What Makes a Really Good Garlic Naan?

People ask me about the curries all the time. Fair enough. But if I had to name the one thing that makes people fall in love with a meal here, garlic naan would be near the top of the list.

It sounds so simple. Bread, garlic, butter.

And yet there is a big difference between naan that is just fine and naan that makes the whole table go quiet for a second.

Here is what I think makes the difference.

Good naan begins long before it hits the heat.

The dough has to be soft and a little chewy, with enough give that it puffs up in spots and gets those slightly blistered edges.

You cannot rush that part, and you definitely cannot fake it.

When the dough is right, everything that comes after it has a chance. When it is not, no amount of garlic is saving it.

Naan is one of those foods with a very short window of perfection.

Straight out of the heat, it is soft, warm and easy to tear. Give it too long and it starts to lose the whole point of itself.

That is why ours is baked fresh. I want it arriving at your table still warm enough that you have to wait a second before tearing in.

Not that anyone actually waits.

This sounds obvious. It is not.

The garlic on a garlic naan should be warm and a little toasty, with enough flavor that you notice it in every bite without it taking over the entire meal.

It should make the bread better, not turn it into a dare.

You should taste garlic, butter and bread all at once. That balance is the whole job.

Butter is doing quiet, important work here.

It keeps the naan soft, carries the garlic, and gives the top that little shine that makes you reach for a piece before you have even decided you want one.

Is it subtle? No. Does it need to be? Also no.

Here is my strongly held opinion: naan is not a side dish. It is a utensil.

A good garlic naan should be sturdy enough to scoop up curry and soft enough to soak up sauce.

When you get to the bottom of a bowl of butter chicken and there is still a piece of naan left, that is not an accident. That is the plan.

No sauce left behind.

Once you are a garlic naan person, there are a few directions to go.

Our cheddar naan takes things in a richer direction, and the bacon and cheddar naan is exactly what it sounds like.

Butter naan is the simple, classic option if you want the bread to stay out of the curry’s way.

My advice is to start with garlic and explore from there.

Here is how you know a garlic naan is really good.

The basket is empty before the curry is.

And somebody at the table, usually while pretending they are not going to, orders another one.

That is the test. Ours passes it often enough that we keep extra dough ready.

Next time you are in, tear into it while it is hot. You will understand.