Meat Stuffed Naan (Xian Bing)

Let’s Make Meat Stuffed Naan (AKA Xian Bing)

This isn’t really a traditional or classic recipe from any cuisine. It is more of a fusion of two types of things that I really like: Naan and Xian Bing. Naan is a type of Indian flat bread that tends to be super fluffy. Xian Bing is literally just meat stuffed flat bread from Chinese cuisine. The difference is that Xian Bing doesn’t have any leavening in the bread. So it’s literally a stiff dough. I wanted something OILY, FLUFFY, COMFORTING.

I know that traditional Naan uses yeast or natural leavening, but I literally cannot be bothered to use yeast. I’m quite an impatient person, and waiting for something to rise is not something that I will do often. The yeast honestly doesn’t really add anything to this recipe when the filling is so heavily spiced. Also, keep this on the lowkey, but the main reason I don’t fuck around with yeast anymore is because I once got a yeast infection…. That shit is scary lol.

1. To make the dough, mix together Green Yogurt, Salt, Sugar, Oil, and Water until homogenous. Then, add in the dry ingredients (Flour and Baking Powder). Mix and knead until a loose, shaggy dough comes into a ball. You may need to add more water to make everything clump together into one big ball of dough. Little loose ends and bits of flour are perfectly acceptable. Cover the dough with a lid or a damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Mixing all of the wet ingredients together will make things more evenly dispersed and less clumpy when adding in the flour. Allowing the dough to rest will help the dough develop gluten and relax a bit. Relaxing the dough makes it more pliable. Gluten is important as it helps make the naan more fluffy and structurally sound. While the dough is resting, it is the perfect time to make the filling.

2. Combine all of the filling ingredients together, cover with a lid, and let it marinate. You can really add any type of vegetable or adjust the seasoning to whatever suites your taste. If you want a vegetarian diet, just substitute tofu or something with the meat filling. Any meat filling works as well.

3. After the dough ball has rested for thirty minutes, it should become more hydrated and should be more supple–easily kneaded. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, until the dough has become smooth and equally hydrated.

4. Portion the dough into 8 equal pieces by cutting the dough ball into half, shaping each half into a ball, then cutting halves into quarters. Shape the 8 equal pieces of dough into a smaller ball by rolling it between your hands, or stuffing the outside of the dough pieces into the middle to stretch out the center of the dough.

You can really use whatever method to make smaller dough balls, but I prefer to use the method of tucking in the top of the dough pieces into the bottom of the dough pieces to stretch out the center. Alternatively, you can just roll the dough pieces into balls with your hands.

5. The dough balls should be quite supple and won’t need to be dusted with flour when being rolled out. In case the dough balls do need to be dusted, lightly dust it with flour. Flatten each dough ball into rounds with your palms and roll them out to be about ⅕ inch thick. If the dough balls are hard to roll out, cover them and let them sit for 10-15 minutes to relax the gluten structure. If the dough is ever stiff and hard to manipulate, cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let them relax for 10-15 minutes.

6. In the flattened dough balls, put in ⅛ of the meat filling and cheese if wanted. Seal the edges of the dough together in any manner that works–I prefer to crimp them like a steamed dumpling but any manner should work. Flatten out the sealed dough balls into thin pancakes with your hand or rolling pin. I try to flatten out the flat breads as thin as possible but just make sure that the filling doesn’t leak out. If you have excess meat filling, you can freeze it or just pan fry them as meatballs.

Seal the dumplings in whichever method that works, but I prefer to crimp them like a soup dumpling. To crimp it like I do, place the dumpling in your non-dominant hand and use your dominant hand to pinch a small section of the wrapper at the top edge. Keep folding small pleats in one direction, always bringing a new section of the wrapper toward the center where you’re pinching. Slightly rotate the dumpling in your palm as you add more pleats, so they wrap around in a circle. Once you’ve pleated all around, pinch the top tightly to seal. Twist slightly if needed.

7. On a medium-high heat pan that is well oiled, fry your flat bread one at a time. Each side should take about 5-8 minutes or until crispy golden brown. If you are nervous about the filling not being cooked, set the temperature to low and continue frying the flat bread.