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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Pearly Vegan Mushroom-Barley Risotto

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pearl barley
• 8-10 cups hot vegetable stock or hot water
• 3 cups of mushrooms, chopped (I used crimini and shiitake)
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 large onion, minced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 heaping tbsp vegan sour cream
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Method:

1. Heat the canola oil in a saucepan.
2. Add the onions and garlic and saute on a low heat until the onions turn translucent.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the dried basil.
5. Add the mushrooms and saute for a minute.
6. Now add the barley and stir for a minute until all the grains are coated with oil.
7. Add the wine and simmer on a low heat, stirring, until the wine has almost evaporated.
8. Add the water or stock, 1/2 cup at a time, to the risotto, stirring after each addition. Wait until most of the stock has been absorbed before you add the next 1/2 cup. Do this until the barley is quite tender but has a slight bite to it. This should take about an hour.
9. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
10. Add the sour cream and stir around to spread evenly through the risotto.
11. Turn off heat and mix in the parsley.
12. Serve.

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Salad Shirazi

Ingredients

• 5 Persian cucumbers (or 2 English cucumbers, the idea is to use seedless cucumbers)
• 4 round tomatoes
• 1 medium red onion
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp dry mint
• 1 tbsp oil (optional)
• salt & pepper

Method:

1. These three veggies are all you need for this salad! Here is the thing though, you have to small dice ALL of them and they have to be, give or take, the same size. Think of it as a Persian Pico de Gallo! Now let’s get choppin’!
   
   
   
2. Small dice cucumbers. Depending on the thickness of the cucumbers they can either be divided into 6 or 8 slices.
   
   
   
3. Dice onion…I didn’t use all of my onion as it was too much. You can see in the next picture the piece that I left out. You don’t want the onion to overpower the rest of the ingredients.
   
   
   
4. Do the same with the tomatoes. I would suggest doing the tomatoes last so that you don’t have to whip your cutting board dry after chopping them.
   
   
   
5. And Voila! Here they are all nice and chopped up!  Season with salt, pepper and add dried mint.
   
   
   
6. Mix well, cover and place in the fridge for 20 minutes. Make sure to taste the salad to make sure that there is enough salt.
   
   
   
7. In the mean time juice fresh lime.  Homeyra says that oil is optional for the dressing.
   
   
   
8. If you would like to add oil, then add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
   
   
   
9. Pour lime juice and olive oil over the salad. Mix well and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
   
   
   
   
10. Salad Shirazi can be served with any meal. YUM!
    
    
    

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Salad Olivieh

 Ingredients

• 3 medium large potatoes, cooked
• 3 eggs, hard boiled
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
• 19 oz can of Persian pickles
• Dressing
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp  mustard
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper

Method:

1. First short cut: pick your favorite roast chicken. My local Albertson’s makes a delicious Lemon Basil roast chicken.  You can cook your own chicken from scratch, but the added flavor from the roast chicken is really good!
   
   
   
   
   
2. Removed bones and skin and shred chicken. Also give it a rough chop to make the pieces a bit smaller.
   
   
   
3. Small dice the eggs and pickles.
   
   
   
4. Dice the potatoes as well making them slightly bigger in size than the pickles and eggs.
   
   
   
5. Short cut two: Buy a bag of frozen peas and carrots.  In the traditional Salad Olivieh the peas and carrots should be cooked.  Mela informed me that the secret to a good Salad Olivieh is to not cook the peas. So I took this advice a step further and also saved the time spent on cutting the carrots. I just throw the peas and carrots in my salad raw, straight out of the bag.
   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
6. Place all ingredients in a big mixing bowl.
   
   
   
7. In a different mixing bowl prepare the dressing by mixing mayo, mustard, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper.  I personally have a love affair with Dijon mustard, but you can use regular mustard too!
   
   
   
8. Mix ingredients and dressing well.
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. Taste and check seasoning.  Cover and let rest in the fridge for a few hours allowing the flavors to come together.
10. Salad Olivieh is an excellent addition to your appetizers table, a great side dish, and a fantastic choice for a picnic.  It is also delicious in a sandwich form, either with pita bread or French baguette!

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Yellow Curried Leek with Griddle Panned Coley

Ingredients

• 3-4 Carrots(cut into sticks)
• 1 large onion(sliced)
• 1 Leek(chopped small)
• Handful Mushrooms(sliced)
• 1/4 Cauliflower(chopped)
• Olive Oil
• Dried Parsley(large pinch)
• Dried Coriander(large pinch)
• Clove Garlic(chopped)
• Chunk Ginger(chopped)
• 1/4 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 + 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
• 2 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Ground Coriander

Method

1. First of all peel and cut your carrots into sticks and cook in a pan of water for 5-10 minutes.
   
2. Then add your leeks and cauliflower and cook until soft. Turn the heat off then leave the pan as it is until needed - do not drain the water off as you will be using it as stock also.
   
3. Now grind together your ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle.
   
   
   For the Main
4. Heat some olive oil in a griddle pan until hot - this only takes seconds.
   
5. Place your fish onto the griddle turn the heat down a little and leave to cook for 7-8 minutes. Turn it over and cook for a few more minutes. Your fish may need turning again for a minute or two. Poke a skewer or use the opposite end of a spoon into the middle to check if it is hot - some people like fish rare but personally I like to know mine is hot and cooked in the middle.
   
6. Meanwhile put your onions into a frying pan with some olive oil.
   
7. Brown them off then add your garlic and ginger, stir well and cook for a minute.
   
8. Add your spices turmeric, cumin, chili, coriander and stir well - you may need to drizzle in some more olive oil to break down the spices.
   
9. Now scoop out your cooked vegetables and add to your onions with your sliced mushrooms.
   
10. Add enough of your vegetable water to mix in all your vegetables together.
    
11. Add your dried parsley and coriander leaves stir well then cover with a lid and simmer for a few minutes until mushrooms are cooked.
    
12. Your fish should be cooked by now.
    
13. Serve with your curried leeks and vegetables and enjoy!
    

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