Perfect Homemade Garlic Naan Bread! This restaurant style easy garlic naan recipe is a must-try recipe! Plus, you don’t need a tandoor (clay oven) to make it at home. You will get soft, fluffy texture with the right amount of garlic and cilantro flavor.
This is the most ordered Indian bread in North Indian restaurants.
Restaurant style garlic naan that you can enjoy in the comfort of your home for a fraction of the price. These are the perfect Indian bread that goes well with all kind of curries (gravy dishes) and they really are easier to make than you’d think.
This homemade garlic naan is one of those crave-worthy foods that may take a bit of time and some patience, but the end result is so worth it. It’s a great recipe for a weekend “learn how-to” Indian cooking project then from there it may become a monthly tradition!
How is the garlic naan made?
In the restaurants, they keep just one versatile dough for all kinds of naan whether it’s garlic naan, butter naan, cheese naan or any other variety. As the order comes, they roll and spread the toppings for different verities.
But here I have used garlic two times. First added some chopped garlic into the dough itself and then sprinkled on rolled naan. Even though we are adding garlic into the dough, It does not overpower the flavor of garlic. But this gives the perfect and right amount of its flavor.
As a topping, I have also added coriander leaves and red chili flakes along with chopped garlic just like we get in restaurants here. If you don’t want the heat, spicy taste you can skip the chili flakes.
Traditionally the naan is cooked into the tandoor (a cylindrical clay oven). The rolled naan is slapped against the tandoor wall, so it sticks and cooks really quickly. But to make this at home, we do not have tandoor oven. But we can replicate it by cooking on the cast iron pan (tawa) or by baking into the oven (over the pizza stone).
Here in a step by step photos, I have shown how to cook garlic naan recipe on the stovetop on tawa. This Indian tawa is made from cast iron. So you can use you cast-iron skillet for the same purpose. I have shared the instruction to bake into the oven here in this post ‘how to make naan’.
How to make Garlic Naan?
1) Warm up the milk in the microwave or on the stovetop. Make sure that milk is not cold or not hot. It should be just warm, otherwise, yeast will not proof. In the warm milk, add sugar.
2) Also, add yeast.
3) Stir once and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
4) Meantime yeast will become frothy.
5) In a bowl, mix all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and chopped garlic.
6) Add frothy milk, yeast mixture. Mix with your fingertips. Then add yogurt and start kneading the dough.
7) You may or may not need to add water while kneading the dough. It depends on how thick or watery your yogurt is. Knead into a smooth and soft dough.
8) Now drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil.
9) Again knead for 2-3 minutes or till the dough becomes very smooth.
10) You can see the dough is smooth and soft (not sticky). 
11) Cover it with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. 
12) Let it rest for about 2 hours or till it rises and get double in size.
13) Then punch it down and divide into 6 equal balls. Make a smooth ball and flatten it between your palm.
14) Then roll into a 6-inch oval or round shape.
15) Sprinkle some chopped garlic, cilantro and chili flakes on top.
16) Now lightly run the rolling pin couple of times, so it sticks to it.
17) Heat the cast iron tawa or skillet on medium heat. Once tawa is nice and hot, place rolled naan. Cook for a few seconds, you will notice the big bubbles will start to appear.
18) Once you notice the bottom side nice and brown, hold it with tongs. Remove the tawa from the stove and put the rack. lower the heat and cook the top side directly on the flame. Keep moving so it gets evenly cooked. 
19) Cook till no more raw doughy part appears and there are few brown spots.
Remove it to plate, apply melted butter on top and serve hot. Repeat the same process for rest of the garlic naan bread.
What to serve with garlic naan?
- Serve garlic naan with rich curries like shahi paneer, malai kofta, paneer pasanda, kaju butter masala.
- It can be served with dal makhani or dal tadka, dal fry.
- It can be served with veg gravies like veg makhanwala, veg kadai, veg kofta curry.
Check out more Indian bread recipes
Tawa paratha // Poori // Tandoori roti // Bhatura // Aloo paratha // Roti (phulka rotli)
Homemade Garlic Naan Recipe {Indian Bread}
Ingredients
For proofing the yeast:
- ⅓ cup Milk (Warm)
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- (½ packet) or 1 ¼ teaspoons Active dry yeast
For the garlic naan dough:
- 2 ¼ cups All purpose flour (Maida)
- ¼ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons Garlic finely chopped or minced
- ⅓ cup Plain yogurt (curd or dahi)
- 2-3 tablespoons Water or less or more
- 1 tablespoon Oil
To sprinkle on top:
- 3-4 tablespoons Garlic chopped finely
- 3-4 tablespoons Cilantro or coriander leaves chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon Red chilli flakes optional
- 2-3 tablespoons Butter Melted, to brush on cooked naan
Instructions
- Proofing the yeast:
- Warm up the milk in microwave or stovetop.
- Add sugar and yeast.
- Stir once and let it sit for 10-15 minutes or till it becomes frothy.
- NOTE: If using Instant yeast then skip this step. Add yeast directly into the dough. Use warm milk to knead the dough.
Making garlic naan dough:
- In a bowl, take all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and chopped garlic. Mix.
- Add frothy milk, yeast mixture. Mix with your fingertips.
- Then add yogurt and start kneading the dough. Knead into a smooth and soft dough.
- You may or may not need to add water while kneading the dough. It depends on how thick or watery your yogurt is.
- Now drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Again knead for 2-3 minutes or till the dough becomes very smooth.
- Cover it with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
- Let it rest for about 2 hours or till it rises and get double in size.
Making garlic naan recipe on stove, tawa:
- Punch down dough and divide into 6 equal balls.
- Make a smooth ball and flatten it between your palm.
- Then roll into 6-inch oval or round shape.
- Sprinkle some chopped garlic, coriander leaves, and chili flakes.
- Now lightly run the rolling pin couple of times, so it sticks to it.
- Heat the cast iron tawa or pan on medium heat.
- Once tawa is nice and hot, place rolled naan. Cook for a few seconds, you will notice the big bubbles will start to appear.
- Once you notice the bottom side nice and brown, hold it with tongs.
- Remove the tawa from the stove and put the rack.
- lower the heat and cook the top side directly on the flame. Keep moving so it gets evenly cooked.
- Cook till no more raw doughy part appears and there are few brown spots.
- Remove it to plate, apply melted butter on top and serve hot.
- Repeat the same process for rest.
Do you fry the side with garlic first?
Nope. The plain side goes first into the pan. Please see the pics I have shared
What kind of milk is best?
I prefer full fat (whole milk).
But you can use low fat or fat free
Hi Kanan Patel,
Would this recipe still work with instant dry yeast
Or only dry yeast thanks 😊
Yes you can use Instant dry yeast. If so you can just add directly into the flour.
I have used active dry yeast, So I have to activate in the warm liquid.