Pizza perfection!
I love pizza, so does Jini!If you have grown up in India then you have gone through the same phases of pizza enjoyment as us. The fluffy cushiony pizza base topped with anything from sweet corn to paneer and a generous grating of processed cheese, cooked on a griddle in a tiny roadside eatery, the deep dish, cheese crusted indulgence of the Pizza huts, the beautiful wood fired thin crust pizza topped with prosciutto and goats cheese!These have been the milestones in my love story with the pizza and now Jini and I have embarked on a new journey of making this a sustainable long term relationship built on the pillars of health, wholesomeness and taste.This recipe sounds scary, like you won't believe it will yield a yummy pizza and we were apprehensive too but it's delicious and unbelievably healthy!
I love pizza, so does Jini!
If you have grown up in India then you have gone through the same phases of pizza enjoyment as us. The fluffy cushiony pizza base topped with anything from sweet corn to paneer and a generous grating of processed cheese, cooked on a griddle in a tiny roadside eatery, the deep dish, cheese crusted indulgence of the Pizza huts, the beautiful wood fired thin crust pizza topped with prosciutto and goats cheese!
These have been the milestones in my love story with the pizza and now Jini and I have embarked on a new journey of making this a sustainable long term relationship built on the pillars of health, wholesomeness and taste.This recipe sounds scary, like you won't believe it will yield a yummy pizza and we were apprehensive too but it's delicious and unbelievably healthy!
What you need:For the crust:
- 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup ragi flour
- 1-1/2 tsp yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp crushed flaxseedFor the topping:
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 200 gms mushrooms
- 1 onion, sliced
- 100 gms cherry tomatoes
- A handful of basil leaves
- 1/2 cup hung curd
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Crushed black pepper and salt to taste
How we stir:
- Take 1/4th cup of lukewarm water and stir in the yeast and the sugar and set aside for 10 minutes till the yeast is frothy and alive.
- Pour your flours in a heap on the kitchen counter and make a well in it.
- Pour the yeast liquid into it, add the salt and knead until you have a dough that is smooth. You need to add more water as needed.
- Set the dough aside to proof for about an hour while you prepare the toppings. We left ours in an oven pre-heated at 50 degree Celsius and it rose like magic.
- Now in a hot skillet caramelise the sliced onions in the olive oil till soft and brown and then cook the mushrooms in the same pan so it can absorb the gorgeousness of the onions. Sprinkle the onions with water every now and again, to speed up the caramelisation and to get them nice and soft.
- Quarter the cherry tomatoes and set aside with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper.
- Pre- heat the oven to 220 deg celsius
- Now roll out the dough about a mm thick and pop into the super hot oven. Let the crust blind bake for 7 minutes.
- Now this will depend on how thick you rolled out the pizza so keep a close watch on it and don't let it burn, which we did once!
- Once it is out of the oven, spread the pesto in a thick layer, top with the mushrooms and tomatoes.
- Scatter the hung curd in little bite sized morsels on the pizza. Be generous, they crisp up on top beautifully when cooked and retain a sour creamy consistency inside!
- Put it back into the oven at the same temperature for another 7 minutes since everything is already cooked and we just need the tomatoes to become nice and juicy.
- Take out, slice and enjoy!
This pizza is actually also just a canvas. Paint it with flavours that make you happy. Use any topping of your choice. Jini wanted to do pineapple, I wanted to do blue cheese, you can also use some poached shredded chicken to up the protein content!We urge you all to try it.Homemade pizza is much easier than it sounds and it produces some very happy sounds at the dining table!
