pizza

Everyone is craze of pizza, and it has its own fantacy. Its because of the way it is presented. It is colourful, cheesy, chewy, handy..... costly !!!! Healthy ? Yes if we make our own versions in our home, that is customised pizza's. I am crazy of pizza, so I tried to make my own pizza from the base to the toppings. Soon you too will have it in your home if you try this recipe.

Ingredients for the base :                                                       
                                                                                              
1. All purpose flour ( maida) - 1 cup                                      
2. Milk - 1/2 cup                                                                    
3.Water - 1/2 cup                                                                  
4. Fresh yeast - 1/2 tbs                                                               
5. salt - 1 tsp                                                                               
6. sugar - 2 tsp     

Ingredients for toppings:

1. Tomato sauce / tomato puree - 2 tbs
2. Garlic paste / crushed - 2 tsp
3. Onion, olive, capsicum, pineapple, mushroom, tomato - chopped

Seasoning :

1. Oregano spice powder
2. Red chilli flakes
3. Pepper powder                                                              
                                                                                               

                                                                                                 
Method :                                   

1. Mix milk and water together and warm up. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the milk and water mixture. The temperature of the milk and water mixture should be warm but not too hot or too cold. Because the yeast cannot recact if the liquid is cold and at the same time the yeast will get died if the liquid is hot. So it is important to see whether the water and milk mixture is warm.

2. After dissolving the yeast leave it for raising. The liquid will give a frothy mixture and raise from its level, almost more than 1/2 from its level. It will take 10-20 minutes to have this frothy mixutre.

3. Pour flour into a wider bowl. Add salt and mix together. Make a well like hole in the centre of the bowl. Add the yeast mixture slowly and mix with the flour. Mix the full flour like chappathi flour consistency but little bit looser than chappathi flour consistency.

4. After kneading the flour, apply oil on top of the flour. Close the flour with the lid and leave it for 1 hr for raising. After 1 hour the kneaded flour will gets raised double to its size.

5. Give a nice kick to the flour and knead it smoothly again. Take the requied amount of flour and roll it with your rolling pin, how you roll for chappthi. The base thickness depends upon your choice. If you want a thick base, roll it out thick. If you want a thin base, roll it out thin. Choose your own small, medium and large size pizza base.

6. preheat the oven. Keep the rolled pizza base to the oven tray. Spread tomato sauce to the base evenly on all the sides. Sprinkly the garlic paste, all over the pizza base. Place the toppings spreaded evenly. Sprinkle the grated mozarella / pizza cheese all over the pizza, how much each required. Its ready to bake.

7. Keep the tray inside the oven for 25 minutes at 200 deg C or until the cheese melts and cooked well. As each oven timing differs. Once the pizza is cooked, slice it out and sprinkle red chilli flakes, oregano and pepper powder on top of the pizza and serve it your family and guests with a pride.

8. The procedure may appear very lengthy. But its just kneading the flour, and spreading the vegetable and baking. Its so simple and you will realise once you tried it.

Note :

1. The items I have mentioned for the topping is what I preferred. You can add some more with and also you can reduce the toppings. Or even you can take plain cheese pizza without topping.

2. You can mix 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose flour instead of taking all purpose flour fully. If the water quantity is not enough to make the required consistency, you can add the regualar water.

3. You can decide the  amount of cheese you want for the pizza and you can substitue tomato puree instead of tomato sauce.