35 minute Indian style Pizza for two

No, I’m not ordering it from Domino’s. From start to finish – 35 minutes is all you need, give or take!  20 minutes to proof, 2 minutes to roll, 3 minutes to grill, 10 minutes to bake, 2 hot pizzas to enjoy!

And what’s more interesting is that this 35 Minute pizza has a Thakkali Thokku (tomato pickle) sauce!!! Fascinating isn’t it?

As with everything else, western food also needs to be adapted to Indian tastes before they can be marketed successfully. Blame it on the centuries old Indian cuisine- it makes it so much harder for us to enjoy non-spicy, no masala food. So a quick fix: blend-in. Use old familiar flavours to make the transition easy, and for those already transitioned to western tastes, a little desi-throwback never hurts, does it???

So if you have anyone at home (particularly elders) who are vehemently reluctant to try anything new, least of all Pizzas, start them off with this.

What makes it Indian?

While writing the post for Thakkali thokku, I wondered how it would fare as pizza sauce. And I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I am so glad I decided to go through with it.

This pizza tastes like eating a fluffy garlic naan, with a crunchy host of fresh vegetables including palak and paneer, all brought together by the spicy, tangy thakkali thokku.

Grilling before baking imparts a lovely smokiness to the crust, which you can taste in every bite. I personally love it, but if you don’t like that, skip that step and bake for an extra 2 minutes.

Instead of the usual mozzarella, I used cheddar, monterey jack and two mexican cheeses –  that resulted in a warm, golden, gooey, molten cheese dome, blanketing the paneer and vegetables underneath.

Usually, I cook food, take pictures and then sit down to eat it all. This was the first time, I stopped shooting pictures midway, and sat down for a slice. Then another. And then some more.

*Note: If using active dry yeast, mix yeast, warm water and sugar and let it sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. Then mix with flour and salt as in the recipe.