The earliest appearance of "naan" in English is from 1803 in a travelogue of William Tooke. The Persian word nān 'bread' is attested in Middle Persian as n'n 'bread, food', which is of Iranian origin, and is a cognate with Parthianngn, Kurdishnan, Balochinagan, Sogdiannγn-, and Pashtonəγan 'bread'. Naan may have derived from bread baked on hot pebbles in ancient Persia. The form naan has a widespread distribution, having been borrowed in a range of languages spoken in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, where it usually refers to a kind of flatbread. The spelling naan is first attested in 1979, and has since become the normal English spelling.
Varieties
Western Asia
Naan as known today originates from Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and the Indian Subcontinent. The most familiar and readily available varieties of naan in Western countries are those from the Indian subcontinent. In Iran, as well as in other West Asian nations or ethnic groups in the region, from which the word originated, nân does not carry any special significance, as it is the generic word for any kind of bread.
South Asia
Naan in parts of the Indian subcontinent usually refers to a specific kind of thick flatbread ; unleavened dough is also used. Naan is cooked in a tandoor, from which tandoori cooking takes its name. This distinguishes it from roti, which is usually cooked on a flat or slightly concave iron griddle called a tava. Modern recipes sometimes substitute baking powder for the yeast. Milk or yogurt may also be used to impart distinct tastes to the naan. Milk used instead of water will, as it does for ordinary bread, yield a softer dough. Also, when bread starter is used, the milk may undergo modest lactic fermentation. Typically, it is served hot and brushed with some water but in some other cultures such as those in the Indian Subcontinent, they brush ghee or butter. It can be used to scoop other foods or served stuffed with a filling. A typical naan recipe involves mixing white or whole wheat flour with active dry yeast, salt, and water. The dough is kneaded for a few minutes, then set aside to rise for a few hours. Once risen, the dough is divided into balls, which are flattened and cooked. In Pakistani cuisine, naans are typically flavored with fragrant essences, such as rose, khus, or with butter or ghee melted on them. Nigella seeds are commonly added to naan as cooked in Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants throughout the UK. Raisins, lentils and spices can be added. Naan can also be covered with, or serve as a wrap for, various toppings of meat, vegetables, or cheeses. This version is sometimes prepared as fast food. It can also be dipped into such soups as dal and goes well with sabzis.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, naan is popular in Indian Indonesian and Arab Indonesian community as well as Malay, Acehnese and Minangkabau–with other variant of roti like roti canai. This dish usually locally known as roti naan or roti nan and cooked using Indonesian spices, such as garlic with local taste.
Myanmar
Naan bya in Burma is sometimes served at breakfast with tea or coffee. It is round, soft, and blistered, often buttered, or with pè byoukon top, or dipped in thousoup. Luri fiçá in Rohingya is similar to naan, but made of rice and served at festivals with beef, mutton, vegetables, and soups. It is a national cake of Rohingya in Arakan. Naan pizza is a type of pizza where naan is used as the crust instead of the traditional pizza dough. Chefs and companies such as Nigella Lawson, and Wegmans offer recipes for people to make their own naan pizza at home.
