Naan in Uyghur cuisine comes in many forms — thin, thick, savory, sweet, plain, seeded, fancy. The Turpan version specifically includes the region's famous green raisins (mare's-teat raisins) baked directly into the dough, with a scatter of sesame on top. The base is slightly sweetened to complement the raisins. Sold from bakeries in Turpan's old town, eaten with morning tea, or torn into a bowl of yogurt. It's the breakfast bread of the eastern oases.
A round flatbread with whole green raisins baked into the top, crisp at the edges and chewy in the middle. The raisins burst sweet against the bread's saltiness — sweet-salty without being either, exactly.
Pressing raisins into dough before baking causes them to plump back up with moisture from the dough — they go from dried to almost fresh-grape texture during the bake. The grape sugars also caramelize on the top, giving the bread an amber sheen.
Variations
Turpan grape naan uses green seedless raisins; Hami versions use darker raisins; Kashgar naan generally skips raisins entirely — east includes fruit, west goes plain.
On the Palate
Where Turpan Grape Naan sits in the Uyghur flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
5 steps · 2 hours 5 min active + 55 min waiting
- 136 min
Dough: warm 300ml milk to 37°C; mix with 7g instant yeast, 50g sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 60ml melted ghee, 500g flour. Knead 10 min; rise 90 min until doubled.
Watch outLet it rise until doubled and a poked dent springs back slowly — under-proofed dough bakes dense and tight.
- 236 min
Punch down. Knead in 150g green Turpan raisins (soaked 10 min in warm water, then drained and dried).
- 336 min
Divide into 6 balls. Flatten each into a 18cm disc on parchment, leaving a thicker edge.
- 436 min
Make a decorative pattern on the center with a special stamp (or fork holes). Brush with milk + egg; sprinkle with 2 tbsp sesame seeds. Rise 30 min.
- 536 min
Bake at 240°C / 464°F on a hot baking stone or heavy tray 12-15 min until deeply golden. Brush hot with melted ghee. Eat warm with yogurt or green tea.
Watch outBake until the top is amber and the pressed-in raisins have plumped and glisten — that shine is the grape sugar caramelizing.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
