Veg pizza in 2 versions (Normal & Low Fat)

I was postphoning this pizza post just for the reason that I had to write more ;) Also I wanted to compile all the pics with stepwise, and the variation that I had clicked each time I made Pizza. And with no doubt this recipe is a keeper but I made adjustments here and there each time and finally found the recipe for perfect pizzas, So no more pizzas from restaurants. I have tried with 2 different toppings and here am giving u both for normal as well as low fat version.

Ingredients for Normal Pizza :

• All purpose flour/Maida  - 1 & 1/2 cups [My 1 cup measures 200 gms]
• Active dry yeast  - 1 tbsp [but not a heaped one]
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Sugar  - 1/2 tblsp
• Salt - 3/4 tsp
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp

For the topping :

• Pizza/Pasta Sauce - 1 tbsp
• Tomato Sauce - 1/2 tbsp
• Onion - 1/2 chopped
• Capsicum - 1/2 chopped
• Grated mozarella cheese - 2 tbsp or as required to cover the topping
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

For Paneer tikka marinating:

• Paneer - 10 to 12 small cubes
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Curd - 1.5 tbsp

Method:

Boil the water first in a wide vessel and keep aside. Now add milk, oil, sugar, salt to boiled water and mix well till sugar dissolves. Now add yeast to the milk oil solution.

Mix well and keep aside for 5-7 mins stirring occassionally. After sometime you can see the yeast completely dissolved as shown below. Now add the flour.

After adding the flour, gather to get a smooth pilable dough. No need to knead completely just bring it together that is enough.Keep covered with a wet cloth till an hour or 2, preferably in a warm place for best results.

When u check after an hr, the dough would have been raised(I wouldnt say its exactly doubled) .Now again punch it down incase for any airbubbles and then keep aside. By the time cut paneer into small cubes add curd, salt, turmeric, chilli, coriander, garam masala powder and lemon juice - Marinate it for 15mins. I usually dont roast the paneer seperately but attimes when I have time in hand I do it and yes this time I toasted it in a tawa with little oil till golden brown. You can also just keep the paneer along with the topping to bake without toasting.

Grease a baking tray with aluminium foil [I didnt dust flour or add oil] . Keep the dough on the tray, Now roll the dough a little thick as 1 to 1.5 inches and fold the ends as shown in the below pic. Just fold the ends inside and press it till u get a small depthness.Prick the base with fork to make sure of even cooking [I forget it everytime ;)]. Spread the pizza sauce, I used the readymade maggi pizza sauce.

Arrange the toppings - I've used paneer, capsicum and onion here.Then grate the cheese till it covers topping.Just add tomato sauce on top this is purely optional but it tastes good with it. Then sprinkle pepper powder. Preheat the oven for 210 degree Celsius and bake for 15- 20 mins,till the base turns golden brown.If you cut a tiny area with a knife, u can see if its cooked fully by seeing the bread like texture.Mine gets done usually in 20mins, check at 15mins then proceed with the extra 5mins.

Cut the pizzas with pizza cutter/knife, make wedges and enjoy hot and yummy pizza :)

The topping combination is endless.To me pizzas are only if they served from Pizzahut but sure homemade pizzas changed my mind :)

Low Fat Version Ingredients :

• Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Maida - 1/2 cup
• Active dry yeast - 3/4 tblsp
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 tblsp
• Salt - 3/4 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp

For the topping:

• Tomato Sauce - 1tbsp
• Onion - 1 chopped
• Capsicum - 1/2 chopped
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chilli powder 1/2 tsp [You can alternatively use chilli flakes also]
• Cheese - 2 tsp grated
• Paneer cubes - 6 to 8

Low Fat version of Veg Pizza with thin crust/base

Except for the ingredients the method is the same just give an extra 3-5 mins while baking as wheat flour takes a little more time than maida.

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Grilled Shrimp Pizza

Ingredients

• pizza dough, of your choice
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 18 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about one pound)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup queso fresco, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons salsa verde
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• garlic infused olive oil
• smidgen of chili powder
• 1/2 lime

Method

1. Combine cheeses; set aside.
2. Thread 6 shrimp onto each of 3 wooden skewers. combine a little garlic infused olive oil and chili powder. Sprinkle shrimp with 1/8 teaspoon salt and brush them with the olive oil- chili powder mixture.Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done. Cool slightly, and coarsely chop.
3. Place dough on rimless baking sheet, brush the dough with the garlic infused olive oil (no chili powder)and sprinkled with cornmeal. Slide dough onto greased grill rack, using a spatula as a guide. Grill 3 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom; flip.
4. Spread salsa over crust, leaving a 1/4 inch border. Top with shrimp and cheese mixture. Grill and additional 3 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese melts. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately.

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Ricotta and Cherry Focaccia Pizza

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 tube store bought pizza dough (rolls out to a rectangle)
• Coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, 3 sprigs, finely chopped
• 2 cups whole milk ricotta
• 1/3 cup honey, eyeball it
• 1 orange, zested
• 3/4 pound large red or black cherries, pitted and halved

Method: 

1. To make ricotta and cherry focaccia pizza recipe you need to preheat oven at 425 F.
2. Grease a small baking sheet using extra-virgin olive oil. Spread the dough on the greased baking sheet and press to make a bit larger rectangular shape. Pierce the dough at several places with prongs of a fork. Sprinkle some extra virgin olive oil on the top of the bread and spread it on the whole top using a pastry brush.
3. Focaccia pizza recipes are known for a slightly herbal tinge. Flavor the bread with salt, a tablespoon of sugar and the rosemary. Put the bread in the oven for 16 to 18 minutes or until uniformly golden brown.
4. Whisk ricotta cheese with zest and honey to a smooth consistency. Remove seeds from the cherries and divide them into halves. When the bread is ready spot the hot bread with ricotta and put cherries on top. Cut ricotta and cherry focaccia pizza and serve.

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Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  sugar
• 1  package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1  cup  warm water (100° to 110°)
• 1  tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil
• 12.38  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 2 3/4 cups), divided
• 1/4  cup  yellow cornmeal
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2  precooked mild Italian chicken sausages (about 6 ounces), casings removed, chopped
• 1  (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh oregano
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh basil
• 2  cups  thinly sliced mushrooms (about 6 ounces)
• 3/4  cup  chopped green bell pepper
• 3/4  cup  chopped red bell pepper

Method:

1. To make Chicago deep dish pizza, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Mix in olive oil.
2. Mix together 2 ½ cups flour, cornmeal and salt in a bowl. Combine yeast mixture into flour mixture until it forms a dough. Lightly flour a surface and transfer dough to it. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add remaining flour gradually (1tbsp at a time) to prevent the famous Chicago deep dish pizza dough from sticking to hands.
3. Put the dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover the bowl and leave the Chicago deep-dish pizza dough to rise in a warm place (85) free from any air flow. Keep the dough for 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size. Check by pressing the dough with two fingers if the indentation stays it means the dough has risen enough.  Kneed the dough again to reduce the volume. Cover and leave aside for 5 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to a 11×15 inch rectangle.
4. Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking oil. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish pressing it up the sides of dish. Top with 1 ½ cups cheese evenly over dough. Spread chopped sausage evenly over cheese.
5. Set the oven temperature at 400.
6. Cut the tomatoes and mix in oregano and basil. Put the tomatoes in a sieve and let the mixture drain for 10 minutes.
7. Spray a large non stick skillet. Place over medium heat. Cook mushrooms in this pan for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Put in bell peppers, cook until tender. It may take about 8 minutes. Stir occasionally. Assemble vegetables over the sausages. Spread the remaining ½ cup cheese evenly at the top.  Bake for 25 minutes at 400. When the cheese starts bubbling and crust browns take out the Chicago deep dish pizza. Let it cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Gluten Free - Italian Breaded Chicken Patties With Mozzarella Frozen - 12 x 16 Oz

Zaiqa - Monaliz Active Dry Yeast - 1 oz

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Pizza Paratha

Pizza paratha is local stuffed and fried bread inspired from Italian pizzas. Pizza parathas are prepared in different variations. Following recipe is made with filling topping but if desired you can use cooked chicken or minced beef for the filling. Pizza paratha is a recent innovation but it is becoming quite popular in Pakistan.

Ingredients

• well kneaded wheat flour to make about 10 rotis
• 3 to 4 – large onions, chopped finely
• 1 – large capsicum, chopped thin and fine
• shredded paneer/cabbage(optional)
• 1 tsp – jeera powder
• 1/2 to 1 tsp – chilli powder
• 1 large tbsp – of flour (wheat/maida)

Method

1. To prepare pizza paratha recipe knead the wheat flour by adding little water.
2. Take a wok and heat a spoon of oil or butter in it.
3. Put in finely chopped garlic (if desired), chopped onion and other vegetables.
4. Cook pizza pratha filling for a minute and add red chilli powder, cumin powder and salt as per your taste.
5. Stir fry the vegetables until they are soft. When the vegetables are done add tomato sauce.
6. Stir the mixture and remove from heat.
7. While the wok is still hot add some flour in it and make a paste.
8. Make two balls and roll small and thin chapattis out of the pzza paratha dough.
9. Spread the filling mixture lavishly on one of the rotis. Cover with the other roti and seal the edges.
10. Heat the griddle and cook the parathas. Apply clarified butter or oil on both sides while cooking.
11. Cut into four parts and sprinkle cheese on top (optional).
12. Serve pizza parantha with mint sauce or raita.
13. You can also use rice flour (maida) to make the paratha dough and sprinkle the cheese inside directly over the filling. The cheese will melt while cooking and will give pizza paratha a yummy cheesy flavor.

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