Paneer Tikka Pizza

If you ever lived in Nungambakkam you would definitely remember 'Pizza time', a small pizza delivery store with an amazing selection at very low prices. This was almost 10 years ago. We could have medium pizzas delivered for just Rs 30 (less than a dollar!), the same costing more than 10 times now in Chennai. The specialty of this store was their unique Indian touch to pizza, namely the Paneer Pizza. Paneer does not melt when baked, and therefore gives a very unique zing to the regular pizza. For the base, I followed a recipe I found on Food Network.



Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water
2 teaspoons dry yeast (you can find these as small pouches in any grocery store)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

To make pizza base

Mix the warm water and yeast in a small bowl to blend. Let stand until the yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Mix the flour and salt. Blend in the oil. Add the yeast mixture and mix just until the dough forms (like chapatti atta). Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm draft-free area until the dough doubles in volume, about 1 hour. Punch the down dough and divide into 2 equal balls.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle some flour over 2 rimless baking sheets or pizza stone if you have one. Remember to preheat the pizza stone by placing it in the cold oven first otherwise it would crack when exposed to sudden heat. Roll out each piece of pizza dough into a 10 to 11-inch-diameter round.You can use a rolling pin first and then smooth with your fingers. Transfer 1 dough to each prepared baking sheet.

Topping

Marinated Paneer cubes
Marinate the paneer cubes for 2 hours in a mixture of yogurt, red chilli powder, salt, cilantro chutney and some garlic pieces. You can find a more detailed recipe for marinade here. If you are pressed for time, you could skip the marination step and add the paneer pieces as is.

Onions slit long
Capsicum, long pieces
Shredded mozzarella cheese (handful or more)

Pizza sauce

5 tbsp crushed tomatoes (from can)
Italian herb seasoning
Crushed garlic cloves
Olive oil

Saute the garlic cloves in 2 tsp of olive oil. Add the crushed tomatoes. Sesaon with salt, crushed chilli flakes and Italian herbs (basil, oregano, thyme or any thing you have on hand). Keep the sauce on heat until it starts to boil.



To assemble pizza

Brush the tomato paste generously over the pizza base taking care to keep away from the corners. Arrange the paneer pieces, onions and capsicum over the sauce. Top with the mozzarella cheese.Bake the pizzas until the crusts are crisp and brown on the bottom and the mozzarella cheese is melted on top, about 15 minutes.

My verdict: I realized that pizza from scratch is not too hard to make. Best of all, home made pizzas are definitely more healthier as you can ration the oil and cheese, and also you can make the crust as thin as you would like it to be. I would give the pizza base a "4 star" rating (on a scale of 5 ). I felt it could have been more crispier. I am on the look out for better techniques to handle the dough which is an integral part of making the pizza.