Pizza

Home baked pizza is often an overhead for most. It take very long to prepare and is finished in minutes. I have tried making pizza several times at home mostly because it is the most simple baking dish and at times is simpler option when family wants to eat something unusual.
My recipe for pizza which has clicked almost always uses a non yeast pizza dough. Which means there is no preplanning required.

Pizza dough
2 Cups Flour (I mix wheat and Maida aka. refined flour in equal proportions)
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn oil
salt to taste
1 cup water

Toppings
2 tspn Olive oil/ Butter
 3 chopped tomatoes
handful Basil leaves (Mixed herbs would do)
1 onion chopped
3-4 coves of garlic
2 tspn Chilly flakes
Cheese of your choice
Any other veggies (corn, baby corn, olives, jalapeno, capsicum, mushrooms, paneer)

Method
1) For the pizza dough, sift the dry ingredients and rub the oil to it.
2) Slowly add water and make  a stiff dough. Leave for 15 min. Knead for almost 9-10 times until the dough gets a spring like texture. To test make a depression with the thumb and it should regain the shape back. It really does happen, you have to knead very well to get there.
3) For the topping, in a pan heat 1/2 tspn oil and add garlic, onion. Saute until the onions turn soft and then add tomatoes and salt. Add water if required and let it form a sauce like texture. Add chilly flakes and basil leaves and boil for a while
4) Roll out the dough to form the pizza base. The thickness would be as per your choice. I usually roll out for a thin crust base. At this point, preheat the over to 220 degree c.
5) Brush the pizza base with oil and apply the tomato sauce and add your topping. Sprinkle salt and chilly flakes and push in the oven.
6) The first pizza would almost take 20 min to bake. The follow ons will be ready in 10-12 min.

It is good to roll up the edges to avoid the pizza toppings from drizzling over.




Base

Brush the base with some butter or oil to avoid it from drying and then add the sauce

Push it in the oven

Pull out in 20 min

Ready to go

Linking the recipe to Herbs and Flowers- Basil event hosted at this blog

Fleshy Stone Fruit

The Mighty Mango fruit is sitting all ready in the market. Tad expensive to begin with but worth every paise of the value. 
 In the context of using ripe Mango as an ingredient in a recipe, we are used to create the famous aam ras (Mango shake), Mango Sheera, Ice-creams etc. I learnt a few variations with mango from the European cuisine which I dared to attempt.
Even the middle eastern folks use the fruit with a few other mediterranean ingredients to create some exotic dishes.

Mango Salsa
Although I call it salsa, it is more of a salad.
Ingredients
1 ripe Mango cut in small cubes
1 Red Chilly Pepper (Do not use the Indian red chilly, use Bell pepper as an option)
1/4 tspn black pepper
1/2 tspn lime juice
few fresh mint sprigs

Method
1) Combine all ingredients and serve immediately.
2) Serve it with Wraps, Pita bread or as a side dish with Pastas.

Asparagus

Asparagus is a spring vegetable for the Europeans. Just like we have special winter veggies- seasonal foods are those that appear prominently in the market during the period of the year when the grow the most. Inmumbai, the concept although known can't be used as an excuse to cook certain dishes in certain seasons.
We almost get all things round the year, if not the standard harvest then the hybrid, imported or the chinese version of it.
Coming back to Asapragus, this vegetable has edible shoots when the plants are young and tneder. Once the tree grows large the shoots become very thick and are not the same taste as its younger form.
This is a popular finger food item which is ideally used as a starter with dips. It complements with all kinds of cuisines and hence can be used anytime. So next time when you come across these shoots in the super market, do not think twice about what to pick along with this. It simply goes with anything.

How to use the Asparagus?
The shoots that we get in Mumbai, are usually trimmed, but in case there are any roots just chop them off. Nip any buds if found along the stems. Before you proceed with cooking these , you can work with the various dips that you would like to use along with these as the cooking is probably the simplest thing you could do.
Boil a large pan of water with salt. Add the Asaparagus in it for 3-4 minutes and then strain the water. Tip them in bowl of cold water to have a crisp Asparagus- Do this step only if you wish to use them as a finger food.

Some more recipes

Italian Style Sandwich
1 Loaf of Italian Bread (Crusty bread or Burger Buns would do)
2 Tbsp of Pesto sauce
Asparagus (Cooked) Cut in 1 inch small slices
2 Tbsp Capsicum Juliennes
2 Tbsp Carrot Julienne
Cheese of your coice -Mozarello goes best
1 tspn Olive Oil (butter is good too)

Method
1) Toast the bread on both sides using the olive oil.
2) Combine all veggies and add pesto sauce.
3) Apply the veggie mixture on one slice of bread and top it with another slice of bread.
Ready to gorge!

Stir Fried Asparagus
Asparagus (cooked) Cut as per your choice
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tspn chopped garlic
1 Tbsp chopped nuts (Pine / Almonds/ Cashews)
Salt to taste (Preferred coarse)
Method
1) In a pan heat the oil and add garlic and the Nuts. Sautee until the nuts are crunchy.
2) Add the Asparagus and stir them until flavors are well mixed(You can smell the aroma to know that it is ready.
3) Serve with your choice of bread. Can be used as a salad or starter.

Stay Tuned for more recipes

Why Food?

Why food and what more on food is the question my friend asked when I announced the plans of launching yet another Food blog. Well, there is so much to explore especially now when ingredients from all over the world have descended in our kitchens.

Are there times when you feel like a kid in a candy shop and fish out pond at the same time in the food malls?

I went through those phases as well. I was itching to go back to the large malls in the city at the same time did not understand what to buy and how to use certain things.

From that point to now, things have changed a lot. I have learnt to stock things and utilize them in every day life. I think it is worth sharing this journey and expose the pleasures of cooking with you all.