Butter Naan

 This naan is soft, chewy, and delicious, especially when brushed with melted butter.  

Naan

Makes 16 medium naan

Ingredients:

4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon instant dry yeast

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup warm water

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon minced cilantro, optional

Directions:

1. Combine flour, yeast, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a stand mixer and mix on low speed to combine.

2. Add buttermilk and water.  Knead with a dough hook.  The dough will be quite sticky, but needs to be dry enough to be formed into balls.  After 4-5 minutes, with water or a little oil on your hands, take out a piece of dough and see if you can form it into a ball.  Add more flour as necessary so you can form the dough into balls.  Knead for a total of about 7-8 minutes.  

3. Put a piece of parchment paper on the counter and spray with nonstick spray.  Turn dough out onto parchment and cut into 16 pieces, using a bench scraper.  (Again, it can help to dampen your hands with water or spray them with a little oil.)  Roll each dough piece into a ball and cover them with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 1 hour.

4. After dough has risen, spray countertop with nonstick spray and press into a thin naan shape.  (I do this in batches while starting to cook.)  Allow dough to rest for about 10 minutes in the stretched out shape before cooking.

5. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.  You'll know the pan is ready if you flick a little water in it and the water immediately sizzles and evaporates.  Add one naan to the pan and cook for 30-60 seconds.  Once the bottom has some nice brown spots, flip and cook for another 30 seconds or so until it doesn't look doughy anymore and both sides have brown spots.  

6. Transfer to a kitchen towel and brush top of naan with melted butter.  Sprinkle with minced cilantro, if desired.  Keep naan wrapped up in towel until serving.

Source: adapted slightly from www.foodess.com

Baked Chicken Shawarma {Taim Copycat}

The combination of sweet and savory flavors in this chicken remind me of the chicken shawarma at Taim restaurant, a casual, quick place that recently opened a location in our area.  You can use the chicken in a bowl, wrap, or eat it by itself with some salad on the side.  This recipe requires time to marinate (at least 2 hours or up to overnight).

Baked Chicken Shawarma

Ingredients:

2.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (this would probably work with chicken breasts too)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper, as desired

2 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 tablespoon thyme

1.5 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 of a large red onion, thinly sliced

Serving suggestion for a Chicken Shawarma Bowl:

Spring greens

Cilantro lime rice

Diced cucumber

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets (You can roast veggies on the bottom rack while the chicken cooks on a middle rack.

Hummus

Lemon vinaigrette

Crushed pita chips

Directions:

1. Trim excess fat off the chicken thighs, as desired.  Put chicken in a large glass bowl. Pour olive oil over the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Add yogurt and lemon juice.

2. Mix all the spices together in a small bowl.  Pour over chicken.  Mix well.  (I find it's just easiest to use my hands to mix.)  Add red onion slices and mix those in.

3. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for at least two hours, or up to overnight.  

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Take chicken out of fridge to start coming to room temperature.  Coat the bottom of a metal baking sheet with nonstick spray or a small amount of olive oil.  Put chicken and onion mixture on pan in an even layer.  Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the thickest part of chicken is 165 degrees.

5.  Allow chicken to rest for about 10 minutes, then slice thinly to use in wraps, bowls, etc.

Source: adapted from the Instagram account shredhappens