Tuesday, June 28, 2016

IRANIAN / PERSIAN BARBARI BREAD / NAAN-E-BARBARI / NOON BARBARI


Barbari or barberi means our fathers ‘of or related to the Barbars in Persian language. The Barbars live in the Khorasan region, near the eastern border of Iran. The word Barbar means uncivilized, foreign, barbarian) . The Barbars hated being referred by such a name and Reza Shah granted them the name Khavari (Easterners).
 However, the name of the bread remains. It’s a very popular bread baked in Iran. It’s made in traditional brick ovens. The bakers make it about 70-80cm long and 30-45 cm wide. It’s usually served with tea and a soft cheese called lighvan cheese which is made from ewe’s milk. It’s also served with typical Iranian jams (Moraba).
 Modern times means it can be served with feta cheese, olives, dips, gravies, curries and whatever you fancy. The bread is golden brown because of the spread or roomal that is smeared on it before baking. Barbari bread is slightly thicker than most flatbreads that we know of.
Baking this bread in convectional ovens gives a different texture from those baked in the traditional ovens. If you have a pizza stone use it to bake this bread.

We Knead to Bake - Bread #40 (Aparna Balasubramanian's Event)
Recipe and Info - Courtesy Mayuri Patel
Recipe Source - Heghineh.com and Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Ingredients:
For the dough:
 All purpose flour (plain flour).... 3 cups
Warm water.... 1½ cups
Instant dry active yeast.... 1½ tsps.
Sea salt (or normal salt)... 1½ tsps
Sugar ........... 1½ tsp
Baking powder.... ½ tsp

For the roomal (spread):
Water....  cup
All purpose flour (plain flour) ... 1 tsp
Baking soda (soda bicarbonate).. 1 tsp

For topping:
Nigella seeds(kalonji) or sesame seeds

Some semolina (sooji) to spread the dough
Some oil for greasing
Extra flour for kneading the dough


Preparation of the dough:
1.    Mix flour, yeast, salt, baking powder and sugar in a big bowl.
2.    Add warm water and form a dough.
3.    Dust the worktop with some flour and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes or till it is smooth and elastic. This bread requires a good gluten formation so make sure you knead it well. Or alternatively knead the dough in a dough machine.
4.    Form the dough into a ball shape and place it in the greased bowl. Cover with a wet tea towel or a cling film.
              Place it in a warm place to allow the dough to rise till its double the size. This will take about 1½ hours.



In the meantime prepare the roomal or spread:
1.    Put the flour, water and baking soda in a pan.
2.    Mix well.
3.    Put the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
4.    Let it boil for 2-3 minutes.
5.    Let the roomal cool down before using it.



Preparation of Barbari Bread:
1.    Knead the dough gently and divide it into 4 parts.
2.    Line baking sheets with parchment paper or grease it with oil.
3.    Sprinkle some semolina on the worktop.
4.    Take one piece of the dough and using the roomal, spread it into an approximately 9”X 4” oblong shape.
5.    Using the roomal, make grooves/lines lengthwise about 1-2”apart on the flattened bread.
1.    Place it on the baking tray.
2.    Repeat steps 3 -6 with the remaining dough.
3.    Spread the remaining roomal on the bread pieces.
4.    Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds or nigella seeds or a mixture of both.
5.    Preheat the oven to 180°C.
6.    Place the trays in the oven and bake the bread for 20-25 minutes or till it’s golden brown.
7.    If  you place both the trays in the oven at the same time, remember to switch their positions half way.
8.    Remove the baked barbari bread from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.
9.    Serve with tea, your favourite dip, olive oil, feta cheese or any soft cheese. You can even serve with some Shahi Chicken / Mutton Curry


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12 comments:

  1. It has come out very well...thanx for sharing it

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  2. I have never heard of this bread but it certainly looks delicious.

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  3. I had seen references to this delicious naan-e-barbari but never came across the recipe. Thanks to you I have one now. Definitely will try.

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  4. Good to know about this Iranian Persian Barbari Bread Naan. It surely must be a wonderful naan to go with a curry entrée. The naan looks even more appealing with the roomal and seeds on top. Thank you for sharing.. Nice sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Neha. It really tastes so good with non veg gravies.

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  5. Beautifully baked. Soft texture and crunchy top. Love making Naan - E- Barbari as it comes out so different from other flatbreads.

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    Replies
    1. You are right Mayuri. This looks and tastes better and different than other flat breads

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