Mission Naan, a new exciting flatbread launched in Malaysia received the star treatment from Chef Nik Michael Imran, who created fantastic twists to traditional dishes using the naan as the pièce de résistance. The dashing celebrity chef thrilled guests and media at a special home-cooked lunch prepared by him in conjunction with the launch of Mission Naan. The exclusive up-close-and-personal experience with Chef Nik was hosted by Mission Foods, the world’s largest flatbread producer, to showcase the versatility and cross-cultural adaptability of one of the most loved flatbreads across the world – Naan.
Naan, an Indian delicatessen flat-bread traditionally baked in a clay oven is exceptionally versatile and compatible with foods around the world. It is however slightly taxing to prepare and requires a specialised oven such as the tandoor oven. Mission Naan, now available in bread isles takes away the hassle of preparing this bread from scratch and yet remains true to the authentic taste and texture of traditional naans. Mission Naan brings with it the quality and promise of the Mission brand and can be used is so many ways – for scooping, for dipping, as a pizza base, buttered and grilled, toasted or even on its own. The thick and chewy bread with its signature charred and slightly crunchy spots is thick enough to soak up curries and dips and is perfect with meats and gravies.
At the luncheon, Chef Nik showcased brilliant twists to Malaysian-favourite dishes using Mission Naan that is available in two flavours – Plain, and Garlic and Herbs.He prepared three types of mouth-watering starters followed by a hearty spread of four main dishes paired perfectly with Mission Naan. The featured starters were Home-Cured Salmon with Cream Cheese and Micro Chives on buttered and grilled Mission Naan and a traditional hummus served with strips of toasted Mission Garlic and Herb naan. The deep intense flavour of the hummus and the silky smooth texture was achieved by soaking the chickpeas the night before and painstakingly removing the outer skin of each chickpea individually before blitzing with tahini, a good measure of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
And finally, for dipping and scooping, Mission Naan in both flavours were cut into triangles and served with a bowl of steaming dhall made with quality Australian lentils. The delicious soft and bubbly texture of the naan soaked up the beautiful flavours of the dhall.
For the main course, Mission Naan was buttered and grilled and served in baskets in its large hand shaped form to be enjoyed torn, dipped and for scooping with various dishes in communal style. The hot sensation of Deep fried soft shelled crab in sambal against the warm and buttery naan was truly memorable. The Chargrilled Beef tenderloin in rendang sauce was a pleasant move away from tradition and showed Nik’s expertise with meats.The perfectly chargrilled beef tenderloin cubed and tossed in a delicious rendang sauce was a mouth-watering accompaniment to perfectly toasted garlic and herb Mission Naan.
Yet another interesting twist was the aromatic prawn tandoori (instead of the usual chicken tandoori) and was beautiful against the soft buttery naan dipped in a special mint sauce. Nik also showed a wonderful new way to enjoy naan by using Mission Naan as the base for a Pesto Naan Pizza with chargrilled chicken breast. Topped with home-made pesto, and strips of grilled chicken breasts crowned with shavings of sharp parmesan cheese, it was served warm from the oven.
Throughout the launch and through the various dishes, Mission Naan displayed its cross cultural versatility and various uses blending perfectly into its role as an accompaniment or the main star. Perfect for a family meal anytime of the day, for entertaining guests or packed in a lunchbox, Mission Naan is made using only the finest ingredients and baked to perfection to produce a soft and chewy texture perfect for soaking up curries and dips. Available in two flavours at the bread isles of all major supermarkets, each re-sealable packet contains four full naans and retails from RM5.79 per pack.
For more information about Mission Naan visit the website at http://missionfoods.com.au/