About Cheese Naan
Naan is a leavened flatbread, which is traditionally cooked in tandoor (a clay oven) but can also be roasted on a tawa or skillet. Naan is a well known flatbread in Indian, Caribbean and many other Asian cuisines. The Cheese Naan is one of the widely popular naan versions in India. This recipe of Cheese Naan Bread without any yeast is a simple one that you can refer to, and make for your family, friends and guests at home. The ingredients that go into making this variation are whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, buttermilk and oil or butter. Since this Cheese Naan recipe also uses a good quantity of whole wheat flour (atta) in it and is not completely made of all-purpose flour (maida), it is a little healthier than the ones available at restaurants and hotels too.
More On My Recipe
This Cheese Naan can be made on a tawa or flat cast iron skillet. You can also make them in a frying pan and don’t really require an oven to bake them. These typical naans have a soft texture with a gooey cheesy taste in the centre. For the cheese, you can use cheddar cheese or a mix of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. You can also use processed cheese. At home, at times, I do make naans and the soft textured ones are a favorite of all. For this Cheese Naan, like I mentioned earlier, I have used a mix of whole wheat flour (atta) and all-purpose flour (maida). However, you can use only whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour to make these naans. In addition to this fantastic Cheese Naan Bread, I would suggest that you must also try the classic Naan recipe as well as the following naan variations, as each of these too, are super delectable:
Butter Naan Garlic Naan Cheese Garlic Naan
Serve Cheese Naan as a plain snack or with a side dish of any North Indian lentils or veggie curry. So, you can serve with Dal Fry, dal tadka, Paneer Curry, mixed veg gravy, veg kadai, matar paneer or Veg Kurma.
How to make Cheese Naan
Make Dough
- Then, add 1.5 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Mix very well with a spoon or spatula.
- Add 3 tablespoons buttermilk or curd (yogurt).
- Then, add ⅔ to ¾ cup water, in parts.
- Mix well and then add 3 tablespoons oil or butter.
- Mix and begin to knead.
- Knead very well to a soft, smooth and pliable dough. Add more water, if required, while kneading dough.
- Flatten the dough. Brush some water or oil all over the dough. Cover the bowl and keep the dough for 2 hours to leaven.
Prepare Cheese Naan
- After 2 hours, this is how the dough looks like. Grate cheese and keep aside. You will need 1 cup of grated cheese. You can use cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese or processed cheese.
- Make medium sized balls from the leavened dough.
- Dust a dough ball with some flour.
- Roll into a 5 to 6 inches diameter disc.
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons grated cheese. You can even add less cheese, if you want. But it will be like a cheese flavored naan then, and not Cheese Naan. At this point if you prefer, you can sprinkle some dried herbs or fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, parsley, basil etc) and ground spices (black pepper, cayenne, cumin etc). To make garlic flavored cheese naan mix some minced garlic or a few pinches of garlic powder with the shredded or grated cheese evenly.
- Fold the edges from all around.
- Bring the edges in the center and then join them. Press the joined edges back on the dough. Dust some more flour.
- Roll to a 7 to 8 inches disc or cheese stuffed naan.
- Brush some water on the side facing you. 19. Sprinkle some nigella seeds (kalonji) or sesame seeds all over and press them with the brush or with your fingers, so that they stick to the naan.
Roasting Cheese Naan Bread
- Now, place the naan, nigella seed side down, on a hot tawa or skillet.
- Roast on medium-high to high heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- It will begin to puff up. When you see some blisters and the naan puffing up, flip it.
- When you turn the naan, it will be cooked and roasted well. Cook the second side also for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Flip again when the second side is cooked. You can flip once or twice more, for even roasting.
- Take on a plate.
- Spread some butter on top.
- Then, cut the naan in 2 to 4 pieces or wedges, if serving immediately. Make all the naans this way. You can serve them hot or stack them in a roti basket or casserole. Later, you can cut them and serve.
- Serve Cheese Naan hot or warm as a plain snack or with any North Indian dal or veggie curry. You can serve with Dal Tadka, matar paneer, mixed veg gravy or Kadai Paneer.
Expert Tips
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Cheese Sandwich Recipe (2 Ways) Cheese Balls | Easy Crispy Potato Cheese Ball Recipe Cheese Biscuits | Cheddar Biscuits Cheese Corn Balls This Cheese Naan post from the blog archives, first published in November 2017 has been republished and updated on December 2022.
