A few weeks back, I managed to pull myself out of my little safe cocoon and attend a dinner party – this was a mighty feat! Conversations, laughter and much dancing ensued, but what I took home was the delicious taste of something called the ‘bullet na’an’. A soft pillowy dough, drenched in delicious cheese, garlic and chillies and eaten straight out of the wood brick oven – it was amazing. I ate far more than I ought to (not unusual!) and managed to crawl home at an unGodly hour of 3 am! But that bullet naan – mind blowing!
It also touched a memory of a decade ago – in boarding school in Singapore we often ventured down to the HDB hawker centres (a delight to any foodie!) and gorged on these cheese parathas which were flake-y pastry dough encased with oozing melted cheeses, onions and chillies. This was dipped into a spicy curry and all was well thereafter!
My recipe is a cross between the two dishes above. I use the standard paratha dough, which is easier to make in a jiffy, speckled with cumin powder, but stuffed twice with the cheesy filling. I like to serve this with Dry Mango and Vintage Lime Pickle by Aamra, available at Food & Wellness at The House of MG.
The Recipe
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup grated cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1/2 tsp chopped green chillies
- Oil for cooking
- Aamra Pickles to serve
Instructions
- Stir the flour, salt and cumin powder together.
- Combine the dough with water and oil using a fork.
- Stir the filling together and set aside.
- Divide the dough into 4 balls.
- Roll a ball into a medium flat round. Place a scoop of the mixture in the centre and wrap the side of the dough over the mixture into a ball.
- Roll the dough again into a flattened shape gently, careful to not break the centre.
- Place another scoop of the cheese filling and repeat the above process.
- Heat a non-stick pan with a brushing of oil.
- Place the na’an on the pan and cook for a few minutes on both sides.
- Serve piping hot with a side of Aamra Red Chilli Pickle.
