CHICKEN PIZZA USING HOME MADE PIZZA BASE

Pizza is an oven baked flat bread topped with tomato sauce, vegetables, cheese and other toppings. If you can spare 1 to 2 hours, this delicacy from Italy can be easily prepared at home. This simple recipe is a slight modification to the regular pizza as it uses small chunks of fried chicken as a the main topping. The addition of  fried chicken pieces further enhances the taste of the pizza.

Makes 2 pizzas

For the pizza base
Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
lukewarm water

For the topping
Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
2 onions chopped
3 medium tomatoes cut into small pieces and deseeded
1 large capsicum cut into small squares
4 to 5 cubes of cheese grated or chopped (or 1 packet mozzarella cheese)
Tomato sauce
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp pepper powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp soya sauce
5 to 6 large pieces of boneless chicken (vegetarians can omit this)
2 tbsp chicken 65 masala
Oil for frying

MethodTo prepare the pizza dough

Heat 1 cup of water in a pan till it is lukewarm. Then take a bowl, add yeast, salt, sugar and 1 to 2 tbsp of lukewarm water and stir till the yeast dissolves. Set this aside for 10 minutes till the yeast froths. (Mine did not froth but I think it does not matter. The real test for the yeast is that the dough should double). Then sieve maida and baking powder and add to the yeast mixture. Add oil and lukewarm water little by little and knead to form a smooth dough.

 

Cover the dough with a lid and set aside for 1 hour till it doubles in size.

For the topping

Take the washed and cleaned chicken pieces in a bowl. Add chicken 65 masala and mix well such that it coats the chicken completely. Set aside and marinate for about ½ an hour. Then heat oil in a pan and deep fry the chicken pieces till they are cooked. Transfer to a plate and allow it to cool. Then cut it into thin strips and set aside.

Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, add onions and saute for some time. Then add capsicums and cook for few minutes. Next add tomatoes, red chilli powder, salt, and pepper powder. Cook till oil starts separating. Finally add soya sauce and chicken. Mix well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Switch off the gas and allow it to cool.

Baking the pizza base

By this time, the dough would have doubled. Knock down the dough and knead well for about 2 minutes. The dough must be smooth and elastic. Divide it into 2 or 3 balls according to your choice and roll to form a circle of about 1/4" thickness. Place it on a tray and cover with muslin cloth. Allow it to rise for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. Then using a fork, prick the base at regular intervals and place it on the baking tray. Keep the tray in the middle shelf of the oven and bake at 200 degree Celsius for 8 minutes.

Pizza base is now ready. (The pizza base can also be placed in zip lock bags and refrigerated for later use.)

Final step: Assembling

Once the pizza base is ready, transfer it to a plate, add tomato sauce on top and spread evenly. Then add the cooked chicken mix and finally top it with cheese. Transfer this again to the baking tray and place it back in the preheated oven and cook at 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes or till the cheese melts. Do not overcook as the base might harden. In the same way prepare the other pizzas. 

 Cut into pieces and serve hot.