Caprese Flatbread

You could call it Pizza if you so fancy or even nanizza if you are feeling creative because essentially this yummy dish is nothing but classic caprese style toppings over a naan flat bread. A few moons ago I had shared a similar flat bread pizza with some classic makhani style paneer topping. Of course the choice of toppings is only limited by your imagination but for me a very good combination (when its not paneer of course) is a simple but a classic combo of tomatoes, cheese, basic and garlic. Not to mention it is much simpler to put together than a traditional pizza if you use store bought naans which work perfectly well in this preparation.
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Butter Chicken/Murg Makhani

If you have been following USMasala you would've probably guessed that hubs and I are vegetarians. This is the second chicken recipe among the close to three hundred that I have published so far - the only other being Chicken Tikka. I have sung praises of my Chicken-holic brother if you read the chicken tikka post. That should give you an idea how much he has to have chicken in some form at least for one or even two meals every day. This might surprise you but I do cook chicken for him at home when he visits. Yes that's right, I make it for him without even tasting it and like he says it is some of the best chicken ever and trust me he is honest when it comes to his opinions - especially to me. For that I give myself some serious bragging rights.
Now for the recipe itself - the name Butter Chicken might be misleading as I believe the word 'butter' in it for the creamy texture of gravy rather than the fact that it is loaded with butter. I have seen the literal interpretation of the name in many preparations in the local restaurants. This recipe here - believe it or not - uses no butter at all and trust me, you will not miss it. Also, unlike the impression that the ingredients list might give you, the recipe is rather straightforward to make. So for all you chicken lovers, let me know how you like it.
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Paneer makani naanizza!

eftovers can be an issue at times. Mostly hubs will not want to eat it the following day (he says he does but I can tell he'd rather not). It is more of an issue when your leftovers are dishes that are close to your heart and you just spent your entire weekend cooking them up. It just so happened this past weekend that I had leftover Panner Makhani and Naan, two things that I just cannot explain how much I love. Now of course I couldn't eat it all by myself and it would break my heart if I had to throw away paneer in any shape or form.
You of course guessed where this is leading up to. Long-story-short, all my leftovers were gone in no time. Not until later, when I pointed out, is when hubs realized they were leftovers. This was not the first time I had made these insanely delicious fusion pizzas that kiddo and I like to lovingly call 'nanizza'. It never fails me as was the case this time around. Kiddo totally loved it too - the result that pleases me the most.
Naan based pizzas are becoming increasingly popular, so much so that the frozen version of it have started to appear on regular grocery stores. I have made it with different toppings like aloo gobhi, palak paneer and even baingan bharta and this time it was paneer makhani. 

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Garlic Naan

ince the beginning of time, countries have invaded other countries. India has been no different. What sets India apart however is that most invaders ended up making it their home. This mixing of cultures has given India its rich diversity. With cultures comes their food and hence the rich diversity of Indian cuisine. Now I am no historian but from what little knowledge I have, I believe the modern 'Naan' bread evolved from a combination of middle eastern and local Indian cuisine. It is basically a round or oval shaped leavened flat bread made with wheat flour, salt, yeast culture and yogurt. Traditionally it is cooked in a clay oven or 'tandoor' and it is found in many avatars in central and south asia. Earlier it was mainly found in northern India being synonymous with Punjabi cuisine but now it is found in most parts of the country. I have posted the plain version of this bread before so I will not go into the details of how I got around to learning to make it. Lets just say this is the best bread I like and within its different kinds, I like the Garlic Naan the best. Soft yet toasty bread soaked in butter.. then dipped in curry of your choice.. ahhh.. out of this world :) just yum!!
Here's my version of the classic.

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Butter Garlic Naan

his being the first recipe in my blog, I will start with the recipe for one of the most famous and loved Indian bread, the one and only NAAN. It's our (me and my hubby's) all time favorite bread. Soft yet toasty leavened bread soaked in butter.. then dipped in curry of your choice.. ahhh.. out of this world :) just yum!! We used to always order this whenever in any Indian restaurant but never tried making this at home. For me it was just something only a restaurant chef can make, just so out of my boundaries...Then i got married, came to the US with my dear hubby started my cooking adventures (burning roties, making overly salted sabjis, using salt in place of sugar in desserts, etc :)). Slowly and gradually with the support and trust of dear hubby I started getting comfortable in the kitchen tweaking, experimenting with different recipes and here I am with my very own food blog.
One thing that we miss here in the US is the luxury of having good Indian food available at any street corner you turn which we used to take so for granted in India. We used to crave for good naan, paneer butter masala.. (especially given my cooking expertise) and also didn't have the enthusiasm to drive 10 -15 miles every time for getting to the nearest indian restaurant in the area. So one day I just decided to make these at home and you guessed it I failed miserably. I started looking for recipes on the internet tried and tweaked some. In the process I finally learned how to make really good naan. I have tried making naan using a pressure cooker, grill, oven and even stove top. On regular basis at home I usually make this with atta or whole wheat flour and avoid butter. It tastes awesome and is also figure friendly (see notes).
Naan is basically a round/oval shaped bread made with maida (all purpose flour), salt, yeast culture and yogurt, cooked in a clay oven or a Tandoor. Here I am giving the recipe for traditional Indian naan using maida cooked in an American oven SO enjoy and hope you like the recipe.

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