The journey with home made Pizzas has started for with, the week I bought my first convection oven. One of the many gadgets that I had desired for a long time. I finally bought it, when I couldn’t resist the discount offered by the store. And have been baking, grilling and roasting ever since.
I got to try out my hand at making Pizza. And during the course, I discovered(some help from the internet, and some improvisation from my part) a perfect Pizza spread, which can even be used with any kind of bread to make a quick snack. The tangy, spicy, tomato based spread has found a home in my fridge.
So here it is :
You will need :
1 Medium Sized Onion
4 Ripe, firm tomatoes(medium size)
5 cloves of garlic(peeled)
1 green chilly
3 dried red chilies(any kind depending upon the spicy taste you need)
1/2 teaspoon of freshly crushed pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds powder
4 tablespoon vegetable oil(olive oil if available)
Fistful of chopped cilantro leaves
Salt to taste(about one flat teaspoon)
Prior Preparations :
Chop the onion and the green chili in to fine pieces. Chop the tomatoes separately. Grind the red chillies just enough to turn in to flakes. Chop the cilantro leaves.
Proceed :
In a frying pan, pour the oil, and heat it up. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chopped garlic and chopped green chilly. Fry it over medium heat without letting the ingredients burn. Add the chopped onion and stir well. Cover the pan it with the lid and let it cook till translucent. Stir the onion at regular intervals to prevent it from burning.
Once it turns translucent, add the chopped tomatoes. Stir to mix the ingredients evenly and cover with lid. Let it cook for about 15 minutes while stirring at regular intervals o avoid burning.
After 15 minutes of cooking in this way, add the chilly flakes, the coriander seed powder and the crushed pepper. Cook while stirring at regular intervals for about 20 minutes, keeping it open, to remove all the water contents. When all the moisture in the tomatoes has dried up, add the chopped cilantro and salt to taste. Cook for a few minutes more and take the frying pan down from heat.
After cooling down, run the cooked mixture through blender to make a smooth paste, and its ready to use on your pizza base. The spread can even be used on many kinds of Indian breads, and can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days.
Is is a very good and healthy, homemade substitute to the packaged spreads available in the market.