My Adventures with a home made Pizza Recipe

Archived_member7 · #1 (**permalink**) 12-Mar-2009, 22:41 PM

I am crazy about cooking and have a hell lot of curiousity for food. One fine day I thought of making Pizza. Going through the net i came across several recipes but still couldnt make up my mind about which one was authentic.

It occoured to me to take help from Aad ji our respected forum moderator. She took all the pains to pen down the recipe and here I had it ! I had butterflies in my stomach I was cooking the pizza base at home !!!

This recipe is wonderful awesome and I thank Aad ji from my heart for this wonderful recipe ..All pizza lovers do try this

Originally Posted by aad0002
First you need to make a crust -- bread dough. I use 3 cups of white flour (maida) 2 Tablespoons of yeast 1/2 teaspoon of salt 2 Tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 cup of corn meal. Mix it all together well. Then add about 1 cup of water or less to make a dough. Add the water a little at a time until the dough forms a large smooth ball that holds together. The consistency should be silky not too wet and not too dry.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/cooking-and-recipies/24208-my-adventures-home-made-pizza-recipe.html

Put the dough in a bowl, cover it with a cloth, let it sit until it doubles in size.

Then you have to find a deep baking dish that is round. Only a round one for this. It should be about 16 inches in diameter and about 1 1/2 inches deep. Oil the inside of the bowl completely with vegetable oil. Do not use butter, ghee or olive oil because it will burn during cooking. Simmer until thick or about 45 minutes slow.

Make sauce with chopped tomatoes (4 6o 5 cups), chopped very small, olive oil about 1/4 cup, salt to taste. black pepper, red pepper to taste but not too much, and the fresh reen leaf spice called basil, and about 6 cloves of garlic chopped fine.

If you have to substitute an Indian green spice for the fresh basil, I think fresh coriander would be very good. But do not chop it too fine.

If you can get canned tomatoes, this is better because it will thicken more quickly (4-5 cups).

Pour this into a heavy iron or aluminum soup pot or kettle of some kind. Bring all of this to a slow boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer until the tomato sauce gets thick and turns a dark red. Stir frequently so that the sauce does not stick and burn on the bottom of the pot or you will have a mess.

Place the dough in the middle of the low, round baking dish. Press it out from the center to the edges and with your fingers press it up the sides of the baking dish. The crust should be on the thick side. Maybe 1/2 or a little more up the sides of the baking dish.

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24208
Now carefully spoon the tomato sauce over the dough. Make it even.

Next add things like sliced mozzarella cheese, olives, ground meat if you eat meat, chilli peppers, fried bell peppers, sliced onlons. Do use more than cheese and 3 o4 4 of the things I listed above. It gets to be too much like a mess. And do not use large amounts of toppings. Maybe just 1/2 cup of each on top of the sliced cheese.

Put this into an oven heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake it for about 20 or 25 minutes. It is done when you can lift the crust gently with a fork and it is a golden brown on the bottom.

Cool for about 8 minutes before slicing it. If you make a lot of smaller pizzas, then the cooking time would be about 12 or 15 minutes for a baking dish that is 8 to 10 inches in diameter.

For your Reference : Pls bake the base first so it doesnt remain uncooked

Narayanjot Kaur · #2 (**permalink**) 13-Mar-2009, 05:59 AM

rajkhalsa ji

Thank you for being the first poster in this new part of the forum Cooking and Recipes. You got things off to exactly the right start. A thread that about a personal experiencee -- not a big long thread of recipes on how to make this or that.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24208

Well it should not be necessary to bake the crust first -- You may have had too much in the way of toppings and sauce ,and that made the dough soggy. But I wasn't there -- so you may be right. This may be a good precaution. Everyone should experiment with this idea.

If anyone tries the recipe, another way to top the pizza is to use fresh tomato slices instead of sauce. It is actually very nice this way. Cover the top of the pizza with a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes. Then add other toppings. Definitely use mozarella cheese.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24208

If you are in a part of the world where some of these ingredients are not available. Goat cheese serves very well, even better than mozzarella cheese. If you can not find fresh basil leaves, try another sweety leafy spice instead. Imagine using curry leaves. That would be good.

I do not eat meat. But those who do eat meat can experiment with ground turkey, ground beef, ground sausages, and even thin slices of smoked duck (poor duck).

If you really load up on the toppings, the crust will collapse and the pizza will not be firm on the bottom. Always keep an eye on things. The oven should be hot hot hot. But you must take care that the pizza does not burn.

OK - what should be talk about next?

Archived_member7 · #3 (**permalink**) 13-Mar-2009, 20:48 PM

We should pull in our inventive recipes Aaad ji ...

I have my own experiments should i call it " Amreekan Sandwich" ..ummm pls help me with a suitable name ..

ingredients

Eggs (the number depends on your hunger )
Mayonnaise
Salt
Black Pepper (freshly crush it when you are to sprinkle)
Bell Peppers (red and yellow)
Green Chillies (only if you are a mirchi Fan like me )
Cottage Cheese (depends on how much you like it )
Bread Slices
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24208
A little whole milk
Salad leaf

Method : Hard boil the eggs and in a mixing bowl, slice them into small pieces. Crumble the cottage cheese over it. Now slice your Red and Yellow Bell peppers (you can blanch them a bit if dont like the raw taste) into small pieces and add them to the eggs and cottage cheese. Now add salt to taste.

Add the mayonnaise, you can add it as per your liking for it, it should be enough to make it a creamy look. Now sprinkle the black pepper and also finely chopped green chillies and with a large spoon mix all the ingredients well. Add a little of the whole milk just enough to moisten the mixture a bit say like 2 table spoons. So here you are ! your filling for the sandwich is ready !
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24208

Toast your bread slices, take a slice place the salad leaf and over it lay the filling and then over it place another toasted slice ...AND NOW...Hold the Sandwich with both your hands ...and Bite INTO IT !!