GEORGE TOWN, July 17 — The humble Indian flatbread, known as naan, can be easily found in North Indian restaurants particularly around Little India in George Town.

The flatbread, which is pillowy soft with a slight crisp to it, is made from a mix of atta flour, yeast, ghee and yoghurt.

What’s special about it is that it is usually baked in a clay oven where the dough is stuck to the sides of the hot clay oven where it puffs up as it cooks.

Due to it being baked in a clay oven, the naan often has a very slightly burnt crust and flattens out when it’s removed from the oven — thus the name flatbread. The resulting texture is one that is soft and slightly chewy accompanied by a hint of smokiness from the fire inside the clay oven.

Naan is often served plain but there are also different flavours such as butter, garlic, cheese, Kashmiri and masala.

The naan can be eaten as is but it is often served in a set with tender tandoori chicken, dhal, mint sauce and garnished with onions.

The tandoori chicken is chicken marinated in turmeric, spices and yoghurt before it is roasted on skewers, also in a traditional clay oven. The clay oven is called the tandoor, therefore the name for the chicken.

The marinade and method of cooking make the chicken tender and fragrant, making it the perfect accompaniment to the fluffy naan.

For vegetarians, the naan is served only with the dhal and mint sauce. Dhal is a thick, flavourful and mild curry made with lentils while the mint sauce adds a refreshing zesty flavour to the meal.

Naan and tandoori chicken are usually eaten for lunch or dinner so most of the time, it is available from lunchtime onwards.

Due to it being baked in a special cylindrical clay oven, which is expensive and bulky, naan and tandoori chicken sets are often only available at restaurants and not at hawker centres or roadside stalls.

Here are some restaurants where this is served:

Sri Ananda Bahwan, Macalister Road
GPS: 5.421512, 100.303907
Time: 8am-11.30pm

This homegrown Indian restaurant started out in Butterworth and now has 14 branches all over Malaysia, most of which are in Penang. Its branch in Macalister Road is one of its latest and it also has a vegetarian outlet in Little India along Penang Street.

Restoran Kapitan, Chulia Street
GPS: 5.416227, 100.338620
Time: Open 24 hours

This 24-hour place located along busy Chulia Street within the George Town heritage zone and across the street from Little India is another spot favoured by those seeking tandoori items. Here, you can get your fix of naan and tandoori chicken at any hour of the day.

Kashmir Restaurant and Bistro, Penang Road
GPS: 5.420184, 100.332859
Time: 11am-11pm

At first glance, this restaurant appears to be a tourist haunt as it serves alcohol and is often filled with tourists having a drink at its al fresco area. But this restaurant is well-known for offering the most tender and juicy tandoori chicken along with fluffy, soft naan with just the slightest smoky flavour.

Karaikudi Restaurant, Market Street
GPS: 5.416503, 100.340191
Time: 11am-11pm

Named after a town in Chettinad in south of India, this restaurant is known for its north and south Indian cuisine that ranges from naan to biryani rice.

Sri Subham Restaurant, Penang Street
GPS: 5.417733, 100.340575
Time: 7.30am-10.30pm

This is restaurant that offers a mix of Indian cuisines but it is particularly known for its tandoori dishes.