soft. Naan that is cooked slowly will be crunch and hard.
You need a dry skillet (meaning no oil) so that the naan bakes rather than fries.
I like to use a large flat smooth iron griddle pan. It means I can make my naan into the tear shape that many restaurants serve. But the shape doesn’t matter, if you have a round frying pan, then just make the naan round.
How to make Peshwari naan filling
The filling is a sort of paste made up of desiccated coconut, sultanas, and almonds. These are pureed together in a food processor with butter, a little water, and extra sugar/honey.
This rough paste is then used inside the naan.
To do this I roll a rectangle of the dough out and spread 3 tablespoons of the mixture over one half. The dough is then folded over and rolled out into the naan shape. This encases the filling easily.
Don’t worry if some of your filling starts to poke through.
Eating Curry with Naan
Curry and a naan makes so much sense! Having a soft fluffy naan bread to soak up all the delicious curry sauce is perfect!
This sweet naan works amazingly well with spicy curries or sauces!
It is common to pull a strip of Indian bread (naan, roti or paratha) and use it to scoop up some meat and sauce, then eat this all as one bite. If you have rice, scoop a little rice first, then finish with the meat and sauce.
Some great curries to try with this naan include:
If you love this Peshwari Naan why not try my Garlic Naan Bread.
Enjoy x
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Homemade Peshwari Naan
Ingredients
For the naan breads
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 tsp dried instant yeast/dry active yeast
- 1 ½ – 2 cups all-purpose flour/plain flour -see note 1
- ½ tsp table salt
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp oil (canola/vegetable/sunflower)
For the filling
- 1 cup flaked almonds
- ½ cup sultanas
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp warm water
For the topping
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 tbsp honey/golden syrup/dark corn syrup – see note 2
- 2 tbsp sultanas
- 2 tbsp flaked almonds
- fresh cilantro (to serve) – optional
Instructions
To make the dough (STAND MIXER METHOD)
- Set your stand mixer up with a dough hook.
- Measure the water into the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle over the yeast. Leave for 5 minutes.
¾ cup warm water
1 tsp dried yeast - Add the flour, salt, sugar, and oil to the bowl.
1½-2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar
3 tbsp oil - Mix on low for 10 minutes until you have an elastic dough.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and leave it to rise for 20 minutes.
To make the dough (BY HAND METHOD)
- Measure the water into a bowl and sprinkle over the yeast. Leave for 5 minutes.
¾ cup warm water
1 tsp dried yeast - Add the flour, salt, sugar, and oil.
1½-2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar
3 tbsp oil - Use a fork or butter knife to combine all the ingredients, once you have a raggy looking dough, start using your hands to bring the dough together, until the sides of the bowl are clean.
- Empty the dough on a floured board and knead the dough for 15 minutes.
- Place in a bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave for 20 minutes.
To make the filling
- In a food processor, blend the flaked almonds, sultanas, desiccated coconut, sugar, butter, and water until they form a thick paste. (See bulk of post for photos)
1 cup flaked almonds
½ cup sultanas
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp warm water
To make the topping
- Melt the butter and chosen syrup together in a small pan.
¼ cup butter
2 tbsp syrup (see note 2) - Add the sultanas and almonds and stir to coat.
2 tbsp sultanas
2 tbsp flaked almonds - Set to one side until the naans are ready.
To form and cook the naan
- Once the dough has sat for 20 minutes, punch it back down and then divide the dough into three roughly equal balls.
- Place one ball on a floured board and use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten it into a small rectangle.
- Place a third of the filling on one side of the dough and fold the other side over to seal it inside.
- Use your rolling pin to lightly roll the naan into an oval/teardrop/circle shape. Don’t worry if some of the filling starts to breakthrough. Just roll gently until you have a naan about 1/2″ (9mm) thick (ensure they will fit in your skillet/griddle).
- Put a heavy skillet/griddle/frying pan over high heat and allow it to get searingly hot. Don’t add any oil/butter.
- Place the dough onto the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes, it should start to puff up and charr lightly.
- Flip the bread and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
- Remove to a plate, brush with the melted butter syrup mix and scatter with a few of the almonds and sultanas.
- Cover with foil and keep in a low oven while you prepare the other breads.
- Scatter with fresh cilantro/coriander to serve.
Notes
- Not all cup measures are created equal, I have found that my 4 different sets all give me a different amount of flour! And then depending on how you fill your cup, the quantity of flour will vary quite significantly as well!I lightly pack my cups and then level them off. Start by adding 1 1/2 cups of flour and mixing it, if you find the dough is too wet, add up to 1/2 cup more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. If you have scales in the house, then this is the perfect time to use them. By weight you need 10.5oz/300g of flour.
- You can use any thick sweet syrup (honey/golden syrup/dark corn syrup) that you like for the topping, or if you don’t want it quite as sweet you can leave this out altogether.
Nutrition
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Steve Bright says
Claire hi,
Can the dough for your peshawari nans be made the day before and place in the fridge ?
Many thanks Steve
Claire McEwen says
You can definitely make the dough and leave it in the fridge.
I often do that to make dinner times a little easier 😃
Cx