Vegetable pizza

How about cooking a pizza from scratch without an oven? Here’s a simple recipe to make pizza base, pizza sauce and a yummy crispy pizza at home, that too without a hi-tech microwave or oven! 🍕

Recipe

Ingredients
For the pizza base
• Maida – 2.5 cup
• Salt – To taste
• Powdered sugar – 3 tsp
• Milk powder – 5 tsp
• Olive oil – 2.5 tbsp
• Instant yeast – 1.75 tsp
• Warm water – 3/4 cup
• Cornflour – 2 tbsp
For the pizza sauce
• Olive oil – 1 tbsp
• Finely chopped garlic – 10 to 11 medium
• Tomato puree – 1.25 cup
• Tomato puree OR Grind 3 large tomatoes and pass through a metal seive to get a smooth tomato puree
• Basil/Tulsi leaves – 4 medium
• Salt – To taste
• Pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Sugar – 3/4 tsp
• Oregano – 1.5 tsp
• Chilly flakes – 1.5 tsp
• Vinegar – 1/2 tsp
• Tomato ketchup – 1 tbsp
• Water – 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp
Pizza toppings
• Thinly sliced onion – 1 large
• Thinly sliced capsicum – 1 large
• Sweet corn kernel – 3/4 cup
• Finely diced paneer – 1/2 cup
• Amul processed cheese cubes – 8
• Or mozzarella cheese – 200 gm
• Mayonnaise (Optional) – 4 tbsp
• Chilly flakes
• Oregano

For making the pizza dough

1. Take half of 3/4 cup of warm water and add the instant yeast to it. Let this rest for 10 minutes

2. Sift together maida, salt, sugar, milk powder and mix well. Add olive oil and mix it so that it is completely incorporated in the flour

3. Add the remaining half of water and mix well. After the yeast has risen and become frothy, add it to the dough and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough comes together
(You can also use an electric beater with the dough hooks, this will take only 2-3 minutes to knead the dough)

4. Brush the dough with olive oil, keep it in a bowl and cover the bowl with a plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Let the dough rest for about 2 hours

5. After 2 hours, the dough would have risen well (more than double). Punch down the dough, knead it for about 2 minutes

6. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts, roll into balls and brush some olive oil on the balls. Keep the balls in a greased plate, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and let them rest for 30 minutes. The dough balls will rise again!

For making the pizza sauce

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add the garlic and sauté until it is golden brown. Add the tomato puree and cook it on low heat for about 5 minutes

2. Add basil leaves, salt, pepper and cook for another 10 minutes on low heat. Add sugar, chilli flakes, oregano and cook for 10 minutes on low heat

3. Add tomato ketchup, vinegar, 1/2 cup of water and mix well. Let the sauce cook on low heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the water evaporates

4. Let the sauce cool down. Blend this with 2 tbsp of water to get a smooth pizza sauce. You can add a little more water if the sauce is too thick

For assembling and cooking the pizza

1. Sprinkle cornflour on a flat surface. Take the risen dough ball and start flattening it to give it a nice and round shape
I like thin crust pizzas so I made my pizza crust nice and thin, keeping the edges a little plumper than the rest of the pizza

2. Using a fork, make a few holes in the pizza base so that the steam has some space to escape out

3. Transfer the pizza base into a pan. Add 1 tbsp of mayonnaise (Optional) and spread it evenly on the pizza base. Add 1 tbsp of the pizza sauce and spread evenly

4. Add the onions, capsicum, corn kernels, paneer and sprinkle some chilli flakes and oregano. Grate cheese and garnish the top of the pizza with some more chilli flakes and oregano

5. Keep the pan on a stove and turn on the heat. Cover the pan and cook the pizza on low heat for about 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and the crust is nice and crispy

Enjoy your yummy homemade pizza! 🍕