This post and recipe is dedicated to my mum who has been a big inspiration for my cooking. She always encouraged me to try new things in the kitchen whenever I wanted to, taught me the basics and helped me at every step. She tasted some of the worst dishes I cooked just to teach me how to become better with each coming day. She has been my pillar of strength and support. Till date when I am confused what to cook with the ingredients in my kitchen or when things go wrong while cooking, she is just a call away to guide me. Thank you my super wo(MA)n. Thank you for blessing me always, teaching me the nuances of cooking and making me more confident each day as a cook, as a woman, as a wife and as a mother. You are my guiding star!
And now its time to show her how much have I grown in this journey. I know you love pizzas, not the ones in the Italian restaurants or the ones that is home delivered, but the ones that is made and baked in the home kitchen. I am not with you on this mother’s day but through this post I am virtually going to be with you. Hope you enjoy and like it.
Keep this recipe up your sleeve since it requires absolutely no effort to make it. It does not require any exotic ingredient. The freshness from the basic ingredients is the key to this recipe.
Ingredients:
INGREDIENTS: (For one 8″ pizza base)
1 eight inch ready pizza base (you can use whole wheat option too)
1 medium sized onion, thinly sliced
1/2 large capsicum, julienned
1/2 large yellow bell pepper, julienned
1 tomato, cut into strips
1/2 cup boiled sweet corn kernels
1 large Jalepeno, cut into thick slices
10 – 12 olives, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup tomato puree (you can also make fresh tomato puree)
3 -4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3/4 cup processed cheese, grated (I used Amul processed cheese)
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp chili flakes (you can adjust this depending on how spicy you want)
1 tbsp oregano
few fresh basil leaves
salt, to taste
freshly grounded black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Method:
METHOD:
In a saucepan, take some olive oil and once heated nicely add chilli flakes and sauté for a minute or two.
Now add in the sliced onion and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Just before the onions begins to turn translucent, add capsicum and bell peppers and mix it well.
When the vegetables are semi cooked (around 50%) cooked, add sweet corn kernels and tomato strips. Mix all the veggies well.
Now add oregano powder, 3 tbsp tomato ketchup and salt. Mix it well with the veggies. Be gentle and do not mush the vegetables.
Add in the salt and 1/2 rd cup of processed cheese and mix well.
Quickly add the olives and jalepenos , and within 2 – 3 minutes take the entire of the stove.
Make sure to preheat the oven at 250 C (that is the max my oven allows) for atleast 10 to 12 minutes. (In case you can crank up further, try to heat it up to 275C – 280C )
In a bowl add the tomato puree, crushed garlic, remaining tomato ketchup, a pinch of salt and a pinch of freshly grounded black pepper. Mix it well and spread it on the pizza base.
Evenly spread the topping mixture prepared earlier. (Make sure that the veggies are not completely cooked while preparing the mixture. They should be 75% cooked)
Combine the processed cheese and mozzarella cheese in a bowl and spread it over the pizza generously.
Put it to bake for around 12 – 15 minutes. Once baked, take it out cut it with a pizza cutter, garnish it with some torn basil leaves and your pizza is ready to eat.
Enjoy!
Full recipe: My mum’s favorite – Homemade Pizza