Plum & Fig Jam ..... Naan Bread

Not both on the same plate - although I don't see why it can't be done, with the right ingredients in either!


The Plum & Fig Jam came about because of a gift of six figs from Willie - who comments on the blog regularly - and a lack of opportunity to use them in a dessert before they became too ripe to use.

I wanted the jam to have a good colour and had three plums which had seen better days, so combined the two fruits.

Here you see it adorning a little bowl of natural yoghurt - a princely dessert, prepared at a moment's notice.  We've since found that it is exceptionally good on Cornish Ice Cream, too!

Now next, we have hubby's second go at Naan Bread.  This one, instead of having cumin seeds in the dough, had Kalonji (also known as Nigella or black onion seeds) in the dough.  The Kalonji gave the dough a really authentic flavour and these were by far the best Naan he's produced yet.

I think we're both agreed that they could have done with a little more colour from an aesthetic point of view, but they didn't appear to lose anything by way of flavour.

Their soft fluffiness is infinitely preferable to the hard, dry old things you get in the supermarket.

Naan bread

We had a curry down on the menu list for one day last week, which hubby was cooking.


However, when he dished up, he had a surprise for us in that he'd made his own naan bread - and completely gorgeous they were too!

I was amazed at how light and fluffy they were inside, just like a gorgeous little flat cloud on which you could scoop up your curry.  Absolutely top-notch.


He'd flavoured ours with Cumin seeds as opposed to the Nigella seeds, as we didn't have any of the latter.  However, the cumin did the job admirably.




NAAN BREAD


1 tsp dried active yeast
1 tsp sugar
200g/7oz plain flour
pinch black onion seeds (nigella seeds)
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
2 tbsp milk

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.

2.  In a small bowl, mix the yeast with one tablespoon of warm water. Stir in the sugar and leave it in a warm place for five minutes until the yeast is covered with froth.

3.  Meanwhile, mix together the flour, onion seeds, salt and baking powder. Stir in the oil, yoghurt and milk, then stir in the activated yeast mixture.

4.  To knead the dough, clench your hand into a fist, wet your knuckles with a little water, then press them repeatedly into the dough. Continue pressing and kneading until you have a soft, pliable dough. It should take about ten minutes.

5.  Place the dough in a mixing bowl, cover it with cling film and leave it in a warm place to rise for 10-15 minutes.

6.  Divide the dough into four balls and place on a floured surface or board. Roll each into a long oval shape about 0.5cm/¼in thick. Don't roll them out too thinly or they'll turn out like crisps.

7.  Place them on a greased baking tray and put them in the centre of the oven for 10-15 minutes. They are ready when they have puffed up a little. They should be soft and crumbly, not chewy.

Serve fresh from the oven.