How to make a simple homemade pizza?

Basic recipe of Pizza Dough / Pizza Base

Recipe from Australian Women’s Weekly (April 2010). This homemade pizza dough will make 4 small and 2 large bases.

Method

Combine 2 teaspoons ( 7 g) dried yeast, ½ teaspoon sugar and ¼ cup warm water (50 - 60 ml), and stand in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until frothy and well risen.

Sift 2 cups (one standard measuring cup of 250 ml / 8 oz capacity /approximately 500 g) bread flour or plain flour, and 1 teaspoon salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add 2 tablespoon olive oil and the yeast mixture into the well and mix to form a soft dough.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover it with a damp cloth (dough and the wet cloth should not touch each other) and leave in a warm spot until it has doubled in size (approximately 1 – 1 1/2 hours).

Punch the dough down with your fist on a floured surface to remove the air, then knead it lightly. Divide it into balls and roll it out to the size you require for veg and non veg pizza.

Homemade pizza sauce

Makes – 75 – 85 ml

Ingredients

2 teaspoon cooking oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

100 ml tomato puree

2 tablespoon tomato sauce

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon pepper powder

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and fry on a medium heat for 1 minute. Add tomato puree, tomato sauce, sugar, salt to taste, oregano and pepper powder. Stir all the ingredients well and cook on a very low heat for 3 – 4 minutes until thickens. Switch off the heat and keep aside to cool for 15 – 20 minutes or until room temperature.

How to make a  simple Homemade Pizza?

Makes: 2 small pizzas

Ingredients

2 small  thick  pizza base (it’s readily available in the supermarkets / bakery..) or homemade pizza base

2 tablespoon pizza sauce (1 tablespoon each for small pizza and 2 tablespoon for big pizza base) 

Homemade or  Pizza sauce easily available in the markets (Maggi / American Garden..)

½ cup mozzarella cheese, finely grated  (Amul  / Nilgiris or any other leading brand)

2 tablespoon  thinly  sliced capsicum and onion (or 9 thin slices each) or any other vegetables of your choice or boiled chicken cubes / sausages / mushroom / paneer...

¼ teaspoon pepper powder

1 teaspoon oil (to grease baking tray)

Method

Grease a baking tray with  1 teaspoon oil.

Spread  the pizza sauce  (1 tablespoon) over the pizza base to within half an inch of the sides. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over it (2 – 3 tablespoon).

Decorate  with thin slices of capsicum and onion (or any other veg or non veg).  Sprinkle  ¼ teaspoon pepper powder. Add extra cheese if required.

Preheat oven (OTG) at 200 * C or 400 * F and bake for 10 minutes (one pizza at a time - or depending upon the size of the oven) until done / cheese melts / light golden color / fragrant. Remove from the oven an serve hot.

For Pizza Margherita:

Spread  4 teaspoon pizza sauce, sprinkle grated cheese generously over it, decorate with 4 thin roundels of tomato, sprinkle ¼ teaspoon pepper powder and bake for 10 minutes until done / cheese melts.

How to make homemade pizza sauce?

How to make homemade pizza sauce?

Makes: 75 – 85 ml

Ingredients

2 teaspoon cooking oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

100 ml tomato puree

2 tablespoon tomato sauce

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon pepper powder

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and fry on a medium heat for 1 minute. Add tomato puree, tomato sauce, sugar, salt to taste, oregano and pepper powder. Stir all the ingredients well and cook on a very low heat for 7 – 8  minutes until thickens. Switch off the heat and keep aside to cool for 15 – 20 minutes or until room temperature.

Aloo Onion Bajji / Potato Onion Bajji

Aloo Onion  Bhajjis  / Potato Onion Bhajjis - An  easy and tasty deep fried snack, made of boiled and mashed potatoes, sliced onions and gram flour batter. Serve as a starter or with tea / coffee. A super quick deep fried snack in Indian cuisine !!! No added egg, baking powder, food color , cooking soda,  tikka masala …

Makes: 12  bhajis

Main Ingredients

2 onions, finely sliced

2 potatoes, boiled and mashed

200 ml oil (to deep fry)

For gram flour batter:

½ cup (Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz) gram flour (besan / kadala maav / chone pitti)

1 teaspoon rice flour (adding rice flour will make additional crispness)

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon lime juice (adding lime juice will make a additional flavour)

2 pinches hing (asafoetida – it’s good for digestion)

2 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves (optional) or a mix of mint and coriander leaves

¼ cup (3  - 4 tablespoon water / 50 - 60 ml) water (depending upon the texture of the gram flour)

½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Method

In a bowl, mix all the batter ingredients together and make a batter with 1- 3 tablespoon water. First add 2 tablespoon water. Later adjust with remaining water.  Batter should not be too watery. It should be medium thick / dropping consistency (like normal bajji batter / not like dosa batter).  Cover and keep this batter for 15 minutes.

Now add sliced onions, boiled and mashed potatoes and mix well. Cover and keep aside this bhajji batter again  for 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a frying pan / karahi.  Do not fry on high heat. It will brown immediately and inside portion won’t cook / fry properly. Reduce heat to medium and drop teaspoons (or use small spoon which shape like ice cream scoop to get evenly round shape ) of the bhajji batter (6 - 7  bajjis at a time – depending upon the size of pan) and fry till golden color on both the sides.

Drain and place on kitchen towel  / paper towels to absorb excess oil. Please use 3 – 4 paper towels to absorb extra oil from bajjis (both the sides).

Serve hot as an evening snack with Tomato ketchup or coconut chutney or serve as a starter or as a side dish with Indian breads or a plain snack with tea / coffee...

Creamy Egg Curry

Creamy Egg Curry –  A creamy egg curry, goes well with pulao / parathas / rotis …

Serves: 2

Ingredients

For onion and cashew nut paste:

1 tablespoon oil

1 big onion, chopped (separate each layer)

Heat oil in a small on medium heat.  Add chopped onion and fry until golden brown color. Cover and keep aside for 10 - 15 minutes.

For cashew nuts:

Soak 8 cashew nuts in 2 tablespoon water for one hour and make a smooth paste with fried onion (along with the soaked water) in a small mixer bowl.

Other ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

3 cloves

3 cardamom

2 small cinnamon sticks

1 onion, thinly sliced

¾ teaspoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

150 ml water

¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Cashew nut - onion paste

2 boiled eggs

1 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves

Method

Dilute red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder in 2 tablespoon water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan / karahi on a medium heat.  Add cloves, cardamom and cinnamon sticks. Fry until fragrant (1 minute).

Add sliced onion and fry until golden color and crisp.

Add diluted spice mix. Stir well on a low heat until the raw smell goes and water dries up (approximately 3 minute on a low heat).

Add 150 ml (less than 1 cup water. Gravy won’t be tasty, if it is too thin in consistency) and salt to taste.

 Mix all the ingredients well. Cover with a lid and cook on a medium  heat for 8 – 10 minutes until the gravy boils well.

When the gravy boils nicely, add cashew nut – onion paste.  Stir well. Adjust salt if required. Cover again and cook on a low heat for another 8 minutes. Gravy is ready now.

In a serving bowl, arrange boiled egg and pour the gravy over it. Consume this curry after half an hour. Then it will absorb all the flavours. Serve with pulao / rotis …