Feta and Red Chilli Stuffed Naan Bread

Okay, this isn't exactly a traditional naan bread filling I'm sure, but I fancied making something different.

After the success of my Peshwari Naan and since I had some feta along with green a lonely bell pepper in the fridge in need of using up, Feta and Red Chilli Naan seemed the way to go.

Adding a filling makes a nice change from ordinary naan bread and can be served with whatever you fancy although a nice Indian-style Chicken Curry would be perfect.

Once you've made your dough, stuffing it is easy to do and you can experiment with different fillings to suit your taste.

Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread found in the cuisines mainly of Iran, India, Western Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Myanmar and the Caribbean.

There are so many different fillings or toppings and I also like Garlic and Coriander naan.

Top Tips!

Be sure to use Dried Active Yeast for hand baking and not Easy Bake or Fast Action. Easy bake yeast is suited to bread machine and you will not get the same result.

How do I know these things? Because I made this mistake in the past and my naan turned out horrid and hard!

Make a well in the middle of each ball and add some of the feta and chilli mixture taking care, not to overfill.

Now pull the sides up to cover the mixture completely.

Roll each ball to make a tear-shape, mine were more oval in shape but hey ho, not to fuss!

naan,bread,stuffed,feta,how to,

bread,Indian,baking,cheese

English

Yield: 4-6

Author: Jan Bennett

Feta and Red Chilli Stuffed Naan Bread

Be sure to use Dried Active Yeast for hand baking and not 'Easy Bake' or 'Fast Action'. Easy bake yeast is suited to bread machine and you will not get the same result.

ingredients:

• 150ml warm milk
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried active yeast (not easy bake or fast action which is suited to bread machines)
• 450g plain flour
• 1/2 a teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil - plus a little extra
• 150g natural yoghurt
• 1 large egg - lightly beaten
• a little oil for drizzling
• For the feta and chilli filling you will need:
• 1/2 of a large green bell pepper - deseeded and very finely chopped
• 200g feta cheese - chopped until you have small crumbs
• 1 red chilli pepper - deseeded and very finely chopped
• a small handful of flat-leaf parsley - leaves only and chopped

instructions:

How to cook Feta and Red Chilli Stuffed Naan Bread

1. Start by throwing the chopped bell pepper and chilli into a dry frying pan and stir over high heat just for a minute or so to soften. This will also remove the excess moisture otherwise your naan bread will be soggy. 
2. Remove from the heat and put it onto a chopping board and chop lot again mixing together and set aside to get cold, before adding the feta a bit later on in the recipe.
3. Put the milk in a bowl. Add just 1 tsp of the sugar, and the yeast and stir to mix. Set aside for 15-20 minutes or until the yeast has dissolved and the mixture is frothy.
4. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon caster sugar, the yeast mixture, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, the yoghurt and egg.
5. If the mixture looks too dry then you can mix in a little more yoghurt.
6. Empty the ball of dough on to a clean surface and knead it for 10 minutes or more, until it is smooth and then form into a ball.
7. Pour a teeny amount of oil into a large mixing bowl and roll the ball of dough in it. Cover the bowl with a piece of cling film and set aside in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. This can take up to an hour.
8. Preheat your oven to the highest temperature and put the heaviest baking tray you own to heat in the oven.
9. Punch down the dough and knead it again. Divide into 4 or 6 equal balls. Keep five of them covered while you work with the sixth.
10. Mix the now cold pepper and chilli with the feta. 
11. Make a well in the middle of each ball and add some of the feta and chilli mixture taking care, not to overfill.
12. Now pull the sides up to cover the mixture completely.
13. Roll each ball to make a tear-shape, mine were more oval in shape but hey ho, not to fuss!
14. Now remove the hot baking tray from the oven and put the naan on to it, you can do two at a time.
15. Put the tray back into the oven immediately for 5 or 6 minutes. They should puff up nicely.
16. Remove from the oven and brush each naan with a little ghee or melted butter, wrap in foil to keep warm and soft while you make the others. When you're done serve straight away.

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