Make the softest and most delicious gluten free naan ever! With this recipe, you will never have to worry about missing out on bread. This grain free naan (roti) is a dairy free, nut free and paleo friendly recipe.
Naan is much loved by all of us at home. I make it quite often, especially these easy whole wheat flatbreads and pair them with Indian curry dishes.
We also love having parathas as a breakfast /brunch option on a lazy Sunday with raitha (yogurt dip) and green chutney. We are a family of four and divided in two teams - my husband and younger daughter are team roti (flatbreads); my older daughter and myself are team rice :-)) and so for us rice lovers there is almost always a rice dish along with roti/parathas at our table.
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Recently, my husband has developed sensitivity to gluten. This lead me to explore the world of gluten free recipes. (I was also secretly hoping to sway him towards the rice team!)
While I was experimenting with different flour combinations for that foolproof gluten free roti recipe, he threw another challenge at me! Now he wanted to be on a grain free diet for a few months (and with that went my hopes that he will come on to our side of the line!)
The recipe developer in me loved the challenge though and my brain wheels started churning to develop not only the best gluten free flatbread recipe, but grain free as well!
During a conversation with my sister, she mentioned how she was struggling with gluten sensitivity herself. She had tried grain free flatbread mix, but much preferred making them at home from scratch. And then she suggested this flour mix to me. I will explain what those flours are in a moment...
Gluten free naan recipe ingredients
I cannot stop gushing over how lovely this recipe is! This 'buckwheat naan bread' (as I also refer to it) is being made on repeat in our house over the past few months and we seem to show no signs of getting tired of it! My husband has given this recipe the title 'best gluten free flatbread recipe' that is out there!
Requiring only 5 ingredients, recipes cannot get easier than this! These gluten free roti are soft enough to be used as tortilla, wrap or a crepe.
- Buckwheat Flour: This nutritious, gluten free (even though it has the word "wheat" in it) flour has a distinctive earthy taste and gives this flatbread its rustic texture.
- Roasted Chickpea flour: Also know as sattu, this is a flour made out of roasted chickpeas.
- Potatoes: Potatoes add a wonderful texture and creamy taste to the roti. Potatoes also do the job of binding the flours to form a dough because both buckwheat and chickpea flours are gluten free.
- Ghee: Both buckwheat and chickpea flours, being gluten free have a dry texture. They therefore need a good amount of moisture (which comes from the potatoes) and good fat (ghee) to bind them well. I love the nutty flavour that ghee adds to this dish.
- Oil for roasting: Use any neutral oil for roasting the flatbreads. Or ghee.
Instructions
Let us make these gluten free roti shall we?
- Boil the potatoes: Do this in the pressure cooker to save yourself a lot of time. When the pressure cooker is cool enough to handle, uncover, peel the potatoes, mash them and keep them aside.
- Mix the dough: To a large mixing bowl, add the flours, salt, ghee and the mashed potatoes. Mix well with your hand. The moisture from the potatoes should help the dough to come together for the most part.
3. Add a little water and mix the dough again. If you need more water, add in a bit more. The dough formed should be soft but not sticky. It will be difficult to roll out sticky, wet dough.
4. Knead the dough - with the base of your palm and knuckles - for 3-4 minutes till it looks smooth.
5. Pinch the dough into equal(ish) sized portions and roll them into balls. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and keep aside.
6. Roll the naan: On a clean surface, sprinkle some buckwheat flour. Take one ball of dough and dip it in some flour. Roll it out to a round, flat shape, applying very little pressure. If you press too hard while rolling the dough out, the dough will tear/break.
Roll out all the other dough balls in the same way.
7. Roast the naan: Heat a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Place one rolled out naan carefully, without breaking it, Roast till you can see bubble appear. Now flip it over. Add 1 teaspoon of oil around the edges and some on the top of the naan. Let it roast till you can see bubbles appear on the other side as well.
Press the naan gently with the spatula to help it cook well. The brown spots all over the naan are a sign that it is well roasted.
Roast the other naans in the same way.
Serve warm with any vegetable or dip of your choice.
Tips and Notes
- Potatoes: Use potatoes that are used for making mash. Boil the potatoes till they are soft and fluffy and mash them soft and lump free. This is important. Lumps will tear the roti and make it difficult to roll them out. To be extra sure that there are no lumps, I prefer to grate the boiled potatoes.
- Water: The boiled potatoes, for the most part, should give the flours enough moisture to dome together as a dough. You will need to add some water. Use warm water - this will help bind the flours better.
- I recommend that you keep the water in measured quantity ready and use only as much is required - little by little. The exact amount of water that will be needed will depend on the quality of the flours and variety of potatoes used.
Substitutions
- If you cannot find sattu, it is ok to use regular chickpea flour.
- Use an oil with good fats, such as coconut, avocado or olive oil instead of ghee.
Serving suggestions
Make a delicious grain free, on the go meal with this easy pickled carrots and daikon and tender okra fry as wrap fillings.
Or at the table, with the family, with this delicious green chutney and zucchini lentils
I hope that you enjoy making this easy gluten free naan as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you. If you have made it, please take a moment to leave a comment and /or a rating below. This will make me super happy and motivate me to create more good content for you! xx Padma
Grain Free, Gluten Free Naan Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
- 1 large bowl
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 skillet
- 1 spatula
Ingredients
- 2 medium size potatoes (200 grams, approximately)
- ⅔ cup roasted chickpea flour (sattu) (80 grams, approximately)
- ⅔ cup buckwheat flour (kuttu) (80 grams, approximately)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon ghee (or oil)
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil per roti i.e. 8 teaspoons in total (for roasting)
Instructions
Prep the potatoes
- Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker with just enough water to cover them. Cook them for 3-4 whistles. The potatoes should be cooked through without becoming a mush.2 medium size potatoes
- When the pressure cooker has cooled down, remove the potatoes, peel them and mash them smoothly without any lumps. Keep aside.
The dough
- In a wide bowl, add the buckwheat and chickpea flours. Add the salt and ghee (or oil). Add the mashed potatoes. Mix it all well. The moisture from the potatoes should help in bringing the dough together to a large extent.⅔ cup roasted chickpea flour (sattu), ⅔ cup buckwheat flour (kuttu), 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon ghee
- Now add some of the water and mix it. Add more water only if the dough has not formed well yet. If the dough has come together, do not use any more water. The dough should be soft, but not sticky.¼ cup warm water
- Knead the dough (with the base of your palm and your knuckles) for 2-3 minutes. Make equal (ish) sized balls of the dough. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and keep aside.
Make the naan
- On a clean surface, sprinkle some buckwheat flour. Take one ball of dough and dip it in some flour. Roll it out to a round, flat shape, applying very little pressure. If you press too hard while rolling the dough out, the dough will tear/break.
- Roll out all the other dough balls in the same way.
Roast the naan
- Heat a, preferably cast iron, skillet pan on medium heat. Place one rolled out naan carefully, without breaking it, Roast till you can see bubble appear. Now flip it over. Add 1 teaspoon of oil around the edges and some on the top of the naan. Let it roast till you can see bubbles appear on the other side as well. Press the naan gently with the spatula to help it cook well. The brown spots all over the naan are a sign that it is well roasted.
- Roast the other naans in the same way.
- Serve warm with any vegetable or dip of your choice. I like to serve it with this delicious Indian yogurt dip
Notes
- Roasted Chickpea flour: Also know as sattu, this is a flour made out of roasted chickpeas. If you cannot find sattu, it is ok to use regular chickpea flour.
- Potatoes: Both buckwheat and chickpea flours are gluten free. They need something to bind them together. Potatoes do that job. Boil the potatoes till they are soft and fluffy. Mash them soft and lump free. This is important. Lumps will tear the roti and make it difficult to roll them out. To be extra sure that there are no lumps, I prefer to grate the boiled potatoes.
- No pressure cooker?: Pressure cooker does make the cooking faster. If you do not have a pressure cooker, then boil the potatoes in a saucepan.
- Ghee or oil?: The flours have a dry, grainy texture. They therefore need a good amount of moisture (which comes from the potatoes) and good fat (ghee) to bind them well. I love the nutty flavour that ghee adds to this dish. You can replace the ghee with any good quality oil that has good fats such as coconut, avocado or olive oil.
- Using up the dough: The only down side to this lovely recipe is that the dough does not keep well for long. If kept for too long, the dough will become sticky and therefore difficult to roll out.
- Storing the dough: If, however, you do want to prep ahead, then store the dough before you have added any water to it (after step 3). It will stay good for up to 2 days. When you are ready to make the naans again, you just have to resume from step 4.
Indu says
Made this today. Loved it. So soft, so good!
Padma Kumar says
Thank you. Indeed, lovely texture!
Laura says
Absolutely yum! Padma, you have nailed it, yet again!
Padma Kumar says
Thank you so much Laura. Appreciate your feedback!