Homemade Pizza by Adwitiya Das

If you want to taste a slice of life, then you need a delicious cheesy slice of pizza! I know, I know, that many say pizza is not healthy and all that, but speak from your heart and you will agree that a slice (maybe two) can actually uplift anybody’s spirit. It is a true soul food! Here is a version of that soul food. You have so many options for your toppings. You can add what your heart desires. The best part, you can create a vegetarian pizza with the same recipe, juts omit the chicken and prawn! To top it all, you also get to learn how to bake the pizza base at home! Have you started salivating? I bet you have, so let’s start baking a delicious pizza….

Dr. Adwitiya Das, apart from being an Assistant professor at Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, is a dear friend, a loving wife, mom to adorable twins, and a woman of substance who balances all spheres of her life beautifully.

Ingredients:

For the pizza dough:
Maida/Flour
Yeast Powder
Water
Garlic paste
Butter

For the Pizza Topping Sauce:
Olive Oil/Butter
Salt
Pepper
Chilli Flakes
Chopped Garlic
Pizza Topping Sauce/Tomato Ketchup
Sweet Red Chilli Sauce

Pizza Toppings:
Mushroom (properly cleaned and washed)
Choice of Chicken/Prawn (properly cleaned and washed)
Diced Green Olives
Oregano
Chilli Flakes
Processed Cheese (mixture of mozzarella & parmesan cheese, store bought)
Chopped/Sliced Capsicum
Chopped Onion
Other Preferred Toppings

Method:

Add the yeast to water (soak for 30 to 40 minutes), then add to Maida and create the pizza base dough. If needed add some extra water for the dough. You could add some garlic and butter to the dough, as I did, for enhancing the taste.
Keep this covered with a wet cotton cloth and set aside for an hour.
In a pan, add some butter or olive oil, when it heats up, add chopped garlic, chilli flakes, pepper powder and salt.
Next, add pizza topping sauce or tomato sauce along with a little bit of sweet chilli sauce. This will be the pizza topping sauce.
To make the pizza base, take a ball size dough portion and spread to appropriate thickness with hand or you could use a rolling pin to do it. Use a little flour to spread out the pizza base.
Spread butter on one side and grill it for 3 minutes, after that let it cool down for around 30 seconds.
Spread the prepared pizza topping sauce on the unbuttered side, followed by diced green olives, chicken or prawn, mushrooms and other toppings of your choice.
After spreading the toppings evenly on the pizza base, sprinkle salt to taste, pepper powder, oregano, chilli flakes. Next, sprinkle generous amount of grated cheese on the top, followed by some sliced capsicum, chopped onions, a little bit of oregano and chilli flakes!
Next, grill it for 7 to 8 minutes.
Once the cheese has melted, leave it for a minute. After that slice into equal portions with a knife and serve hot!

Note: Jalapeno is a tasty topping, if you cannot find it in the local market; you could use the red hot chillies that are round in shape. Just dip them in vinegar for a few hours and slice them into thin pieces and use as a topping.