The humble naan gets a filling upgrade
RAWALPINDI: The tandoorwalas of Rawalpindi are catching up with the trend for stuffed naans and are giving the traditional flatbread an upgrade by filling them with various meats and vegetables.
Before, naan would either come with or without a dusting of sesame seeds but now, various tandoors and restaurants are offering potato, mince, chicken and mix vegetable filled naans, which most people prefer having for breakfast, brunch or with their afternoon tea.
The Sufi Naan Centre in Kartarpura is one of the more popular places for naan, where the aroma from the restaurant’s tandoors teases your appetite.
“The potato, chicken and beef mince naans are our more popular ones, and we have been making them for 54 years,” said Ijaz Ahmed, a baker at the Sufi Naan Centre.
Talking to Dawn, he said the recipe for making stuffed naans was simple and was referred to as the desi pizza.
“The meat of choice is first boiled and mixed with onions, green chillies, coriander, salt and other spices. The mix is then placed in dough, flattened, twisted and made a roti. It is then baked in the tandoor on a slow flame.
“The baked naan is then garnished with a bit of oil,” he said, adding that customers often bring in their own stuffing to put in the naans as well.