Naan is a round flat bread made of flour. Naans are a staple accompaniment to hot savoury meals in Central and South Asia, including the Punjab and Rajasthan in north-west India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and the surrounding region. In Turkic languages (such as Uzbek) the bread is known as non. Another variant spelling is nan.
Unlike roti naans are made using yeast, and milk or yogurt may also be used to give greater volume and make them thicker. Typically the naan will be served hot and brushed with ghee or butter. It can be used to scoop other foods, or served stuffed with a filling in a manner similar to pita, for example keema nan is stuffed with a minced meat mixture.
Traditionally the naan is cooked in a tandoor, the type of clay oven after which tandoori food is named.
Starting in the 1970s, the popularity of Indian cuisine increased rapidly in Western culture, starting in Britain with the emergence of curry restaurants. Many of the earliest such restaurants based their food on the cuisines of north and west India and Pakistan, such as Punjabi. Thus breads like the naan soon became familiar outside their areas of origin.
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