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This Crispy Low Carb Indian Flatbread Recipe has great flavor and texture; it’s chewy inside and crispy outside!
We are the first to admit that we can never get enough Indian food! We love it all, everything from tandoori chicken, to tikka masala, makhani, vegetable curries, pilafs, and flatbreads. When it comes to flavorful food, Indian cuisine is king. After going keto, we couldn’t wait to come up with a keto-friendly low carb Indian flatbread recipe to eat with our favorite curries!
Difference Between Naan and Pita Bread
Naan and pita are similar types of flatbread that are surprisingly quite different. The differences start with the ingredients; pita is made from a lean dough (usually flour, water, yeast, and salt), while naan has things like yogurt, milk, and/or eggs added. Additionally, pita bread and naan bread are cooked differently. Pita is cooked in a very hot oven to achieve the pocket inside, while naan is traditionally cooked on the side of a tandoor (clay) oven, which causes the dough to bubble up. Naan ends up being lighter and fluffier, without a pocket inside.
How Many Carbs Are in Naan Bread?
According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, 1 serving (113g) of naan bread has the following nutrition information:
- 270kcals
- 10g protein
- .99g total fat
- 52g total carbohydrates
- 2g fiber
Low Carb Alternatives to Naan Bread
Over here at The Keto Queens, we love Indian food and naan bread has always been one of our favorites. Naan is perfect for soaking up all those flavorful sauces! After going keto, we don’t eat regular naan, but we do have a few favorite low carb bread-y recipes that we use as substitutions for naan:
- Paleo Low Carb Sandwich Bread Rolls (Keto Buns) from An Edible Mosaic
- The Best Keto Bread Recipe from The Keto Queens
- Low Carb Biscuits from An Edible Mosaic
- Keto Wrap-Style Soft Tortilla Flatbread from The Keto Queens
- And of course this Crispy Low Carb Indian Flatbread!
Keto Flatbread Using Coconut Flour
We’ve played around with different grain-free flours in a few different keto-friendly flatbread recipes. We’ve found that a combination of coconut flour and psyllium husk powder yields the best results in terms of flavor and texture in this Crispy Low Carb Indian Flatbread recipe. Coconut flour is high in fiber and as a result, it absorbs a lot of liquid. We keep it simple in this recipe and use water.
Crispy Low Carb Indian Flatbread
We cooked this Crispy Low Carb Indian Flatbread in a little fat (we used KetoSports KetOil, which is a blend of ghee and coconut oil) in a skillet on the stovetop. This results in a pleasantly crispy exterior, which is a nice contrast to the chewy interior of this flatbread.
Ingredients in This Crispy Low Carb Indian Flatbread Recipe:
- Coconut flour
- Psyllium husk powder
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Ghee or coconut oil or a blend (we used KetoSports Ketoil)
- Beef gelatin
- Boiling water
Beef Gelatin in Keto Baking
We use beef gelatin in a few different keto recipes (including our chocolate brownies) because it acts as a binder. Beef gelatin improves the texture of keto baked goods and adds a bit of chewiness that gluten free baked goods are sometimes missing because of their lack of gluten.
Psyllium Husk Powder in Keto Baking
Here we use a bit of psyllium husk powder to help improve the texture of our Crispy Low Carb Indian Flatbread. It makes it a bit lighter and more bread-y.
More Low Carb or Keto Indian Recipes to Try:
- Rogan Josh (Kashmiri Red Curry with Meat) from An Edible Mosaic
- Low Carb Keto Indian Butter Chicken from The Keto Queens
- Instant Pot Cauliflower Pav Bhaji (Low Carb Indian Food) from An Edible Mosaic
Crispy Low Carb Indian Flatbread
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/2 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil or a mixture of both melted, plus about 1/2 tablespoon more for frying (see Note)
- 1 teaspoon beef gelatin dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water
- 1/2 cup boiling water
Instructions
- Whisk together the coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Beat in the ghee, dissolved gelatin, and boiling water until it forms a dough.
- Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten each (between 2 pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap) into a 5-inch circle.
- Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a bit of ghee to the skillet. Once melted, add 1 of the dough circles and turn the heat down to medium. Cook until golden on both sides, about 12 minutes total, flipping as needed. (Be careful the first time you flip, as the flatbread has a tendency to scrunch up; you can just use a metal spatula to spread it out to a circle again.) You can turn the heat down a bit if needed to keep them from burning. Cook the 2nd dough circle the same way in a different skillet, or in the same skillet once the 1st flatbread is done.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to products we believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, The Keto Queens will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items.
Tried it and turned out great. Thanks.
We’re glad you loved them!
I am making this tomorrow for the first time. Would this taste good with spices added? Possibly garlic, or garlic salt, sea salt or seasoning salt, and maybe some cayenne pepper or pepper flakes?
Rachel, I think this would be great with spices added! I made it into garlic naan; I just sauteed some minced garlic in a little bit of ghee and brushed it on the flatbread once it was cooked. Let me know what spices you use if you play with the recipe!
This looks awesome! Will try this. Can I use anything else to replace beef gelatin pls? Thanks so much
Neeta, We haven’t tried this recipe using anything else, but one of the following may work: xanthan gum, flaxseed meal, or ground chia seeds. If you decide to play with the recipe, please let us know how it goes!
These turned out delicious! Thank you for posting the recipe. 🙂 Just wondering how you got yours to such a lovely colour?
Suparna, Thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them! The color came from frying them, it also lends a nice crisp texture along the outside as well.