For the pizza sauce, we used a brand of ready-made curry sauce available at the local grocery store (Hela Mild Curry Sauce). You might find some other brands available in the ethnic section of your local grocery store (e.g., Hela Curry Ketchup Extra Hot, HP Curry Sauce). We used drained small-curd cottage cheese as the cheese topping. You can also buy or make your own paneer and use that in place of the cottage cheese to make your pizza even more authentic. The hot peppers can be as mild or as hot as you like. We used serrano and kept most of the seeds to give the pizza some extra heat and spice.
The pizza pairs nicely with a glass of white wine (e.g, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio).
1 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons Dhana-Jiru powder (see above)
1 Tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
7/8 cup warm water (ideal temperature: 95°F)
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
- Place the warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the surface. Wait approximately 5 minutes and stir the yeast into the water. Waiting a few minutes will prevent the yeast granules from clumping.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flours, Dhana-Jiru powder, cilantro and garlic.
- Stir the olive oil into the yeast mixture and add most of the flour mixture to the liquid ingredients. Stir to combine slightly, then add the salt and continue to mix, incorporating more of the flour mixture until you reach a consistency where the dough holds together, but isn't too dry.
- Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead with your hands for about 5 minutes. Add more flour if the dough becomes too sticky. You will notice the gluten starting to form as the dough becomes stronger and more elastic. This is good.
- Place the dough into a lightly-oiled large bowl and cover tightly with Press-n-Seal wrap. Store in a warm location to rise for approximately 1 hour until the dough doubles in size.
1/2 cup hot or mild Curry Sauce (we used Hela Mild Curry Sauce)
10 oz chicken breast, cut into bite-size cubes
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 medium onion, sliced into thin strips
16 oz small curd cottage cheese, drained of as much liquid as possible
1 hot pepper (e.g., serrano, jalapeño), thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided plus more for brushing the dough
1 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil, the sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook for several minutes until the onion softens and becomes translucent. When done, remove from the pan and transfer to a bowl to cool.
- Add the curry powder to the cubed chicken and mix to combine so that the curry powder evenly coats the chicken. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to the frying pan, add the chicken and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Place the cottage cheese in a fine mesh strainer and remove excess water. We used a spoon to press the cottage cheese toward the mesh to strain out the excess liquid. Set strained cottage cheese aside.
- Place the pizza stone in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 475°F
- When the dough has finished rising, remove from the bowl and place onto a floured work surface. Punch the dough down (i.e., flatten it with your hands) and allow to rest under a thin towel or plastic wrap for approximately 5 minutes. Roll or press the dough into a round - you can use your hands or a rolling pin to stretch and form the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a large piece of parchment paper. NOTE: Baking the dough on parchment paper makes it easier to transfer the pizza to and from the baking stone, and also makes cleanup easier. The parchment is thin enough that you will still obtain a nice, crisp crust from baking on the pizza stone.
- Brush the pizza dough with a bit of olive oil, then spread the curry sauce over the dough, leaving approximately 1/2 inch for the crust.
- Distribute the onions evenly over the pizza. Then do the same with the chicken pieces and the hot pepper slices.
- Add a few large spoonfuls of the cottage cheese over the pizza.
- Transfer the pizza to the oven (e.g., using a peel) and bake until pizza dough is crisp (approximately 10 minutes, but oven times may vary).
- Remove from the oven and place on a cutting board. Immediately sprinkle the chopped cilantro over the hot pizza. Season with a bit of extra sea salt if desired.
- Allow to rest for a few minutes, slice and enjoy!