Butter garlic naan is a traditional flatbread and one of the most popular versions of naan. It’s made with flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dahi. Once the dough has been baked in a hot tandoor oven, the golden naan is taken out and brushed with butter or ghee, then topped with minced garlic. It’s recommended to serve butter garlic naan with a variety of Indian dishes such as curries, butter chicken, dal makhani, malai kofta, or shahi paneer.
Coming from the North Indian city of Amritsari, Amritsari kulcha is a flatbread stuffed with potatoes, onions, cottage cheese, and spices. The flatbread is commonly garnished with coriander seeds, cilantro, and red chili powder. Thin, crispy, and smeared with ghee butter, it is a staple food in Amritsar, with almost every shop in the city sizzling with the sound of kulchas baked in large tandoor ovens. Not much is known about the history of this flavorful dish, and even the locals say that kulcha is just something they have always eaten, a variation on numerous flatbreads that the country is known for.
Roti canai is a traditional pan-fried flatbread made with flour, water, eggs, and fat of Indian origin, but mainly associated with Malaysia, and surrounding countries like Indonesia, Brunei, and Thailand. The dough for roti canai is repeatedly folded, so the final product has a layered texture, a soft interior, and a crispy outer layer. The most common fat used in roti canai is ghee, the traditional Indian clarified butter. It is believed that the dish originated in India when the Indian laborers who migrated to Malaysia brought the recipe and the tradition of preparing this crispy pastry to the foreign country. Usually, it is served plain in its traditional round form, as an accompaniment to curries. It can be served on the side or torn into pieces and mixed with the curry. However, roti canai is often served as the star dish, accompanied by different savory and sweet fillings and ingredients. If additional fillings are added, roti canai is usually shaped into rectangles. For example, in Malaysia, one can find various roti canai types, which are differentiated by the type of filling — egg, onion, egg and onion, banana, sardines, margarine and sugar, Maggi instant noodles, cheese, vegetable, and pork filling are some of the many available. However, roti canai doesn't have to have a filling but only a topping, such as fried eggs, curry, beans, lentils, and coffee beans. But martabak, a thick roti filled with meats, eggs, onions, and spices, is probably the best-known type of roti canai. Apart from Malaysia, it can also be found in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and a few other countries. Other than Malaysia, a very similar type of flatbread can be found in Singapore, where it's called roti prata. This crispy bread is usually sold by street vendors called mamaks.
Aloo naan is a traditional flatbread and a version of naan. It’s made with a combination of flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and dahi. The naan is stuffed with a spicy combination of mashed potatoes, chili peppers, coriander, and garam masala, if desired. Once prepared, the golden tandoor-baked naan is brushed with butter or ghee, then served hot. It’s recommended to serve aloo naan with a variety of Indian dishes such as raita, chola, and dal makhani.
Parotta is a traditional Southern Indian flatbread, usually sold as street food. It is also popular in Malaysia and Sri Lanka. It is made with oil or ghee, water, refined wheat flour known as maida (unlike parathas, which are made with regular wheat), and occasionally eggs. The resulting dough is pan-fried and served with various vegetable or meat curries. This flatbread may also be incorporated into various dishes such as kothu parotta that combines shredded parotta with meat, eggs, and a spicy saalna sauce. A common variation of this popular flatbread is atta parotta, which is prepared with whole wheat flour.
Roti prata is a Singaporean specialty consisting of a ghee-flavored flatbread that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is typically served with mutton curry or various fish dishes. There are many prata stalls throughout Singapore, so the texture of roti prata ranges from chewy and flaky to super crispy. The flatbread can also be turned into a dessert by adding ingredients such as chocolate, ice cream, or cheese.
Naan is a unique and popular flatbread with a chewy texture that has its roots in India. The first documented traces of naan are found in the 1300 AD notes of Amir Kushrau, an Indo-Persian poet. Its name comes from the Persian word for bread. Naan was originally made in two versions at the Imperial Court in Delhi - naan-e-tunuk (light bread) and naan-e-tanuri (baked on the stone walls of a tandoor oven). It consists of white flour, yeast, eggs, milk, salt, and sugar, baked in a tandoor oven. Its typical tear-drop shape is achieved by the way the dough droops as it cooks on the tandoor walls. Many Indian villages had a communal tandoor, placed in the middle of the village so that all the locals could bake naan. There are also many varieties of naan, such as kulcha (the flatbread is stuffed with a filling of nuts and raisins, potatoes, or onions) and garlic naan, topped with butter and crushed garlic. Traditionally, naan is served hot from the oven, slightly charred, brushed with ghee - Indian clarified butter, and it is usually consumed as an accompaniment to a variety of dishes.
Nan-e barbari is a flatbread known for its thick, airy crumb and golden crust brushed with a special flour paste called roomal. Originating among the Hazara people who settled in Iran, this bread became especially associated with Tehran and other northern cities, where it is commonly baked fresh each morning and sold in bakeries to accompany breakfast or lunch. Its long, oval shape and characteristic ridged surface make it immediately recognizable on bakery shelves. The history of nan-e barbari reflects Iran’s rich baking culture, which includes many regional breads with distinct textures and preparation methods. The word “barbari” was used historically to describe the Hazara ethnic group, who brought their baking techniques to central Iran. Over time, this bread was embraced by the wider population and became one of the most widespread breads in Iranian cities. Recipes and shaping methods were refined in professional bakeries to achieve the signature crust that stays chewy and moist longer than many thinner flatbreads. Preparing nan-e barbari begins with mixing wheat flour, yeast, water, and salt into a smooth dough that is rested until doubled in size. The dough is then divided into portions and gently shaped by hand into long ovals. Before baking, each piece is brushed generously with roomal, a cooked paste of flour and water that keeps the surface soft while it expands and creates a glossy crust. The baker presses rows of deep ridges along the dough with fingers or the edge of the palm. Sometimes sesame or nigella seeds are sprinkled on top for added flavor. Baked on hot stones or a preheated oven floor, the bread emerges with a crisp base and a tender, chewy interior. One aspect of nan-e barbari is how its preparation has been adapted to modern bakeries. While some home cooks still bake it in gas ovens or on baking stones, many people prefer to buy it fresh from specialized bakeries that produce dozens of loaves each morning. These bakeries often have large gas-fired ovens with conveyor belts that simulate the effect of the hot stones once used in brick ovens. Nan-e barbari is usually eaten warm, torn by hand, and served with feta cheese, fresh herbs, walnuts, and sometimes clotted cream or jam for breakfast. In many Iranian households, it appears alongside stews and kebabs as well.
Golden-brown in color, flaky and layered, paratha is a type of Indian bread that is typically consumed for breakfast. The name comes from a combination of words parat and atta (flour), referring to the cooked, layered dough. It consists of whole wheat flour that is baked in ghee (Indian clarified butter) and comes in round, triangular, square, or heptagonal shapes. Parathas are often stuffed with ingredients such as boiled potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, chili, paneer, or radish. They are sometimes accompanied by pickles, yogurt, homemade chutneys, or meat and vegetable curries. In Punjab, paratha is traditionally paired with lassi, a popular yogurt-based drink. Although the flatbread originated in Peshawar, Pakistan, it has spread throughout India where it can be found at numerous street stands and roadside eateries. The southern Indian version is called parotta. Another way of eating paratha is to roll it into a pipe and dip it into tea. Versatile, buttery, and aromatic - parathas are irresistible in the morning, and that just may be the key to their popularity.
Paneer naan is a traditional flatbread and a version of naan. The dough is made with a combination of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and yogurt. Once rolled, it’s usually stuffed with freshly grated paneer cheese (preferably homemade), coriander, masala spices, and cumin. Although plain naan is baked in a tandoor, this stuffed version is typically baked in a tava pan until the dough puffs up and becomes golden brown. Once done, paneer naan is brushed with melted butter or ghee, and it’s then served while still hot. It’s recommended to pair it with various Indian dishes such as curries or dal makhani.
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