Guest Author - Vandana Trivedi

1lb white flour
1oz dried yeast
1 tsp nigella seed (also known in Indian stores as charnushka or kanolfi seed)
6 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp ghee or melted butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
oil or ghee to coat

1. Dissolve sugar in warm water.
2. Add yeast. Yeast should froth, if it doesn't, start over with fresh yeast.
3. In a seperate bowl, sift salt with flour and add nigella seeds.
4. Make a well in the centre and add yoghurt, ghee and yeast mixture.
5. Knead well until it forms a dough. Shape into a ball. If dough is sticky, add more flour until elastic.
6. Coat a seperate bowl with oil or ghee and roll dough into it until fully coated.
7. Shake off excess oil and cover with damp tea-towel or cloth.
8. After 2 or 3 hours, dough should have doubled in size. This happens best in a warm area (my granny used to put hers on the mantlepiece above her fire!)
9. Knead the dough and divide into around 6 equal portions. Flatten and mould into typical 'pear' shape naan.
10. Preheat oven to 450oF/230oC and bake for 10 mins. Brush with ghee or butter and serve.

Delicious! No curry is complete without an obligatory naan! Naan is traditionally baked in a stone oven where it is slapped onto the sides to cook. Obviously, traditional kitchens don't have these, so do the best you can at home! Stay tuned for more accompaniment recipes!