Pillsbury Naan: Thinking Outside the (Bread) Box

As I was browsing through a local Indian grocery store, I came across a large selection of frozen breads. Always a sucker for a good naan, I scanned the array of colorful packages. I was surprised to see the fat, jolly Pillsbury Doughboy staring back at me from a familiar blue wrapping. The package that caught my eye was for Pillsbury's version of Aloo Masaledar Naan, described below as "lightly leavened flat bread with spicy potato."

Although I could have gone for a more exotic brand and usually would have, I was so surprised that Pillsbury made naan that I just had to try it. Plus, any food with double carbohydrates is already a winner in my book, so I scooped up the package and took it home to serve with my homemade curried lentils.

The instructions said to heat and lightly oil a griddle before placing on it one of the package's four pieces of naan. No problem. Or so I thought. The four pieces of naan had not been frozen separately, and I could not pry one piece apart from the others. After ripping apart quickly thawing small chunks of uncooked dough, I threw the whole lot onto the griddle in frustration, hoping that it might separate as it cooked. No such luck. The bottom browned up nicely, but I could not get one piece to detach from the three above it. I tore off small bits with my fingers and was able to brown up a few small doughy bits before I lost all patience and threw 90 percent of the package into the trash.

The pieces I tasted were not very naan-like. The crispy outside was good, but the soft, fleshy innards were unappetizing. I couldn't really taste any potato, and the "spicy" filling was bland. The instructions say that there is "no need to thaw" the bread before warming it, and as I had cooked it immediately after getting home, it was slightly thawed out, so perhaps this mess was all my fault. Regardless, I was not impressed with Pillsbury's naan.

Next time, I think I'll just pick up a couple of already cooked flatbreads at Bombay Sweets.