Quest for Naan

Indian food is immensely common here in Kuala Lumpur as there are many Indian people. With that, ever since I arrived here I have heard a lot of talk about this “naan stuff.” I am naturally a curious person, and hearing people rave about naan had my curiosity heightened. What is this stuff?

Tuesday night  (January 10th), I had that question answered, and believe me, I was NOT disappointed.

A large group of us Fulbrighters headed out to Little India after our training. Despite the fact that we had no idea where we were going, we ended up having a fantastic time. With large groups, people naturally branch off into smaller groups, and with that, I ended up hanging out with Owen from New Mexico and Blake from California. They both seemed pretty knowledgeable with at least the basics of Indian food. So, we wandered into an Indian restaurant where us three shared a delicious chicken and rice dish as well as two thosai dishes. Thosai is a sort of thing, baked bread-type pancake that is ideal for dipping into Indian sauces and spices as well as for scooping up rice and curry dishes. Unfortunately and oddly enough, this Indian restaurant did not have this “naan” that I so longed for, but I knew I would experience it soon enough.

The thing that threw me off about Indian food is that it is eaten with your hands. However, at the same time, you cannot use your left hand because here in Malaysia your left hand is seen as “unclean.” It is the hand you use for bathroom things, and therefore, it is disrespectful to eat with it. Eating with my hands, minus my left hand, had me struggling. It was a very new experience for me, and I was just glad that there were washing sinks in the back of the restaurant to tidy up before I felt up my food with hands that touched everything from subway poles to ringgit (Malaysian money) that day. I certainly understand why most restaurants here, especially Indian restaurants, provide available washing sinks in the back. The food was wonderful, and I immediately looked forward to having Indian food again. As we paid for our dinner, Blake suggested that we head back towards the Bukit Bantang area and find naan as soon as possible for me to try. Owen seconded that, and off we went on a quest for naan. They insisted that I would like it.

After we caught the monorail back to the central area, we went to another Indian restaurant.

“Do you have naan?” Blake asked.

My first naan

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Of course!” the happy, nice Indian man exclaimed while trying to summon us into his restaurant.

We sat down and ordered garlic naan with some sort of amazing Indian potato dish. It was a carbo-load kind of second-dinner. However, when the naan came to our table and I tried my first bite, I immediately understood what the hype was about. It is baked bread, garlic goodness and butter all into one. If I ever crave movie theater popcorn, this would definitely do the trick.

Conclusion: Naan = my new favorite food or maybe best put as “my new favorite snack.”

I tried it on a Tuesday night. And, I had it for dinner at the same exact restaurant with other people on Wednesday as well.

A group of us female Fulbrighters eating naan for dinner

It’s safe to say, it was a quest for naan and now, I get it.