Pizza

I love Pizza.But I was never brave enough to make it at home and had the fear that the base might never get cooked properly. So I always ended up buying the Pizza. But I always felt that ,somehow the Pizza here had something missing in it and each time I ate it I was sure to bring it up.So my hubby hearing me complaint told me to give it a try in my style. After all even if it goes bad its just us!! so here is my experimental version of the Pizza. Dont worry it came out well!!

INGREDIENTS

For the Base

• Plain flour –  2 cups 
• Sugar – 1 tbs 
• Salt – as required 
• Yeast – 1 tsp 
• Olive oil – 4 tbs 
• warm milk – half cup 
• Water – as required

 For the Sauce

• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tbsp papparika powder
• salt, to taste

 Toppings : [use your favrite toppings]

1 capsicum diced and sauted in oil

1 cup boneless chicken  ( sliced to small pieces and stir fired with salt and pepper)

                                             {I used the left over chicken from my chicken tikka  bbq}

1 cup mushroom.

1/2 cup onion diced and sauted in oil (just for a minute)

1/2 cup thinly sliced Black olives

1/2 cup dried tomatoes

3-4 cups shredded mozarella cheese {use according to your liking}

METHOD

The Base:

• Mix sugar and yeast in lukewarm water and allow to bubble. Make sure that your yeast hasnt expired.. If small bubbles doesnt occur,it shows that the yeast is not activated and your dough will not rise.
• In another bowl mix salt with flour and add olive oil. Mix well until the dough looks like bread crumbs. Then slowly add the milk , yeast mix and knead the dough until it reaches the consistency of chapatti dough. Add water if required. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.If the dough becomes sticky, sprinkle a bit more flour over it.Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl.Cover the dough with a wet towel in order to avoid drying out and leave in a warm place to rise to almost double the size, about 1 hr.

The Sauce:
In a sauce pan heat the olive oila nd add all the ingredients for the sauce. Let it cook on medium heat for 6-7 minutes till u get a thick sauce. Remove from flame.

Assembling the Pizza:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. 
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts.Take one part of the dough and roll it into less than half a cm thick.Make  the outer end a little more thicker. Apply a little olive oil. Spread half the tomato sauce on the dough and leave around 1 cm on the edge. 

Layering the topping.

• Spread a handful of the cheese evenly on the base.Place a layer of  chicken ,mushroom,onion,capsicum olives on top.Top with plenty of the mozarella cheese.
• Bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the base has risen and has a very nice golden color, and all the cheese is melted.
• Repeat the process with the remaining dough.