Mushroom and Capsicum Thin Crust Pizza

Learn how to make pizza base , how to make pizza sauce and top it with juicy mushrooms and Capsicum.

Mushroom and Capsicum Pizza

Serves- 2 personal pizzas

Prep time- 1 and 1/2 hours

Cooking time- 15 mins

Ingredients for pizza base

Maida flour / All purpose flour- 1 cup

Active dry yeast- 1 and 1/4 tsp

Warm water- 1/2 cup

Sugar- 1 tsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Olive oil- 1 tbsp

Homemade Pizza

Method

In a bowl dissolve sugar in warm water, sprinkler yeast on top and gently mix, cover with lid and set aside for 10 mins until yeast mixture becomes frothy.

In a large bowl combine maida flour, salt, olive oil and yeast mixture, knead for 15 mins until dough becomes soft and smooth.( If dough is sticky sprinkle few tbsp flour, knead and adjust). Set aside dough covered with damp cloth for 45 mins. After 45 mins when dough doubled in size, punch dough until air escapes and knead again for 10 mins. Again set aside for 20 mins covered with damp cloth. Once again when dough has doubled in size its ready for making pizzas.

Ingredients for topping

Pizza Sauce- 1 cup ( For pizza sauce recipe click here ) 

Sliced mushroom- 1 cup( 100 gms)

Sliced Capsicum ( Green Bell Pepper )- 1 no

Dried oregano- 1 tsp

Garlic powder- 1 tsp

Grated Mozzarella cheese / Pizza cheese- 2 cups

Olive oil- 2 tbsp

How to assemble pizza and bake

Pre- heat oven at 200° C. 

Divide dough into two equal parts, roll out each dough into 1/4 " thick round. Placed rolled dough on baking sheet and wait for 5 to 7 mins until it slightly rises. Spread 1/2 cup pizza sauce on the top of rolled dough, arrange 1/2 of mushrooms and 1/2 of sliced capsicum on top, sprinkle 1/2 tsp oregano and 1/2 tsp garlic powder on top. Finally sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese generously on top of pizza and drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil on top of cheese.

Place the prepared pizza in the center rack of the oven and bake at 200°C for 15 mins or until pizza base is slightly browned and cheese melted on top. Serve hot.

Home made Thin crust pizza

Tips and Tricks for perfect pizza

Do not top pizza with too much of sauce, too much of sauce makes pizza soggy.

Do not over crowd pizza with lots of toppings, again too much of topping does not give enough space to cook pizza properly, which again leads to soggy pizza.

Two to three toppings and 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of pizza sauce is good enough for an perfect pizza.

Kadai Prawn Rice

Kadai Prawn Rice

Ingredients

Prawn / Shrimp- 250 gms

Cooked Rice- 2 cups

Onion medium sliced- 2 nos

Tomato medium chopped- 1 no

Ginger and garlic paste- 1 tsp

Garam masala- 1 tsp

Red chilli powder- 1 tsp(+/- to taste)

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Curry leaves- few sprigs

Coriander leaves chopped- few tbsp

Prawn Rice

Method

Heat oil in a kadai, add onions and saute till onions turn light brown. Add ginger and garlic paste, chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, pav bhaji masala, turmeric powder and fry for few mins. Add cleaned prawns and stir fry for 2 mins. Season with salt and keep stirring on medium heat until semi thick gravy is formed. Add the cooked rice to the prawn and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Mexican Salsa Recipe / Salsa Picada

Learn to make delicious salsa recipe from Rick Bayless cookbook Authentic Mexican.

Mexican Salsa Recipe

Ingredients 

Tomato medium- 2 nos

Onion small- 1 no

Green chilli / Serrano pepper- 2 nos

Coriander leaves- 15 sprigs

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste

Salsa Recipe

Method

Finely mince onion, tomato, green chilli and coriander leaves. Add everything to a bowl and mix well with lemon juice and salt. Set aside for 5 mins and serve with tortilla chips or as an side to any Mexican food.

Salsa Picada

Homemade Tortilla Recipe

Learn how to make homemade flour tortillas.

Homemade Tortilla Recipe

Ingredients

All purpose flour / Maida flour- 2 cups

Cooking soda- 1/2 tsp

Butter or Olive Oil or Lard- 4 tbsp

Hot water- 1 cup

Salt to taste

Tortilla Recipe

Method

In a large bowl add flour, cooking soda, required salt and butter, mix well with your fingers until it resembles bread crumbs. Add hot water to the flour little by little and knead flour for 10 mins until a smooth and soft dough is formed. Set aside the tortilla dough for 5 mins. Divide dough into equal lemon sized balls, roll out each dough into thin circle using roller pin.

Heat a griddle or tawa, lay each of prepared rolled dough on the hot tawa and cook on both sides until light brown spots appears on tortillas.( Cook tortillas on griddle without any oil or butter). Wrap cooked tortillas with a cloth or keep it in tortilla warmer.

Flour Tortillas

Dindigul Thalapakatti Biryani / Thalapakattu Mutton Biryani Recipe

Thalapakkatu biryani also known as thalapakatti biryani is popular Dindigul biryani. I got this recipe from local magazine Num thozhi. Why this biryani is called as thalapakatti biryani, Mr. Nagasamy Naidu who ran the Ananda villas hotel in Dindigul wore a thalapa( Indian turban) while serving his customers. Later the taste of biryani and his thalapa( turban) stayed in peoples memory and henceforth called thalapakati Biryani.

Dindigul Thalapakatti Mutton Biryani

Ingredients

Mutton pieces with bone- 1/2 kg ( 500 gms )

Jeera Samba Rice- 1/2 kg ( 3 cups)

Small onions / shallots- 300 gms

Tomatoes medium- 3 nos

Green chillies- 4 nos

Ginger and Garlic paste- 4 tbsp

Red chilli powder- 2 to 3 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Purina leaves- 1 bunch

Coriander leaves- 1/4 bunch

Salt to taste

Ghee- 4 tbsp( optional )

Water- 4 and 1/2 cups

Masala tempering

Bay leaves- 2 nos

Cinnamon stick 1" piece- 2 nos

Cardamom- 4 nos

Cloves- 6 nos

Marati moggu- 1 no

Annachi poo- little

Star Anise- 1 no

Oil- 1/4 cup

Thalapakatti Biryani

Method

Peel and chop the shallots. Chop the tomatoes. Clean and chop both pudina and coriander leaves. Break the green chillies into half. Wash the rice and soak in 4 cups of water for 30 mins. Clean and wash mutton pieces. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add the whole spices tempering to the hot oil and saute for 1 minute. Add onions and green chillies to the pan, saute until onion turns pale. Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute until raw smell of ginger and garlic leaves. Add chopped pudina and coriander leaves( reserve some to garnish) to the pan and saute for 1 minute. Add the mutton pieces and fry for few minutes until mutton turns pale and slightly dries. At this stage add chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder to the mutton and mix well until tomatoes are tender. Add a 1/2 cup water to the pan, cover with lid and pressure cook mutton pieces until tender for 10 mins or for 3 whistles. Once pan pressure is released, add soaked rice along with water and required salt to the mutton and bring to boil. Stir well until 1/2 of the water is absorbed by the rice, reduce heat, cover pan with lid and cook for about 15 mins until rice is tender( do not pressure cook rice). Once rice is cooked and tender, add ghee, remaining pudina coriander leaves and mix well. Serve hot dindigul thalapakati biryani with dalcha and onion raita.

Thalapakattu Mutton Biryani

Indian Style Pizza / Desi Pizza / Chatpata Pizza recipe

Learn how to make easy Indian style pizza with ready made pizza base.

Indian Style Pizza Recipe

Serves: 2 personal pizza

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 8 to 10 mins

Ingredients

Ready-made Pizza base- 2 nos

Mint chutney- 1/2 cup( for mint chutney recipe click here)

Mushroom sliced- 50 gms( 1/2 cup)

Capsicum sliced- 1/2 no

Tomato sliced- 1 no

Dried oregano- 1 tsp

Garlic powder- 1 tsp

Grated Mozzarella cheese/ Pizza cheese- 1 and 1/2 cup

Butter- 2 tbsp

Olive oil- 2 tsp

Desi Pizza

Method

Pre heat oven at 200°C, spread both sides of pizza base with 1 tbsp butter and grill pizza base in oven for 2 mins. Allow to cool the grilled pizza base, once reached room temperature, spread 2 tbsp mint chutney on top of pizza base, arrange required mushrooms, capsicum slices and tomato slices on top of mint chutney. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp oregano and garlic powder on top of veggies and top it with 3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1 tsp olive oil on top of cheese. Place the prepared pizza in the center rack of the oven and bake at 200°C for 6 to 8 mins or until pizza base is slightly browned and cheese melted on top. Serve hot.

Chatpata Pizza