Agreed - have enjoyed reading all of the recent posts with these new recipes.  Will definitely have to give them a try as my various supplies run out!

Had a new restaurant open up in town, and the food there was fantastic (better than the others I've been to in the recent past).  Some of our dishes in the US are different from the BIR recipes I've tried, but the general techniques are certainly not.  You've inspired me to dine in and ask about lessons in the kitchen!!

Quote from: George on March 16, 2015, 08:45 AM
The emphasis of this thread appears to be on the pastry wrapping - fair enough - but I decided to try and get the flavour of the filling right, before I spend time on the pastry.

In my case, most of the samosas we have here in the US are the potato and pea variety, for which I have cloned both takeaway and restaurant (traditional) styles of filling accordingly to my own taste.  I've never had a meat-based samosa but am tempted to try one sometime.  My suspicion is that the takeaway variety might use mix powder but a more traditional one will differ and likely have spicing that is more geared toward the flavor of the lamb.

Regardless, the biggest issue I've had myself in recreating the perfect samosas is the pastry which is now excellent as well.  Prior attempts were quite disappointing and definitely left for a less-than-idea experience even with good filling.

Had an Indian night for family and friends recently, just wanted to add that I've tried natterjak's updated pastry recipe with some seasoning adjustments.  The main difference is a slight change in the flour amount plus more oil in the dough. 

The samosas turned out perfectly, lots of blistering and crispy pastry.  I should add that I made one other change, and that was using Maida (Indian white flour).  Given it having pastry flour qualities, that may have played a part as well in the great success.

I can definitely call my quest for samosas over - between the filling and the pastry, they outrank ANY I've gotten elsewhere and they freeze beautifully.

I've got a jiggle-type pressure cooker, and it works great!  I've used it to quickly cook beans and lentils, make stew in a fraction of the time, quick cook stock (which retains more flavor).  Looking to explore with it more, have not tried it for base yet.

As someone who has been vegan for extended periods of time, as well as having catered to many vegetarians with Indian cooking I would say you are absolutely in the right place!

Some of the greatest vegan foods I have made and consumed have been Indian inspired.  Manjula's Kitchen is a great source for simple, traditional Indian recipes that will either be or can easily be converted to be vegan friendly.

You can make many great BIR-style dishes as well.  Favorite mainstays are cauliflower (gobi) or potato (aloo) being used instead of meat.  As you progress your tastes will evolve, so if you don't care for something in the early stages, you may wish to go back and try it again later.  Properly cooked, these veg can be layered with flavors prior to their use in a dish or cooked more simply.  I've made Cauliflower Tikka Masala and have gotten rave reviews from heavy meat eaters.

Tarka Dal, Dal Makhani using coconut milk instead of cream, Rajma - all great bean dishes.

Aloo Matar (pre-cooked potatoes and peas)

The sky is the limit - and many of your favorite dishes will transition without much effort.

Here in the states, most Indian restaurants have a buffet for lunch.  A frequent appearance in that list of dishes is a "Goat Curry" which uses bone-in goat meat in a dark brown colored sauce.  Given the need for slow cooking, I question wonder if this dish is more traditionally prepared.  Some places do offer it in single portions on the dinner menu, too.

At any rate, I have not found any recipes of this nature and was curious if this is at all seen in BIRs and if anyone has ever made something of the sort (BIR or non-BIR recipe).

One of the last times at an Indian grocer I picked up a kilo of the frozen bone-in goat meat, and have been curious to try using it!

Out of curiosity does anyone else not see measurements in the original recipe?  I'm unsure of the ratio of onion/spices/rice.  This looks really good, so I'm keen to try it sometime.

Those look excellent!  The Naan we get here in the US doesn't usually have the huge bubbles like seen in other recipe postings.  I had to run into the city so I was lucky enough to stop at the Indian grocery again on the way home and talk to the shop owner.  He said he surveyed his restaurant owning friends and they don't add much to the dough (just like the recipe here).  I think he said some don't even add salt!  They definitely use just milk, no yoghurt, and only one of the restaurants said they use any egg either.

With the weather turning pretty nasty here, I'm not sure when the next tandoor session will be, but I will be trying SP's recipe and I think I am going to try it with and without the egg and see what happens and how both versions compare to the restaurant-style naan I've had.

At a certain point, I think one will only get so far until the recipe is right, tandoor or not.  I think this is going to be another big jump in getting there.

I think there is a lot of good feedback here.  One of my first clues was the fact that the dough should be EASY to stretch / roll out.  That alone illustrates the minimal gluten development, which will affect the final texture.  I wonder if anyone actually uses a mixer, or if it almost has to be just very gently mixed by hand until combined and no more.

Ironically, as Jerry notes, I am getting that beautiful crusty base which exactly mimics the restaurant breads I've had.  The center isn't as soft, however, and I think that I will treat this more like making a biscuit dough where overworking is absolutely detrimental to the finished product.  Also possibly worth noting is that some of the US restaurant naan doesn't have as much bubbling to it.

I also wonder if I should be resting the dough longer, as in the past I haven't had a super long rest as is recommended here.  I know all the restaurants I have ever seen that they have the dough on big sheet pans in the chiller, most likely having been made much earlier in the day or even day previous.

I may also try with and without the egg, but follow this recipe aside from half of the dough being without egg.  It may simply be the fact that the restaurant where I detected a strong egg flavor used a lot more of it, to the point where it became imbalanced and overpowering.  Worth noting is one recipe I came across actually did list it as optional, so there is that fact that it may be possible to simply omit it and have the dough still work, though obviously be different.

SP,

Love the video/pictures that you've posted... looks VERY similar to how I've seen the naan prepared and stored in an open-concept takeaway kitchen that I used to frequent when I lived in another city.  I've learned a few things recently as to how Naan is prepared that I was ignorant of in the past.

Originally, I eschewed the self-rising flour as being unimportant aside from the extra salt/leavening, but it actually is critical - not for its added components but rather as it is a different type of flour.  Indian Maida (which is what is traditionally used for Naan) has a lower protein content than standard All Purpose flour.  Self-rising, at least how it is sold here in the states is of a similar flour type.  I bought a bag of Maida from the Indian grocery store, and this produced a more-tender result that I had not accomplished in the past.  I may have also worked this dough too much, so I have learned from the information provided here that less is definitely more and will be trying another go sooner than later to see if the texture improves further.

But the reality of it is self-rising flour is going to be a lot cheaper, so that is likely what all our restaurants use in lieu of imported Maida.  I actually have a standing question with the grocery shop owner, as he knows some restaurant owners and actually offered to ask them how they make their dough!!  I told him I'd pay to get some lessons in a kitchen, too.  So we'll see where that goes.

One thing I have noticed is that most/all of our restaurant Naan doesn't appear to use eggs.  Whether for cost, regional preferences of the restaurant owners or what I'm not sure.  Has anyone come across BIR naan that is made in a similar way, or do all of them seem to be about the same?

Before anyone asks - I have one of the most awesome tandoors I've ever encountered, so I have that part of the process covered.

I'll have to give your recipe a spin the next time I fire up the tandoor and see how it compares to our US-IR naans.