Where can I find naan bread, but not on Devon?

I admit I've been loading up on the Trader Joes Indian food (which are all excellent BTW) but I've been frustrated by their frozen naan bread. I'm trying to find the bags of naan bread that keep for 3 months in the fridge without driving all the way up North to Devon. Any stores that I don't know about a little closer to downtown?

Hi Trotsky,

I've been happy with Trade Joe's naan (but I eat it in much less than 3 months)...my cooking method is about 45 seconds in the microwave and then ~30 seconds in the toaster over @ 300' (until the moisture disappears from the oven's glass door). It gives me a good crispy/chewy texture.

Is your dissatisfaction with the taste, texture or the ability to keep it for up to 3 months?

That said, I did notice that Whole Foods on Ashland was selling naan (over near the seafood/bulk/salad dressings) last week. But, it looked as if it had been Whole Foods'ified. I didn't buy it because the bread looked a little too uniform, maybe the traditional naan flour had been replaced with some kind of "better" flour, I gave it a squeeze and it felt a little too firm and dry. (It's like when Whole Foods started selling my favorite Dutch stroopwafels, but replaced the syrup with organic honey...they were ok, but they weren't stroopwafels anymore. After years of looking for a US purveyor of stroopwafels, I finally found one, and they'd wrecked a perfectly delicious cookied by putting the WF twist on it. Fortunately, Trader Joes now sells the authentic version.)

I have to ask...where on Devon do you buy naan? I've gone into a handful of places looking for fresh naan, and haven't seen anything that looks fresh-out-of-the-oven delicious. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places.

Not stores, but have you considered any of the Pakistani cabbie restaurants around Chicago and Orleans? Of Baba’s, Zaiqa, Kababish, Daavat, and Pakiza, I think Baba’s does the best job with naan. A huge loaf, fresh from the tandoor, costs $1. I wonder if they might make a deal on multiple loaves at off hours. For an extra charge you can get butter naan, rogni naan, garlic, onion or keema naan. I have no idea how it freezes but when fresh it’s a great bread. I never tried Trader Joe’s naan but I feel quite confident in saying Baba’s is better.

Baba Palace
334 W Chicago Av (at Orleans)
Chicago
312-867-7777
Delivery from 11am-9:30pm (between Madison, Halsted, North, LSD)

And further to Rene's point, Kebab Corner in Greektown has less-good food but solid naan. A short walk from the Loop.

Another restaurant that would no doubt be happy to sell some good bread: Shan, recipient of a LTH Great Neighborhood award recently. Check out this additional thread: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=8558&highlight=shan It's in the corner of a little strip mall.

Shan
5060-A N. Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL. 60640
773-769-4961

chgoeditor wrote:I have to ask...where on Devon do you buy naan? I've gone into a handful of places looking for fresh naan, and haven't seen anything that looks fresh-out-of-the-oven delicious. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places.

hmmm, I find that kind of odd - unless you are eating off a buffet almost everyplace with a tandoor offers fresh Naan, as well as many places without a tandoor. If I was given Naan that had seemed to be sitting around, I would definitely ask for a fresh one. I'd go with Rene G's choice downtown if it is Naan you are looking for, though there are many other Indian breads that don't get as much discussion - for example I think the chapati at kababish nicer.

Chapati is really the more common bread Indians would eat with their food at home - for North Indians almost similar to the use of tortillas among Mexicans. Naan is something you go out for, as most folks don't have a tandoor (or for that matter, any oven) at home. This is why I think it is more often featured on restaurant menus.

This just scratches the surface of the indian bread offerings - There's bhatura for your chole, the layered plain and stuffed paranthas, rumali roti, bajra, makki ki roti, etc

Zim (and others),

It looks to me like Khan lost their ancient, seemingly wood or coal fired tandoors in the conflagration (I understand the old fashioned tandoors are very rare these days). While I agree with others that Khan is the irrepressible phoenix of Devon, and it seems as good as ever, I think, have you noticed any downturn in the breads and kebabs now that they use modern ovens? I've never noticed any discussion of this, though I'd think it would be big news if D'Amato's, Barbara Ann's, or Spacca Napoli lost their respective cookers.

zim wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:I have to ask...where on Devon do you buy naan? I've gone into a handful of places looking for fresh naan, and haven't seen anything that looks fresh-out-of-the-oven delicious. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places.

hmmm, I find that kind of odd - unless you are eating off a buffet almost everyplace with a tandoor offers fresh Naan, as well as many places without a tandoor. If I was given Naan that had seemed to be sitting around, I would definitely ask for a fresh one.

Maybe I should clarify...are there bakeries that people recommend on Devon that sell naan to go? I haven't seen fresh naan in many of the grocery stores in that neighborhood, and it never really occured to me to buy it to go from a sit-down restaurant. (After all, sit-down restaurants aren't where I typically buy my French bread, my tortillas, etc...)

chgoeditor wrote:Maybe I should clarify... (After all, sit-down restaurants aren't where I typically buy my French bread, my tortillas, etc...)

Naah, I think I should. My experience in India (and this is true on Devon as well) is that bakeries, per se, don't really exist (with a few scattered exceptions) Most breads aren't baked, and those that are are done in a tandoor and places with a tandoor will also use for chicken and kabobs. There may be a communal oven in villages where people can take their items to bake but nobody is selling naan other than kabob places. So your best bet is to go to one of those. As far as where to buy, I'll say again that I am not so much a naan guy (more of a rice eater or chapatis) but I've given some suggestions in the past (I knew we had had this discussion before)

Hi there,
Any recent advice on places to buy good Naan? Alternately, I'm thinking about making it so would love your favorite recipe...

I just go to any Indian restaurant, and order it "to go." plus, that way, you can usually get some nice greezy, fresh paratha too. You can buy both naan and paratha frozen in any Indian grocery store (pillsbury makes paratha!, and it tastes JUST like a pillsbury product too!)

A secret I use at home: El Milagro Flour Tortillas Caseras - the fajita ones. They make two fajita size flour tortillas but the ones I'm referring to here are the "casera style" tortillas. These are thick, and chewy, and puff up if you put them in the oven for a minute. They also hold up REALLY well to gravy (curry) dishes. If I can't get naan or paratha (or simply don't care to go out of my way for them) these tortillas will surprise the heck out of you. I'll normally pop them in the oven until they are ever so slightly brown and a little bit fluffed, then arrange them on a platter, put the basmati over the tortillas, and then throw the food on top of the rice. When your gravy (curry) soaks through the rice and into the tortillas on the bottom, well, let's just say there have been fights at the table for the bottom layer of soaked tortillas.
You can get these El MIlagro Fajita Size Tortillas Caseras ANYWHERE. Usually run about 1.69 for 10 of them. Worth every penny. Jewel / Dominick's will even have them. You'll know instantly these are not little limp flour tortillas as soon as you pick them up. The package of 10 has serious weight, and thickness.