Frozen Naan & Kulcha

Naan is a leavened flatbread made from maida with yoghurt, milk or yeast, traditionally slapped onto the hot wall of a clay tandoor so it puffs and chars in spots. Garlic naan, butter naan and plain naan are the familiar ones, and some carry nigella seeds or coriander on top. Kulcha is its Punjabi relative, softer and often stuffed: Amritsari kulcha is filled with spiced potato, onion or paneer and baked until crisp on the outside.

Naan is the bread for butter chicken, dal makhani, paneer tikka masala and lamb rogan josh, and a stack of them makes a dinner with guests easy. Kulcha is traditionally eaten with chole, spiced chickpeas with onion and lemon, so keep tinned chickpeas and chole masala beside it. For everyday bread, frozen chapatis are lighter.

The oven gives the closest result to a tandoor. Heat it well, put the frozen naan straight onto a tray or the shelf and bake for a few minutes until puffed and hot. On the hob, warm it on a tawa and finish it under a hot grill or briefly over the flame. Brush with melted butter or ghee as it comes out. Naan keeps for months at -18°C, but a defrosted pack is for eating that day. More breads are under frozen parathas and breads.