Guest Blog Post: Pizza pizza! (Round Two)

Today we have another treat from Asmi, who has blogged about our culinary undertakings on Hom Nom before.  We met again for more pizza experimentation.  Welcome back, Asmi! Good to see you here again. 


When we decided to do Naan Pizza Round 2 Lavi suggested we mix it up by trying some Indian Chinese recipes.  All 3 of us being cheese lovers, chilli paneer was an obvious choice.  We were initially thinking of doing gobi manchurian for the other dish, but I thought the sauce was too similar to chilli paneer.  When did I decide this?  After I had fried the cauliflower and only had a few hours before the girls were coming over, with no other readily available ingredients in the kitchen.  Whatever is girl to do last minute?  MacGuyver a sauce, that's what! See below for the special secret creation!



Roasting garlic and ginger for the naan

Letting the yeast munch on sugar and get ready for some rising action

CHEESE!!  Cheddar paired nicely with the Indian Chinese flavors.

Getting the naan dough ready

I added cheese to the naan as well, but we couldn't really taste it.  Save the calories and keep the cheese for the top.

Gobi 65 batter is a mix of all-purpose flour and gram flour

Homemade paneer is soft and yummy

Chillies: 2 is a Jyoti friendly number

Chilli Paneer!

Chilli paneer pizza covered with melted cheddar cheese, we could not resist all the cheesiness.

The final products!  I had a bunch of chilli paneer and gobi 65 left over that didn't fit on the pizzas, I ended up eating for lunch every day as a sandwich or would be great served with rice or noodles.

Chile Paneer, recipe adapted from Edible Kitchen

I made a few modifications:
* I didn't marinate or fry the paneer ahead of time - the fresh paneer was too soft
* I used fresh ginger and garlic instead of ginger garlic paste
* I doubled the amount of corn flour to get the sauce thick for the pizza (so 2 tbsp. instead of 1 tbsp. as mentioned below)


Ingredients

• 2 cups cubed paneer
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 large onions
• 4 green chiles (or less - depending on how much heat you can handle!)
• 1 tsp. ginger garlic paste*
• 1 tbsp. soya sauce
• 1 tsp. green chili paste
• 1 tsp. tomato paste/ketchup
• 2 tbsp. + 1 tbsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. corn starch + 3 tbsp. water (to make a smooth paste)*

For the Marinade

• 3 tbsp. flour
• 2 tbsp. corn flour
• 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• Pinch of salt
• Water

Prepare the marinade and soak the paneer in the marinade.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


Afterwards - you can fry the paneer.  As I mentioned, I skipped this step.  Drain the fried pieces and set aside.  


In a pan, add the chopped onions, green chiles, and green bell peppers.  Cook until the onions are translucent (a few minutes).  


Turn the heat to high and add the soy sauce, green chile sauce, sugar and tomato paste.  Stir-fry on high for about 30 seconds until well blended, then turn the flame to medium-low. 


Add the paneer and corn-flour paste to the mix.  Stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens.  


Top the pizza dough with the chile paneer. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until dough is golden brown and cheese is melted.


Gobi 65, recipe adapted from Daawat.com

I prepared the cauliflower fritters according to the recipe, but instead of the sauce suggested, I did a coriander sauce inspired by a dish from Chinese Mirch.

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower cut into small florets
• 1 cup gram flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ginger garlic plaste
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 green chiles, chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• Mustard seeds, cumin seeds & curry leaves

Soak the cauliflower pieces in salt water for 10 minutes and cook in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.

Mix the gram flour, maida flour, salt, ginger garlic paste, chili powder, and salt and mix with water to make a fine batter.

Immerse the cauliflower pieces in the batter and deep fry until they are golden brown.  

Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in another pan.  Season with the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.

Add the onions and green chiles and fry. Add the cauliflower pieces to the seasoning mixture and mix well.  

Spread the corinader sauce (recipe below) on top of the second pizza dough.  Then top this on top of the second pizza dough and bake in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes.  

Coriander Sauce (all measurements are approximates based on what I remember)



Ingredients

• 2 bunches coriander
• 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 green chillies
• 1/2 teaspoon amchur powder (dried mango)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• Salt to taste
• A little bit of water to get the blender going

Liquefy all items in a blender, adding water and seasonings until desired flavor and consistency is reached.