Can you imagine your butter chicken or chicken tikka masala without a naan? The yeasty bread, baked in clay tandoors, landed in India from Persia. Remnants of small, mud plastered ovens that resemble the present-day tandoor ovens, have been excavated at Kalibangan, an Indus Valley site dating way back to 2900 BC. Amir Khusrau Dehlavi, a Sufi poet and scholar, noted two types of naans that were served in the imperial court of Delhi, circa 1300 AD. The naan-e-tanuk and the naan-e-tanuri were popular then as breakfast foods used either to scoop up your kheema (spicy minced beef) or roll around your kebab (grilled meat).

I’m conditioned and genetically programmed to be unable to throw food away even if I know it’s going to pine in the pantry forever and these store bought naans were definitely a miss. They kept whispering my name, especially during shavasana…All kitchen managers know that if the family rejects a certain product, it can take forever to change their minds. However, if you operate on a no-waste policy, you have to keep trying smoke and mirror techniques that re-introduce the food item or ingredient time and time again.

These naan pizzas were super easy to make and the only ‘work’ I did was to chop and saute fresh veggies for the toppings. I usually always have a green chutney made and stored in the fridge and it can be composed of any combination of green herbs, depending on what is fresh and seasonal in the grocery store: cilantro, mint, curry leaves, and basil.

• 

• 

Step by Step

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with foil (I forgot).
2. Cut naans into quarters and score them lightly with a knife.
3. Brush each quarter with olive oil and bake them for 5-6 minutes.
4. In the meantime prepare the toppings, which are limited only by your imagination:
   • Green chutney: cilantro-mint-green chillies-salt-cumin-lemon juice (blend all to a smooth paste)
   • Pan sautéed veggies—sliced onions, green bell peppers, baby rainbow colored carrots, snap peas, beets, zucchini, broccoli, corn, spinach, tomatoes, etc.
   • Store bought pizza sauce or marinara pasta sauce
   • Grated cheese—any combination works, here I used cheddar and parmesan
5. Layer as follows:
   • Either pizza or pasta sauce or chutney first.
   • Then the sautéed veggies.
   • Then the cheese
   • Some naans can be just sauce and cheese.
6. Bake again for 6-8 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the edges of the naans have browned

Some Tips

1. I love to use sautéed greens as a topping. Whenever I make sautéed chard, spinach or kale, I reserve some to use as toppings on naan or sourdough slices.
2. To saute vegetables:
   • Wash and chop into bite size pieces
   • Add 1 tbsp oil in a pan
   • Add the veggies one at a time with the hardest ones going in first
   • Carrots first, then onions, beans, peppers, zucchini or squash and leafy greens last
   • Saute on a medium-high flame till tender, they do not have to be very soft
   • Store them in the fridge for use in pastas or as toppings
3. My daughters love corn and cheese on pizza sauce so that is always an option in our kitchen.
4. I had bought some naans and since nobody really liked them, had shoved them into the freezer for later contemplation. So I had to thaw them first on the kitchen counter till they became soft.