Italian Pesto Pizza / Pizza with Pesto Sauce / Pesto Pizza

Festivals are over and we heartfully enjoyed the special offerings we made to God. A small change in the tracks, today I decided to gear towards something easier and  exotic. Suddenly, this Pesto Pizza flashed in my mind as I had all the ingredients luckily available. Trust me, it was not at all a cumbersome process. Pretty easier as the sauce was ready.

Ingredients

Pizza Base :

All Purpose Flour - 1.25 Cups

Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp

Italian Seasoning Powder - 1.5 tsp

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp ( To knead the Dough )

Water - As required to Knead the Dough.

Yeast - 2 tsp ( Soaked in 1/4 cup of warm milk )

Pizza Sauce 

Pesto Sauce - As required. ( Either Homemade or Store bought , I used Costco Brand Pesto Sauce).

Toppings

Red Onion Rings - 6

Black Olives - 5 or 6 cut into thin rounds

Mushrooms - 4 or 5 cut into thin slices.

Mozzarella Cheese - Between 2 to 3 Cups. ( As desired ).

Method

Knead the Pizza Dough by adding all the ingredients mentioned under the "Pizza Base". Cover the dough with a wet cloth and leave aside for 2-3 hours till the dough rises up.

Using a roller, roll the dough and make a thin crust pizza base. It can be well achieved by using hands too..

Spray some oil onto the base of the pizza baking tray. Carefully transfer the handmade thin crust into the pizza tray. Spread the Pesto Sauce on top of the Pizza base equally in all directions as shown in the picture below.

After that, apply the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the Pesto Sauce uniformly in all directions. Its better to make the edges of the Pizza crust little thicker as it might prevent the cheese spills during the baking process.

On top of the Mozzarella cheese spread, throw the toppings in any fashion you like. Press them gently.Now the Pizza is ready to be baked. You can either bake it in the conventional oven by following the regular process or choose other handy methods. This time I baked this Pesto Pizza in my Bella Pizza Maker. Its an awesome Kitchen Appliance which makes my life pretty easier. Especially for baking just a single pizza or for any sudden pizza craving, this Bella Pizza Maker comes as a rescue.!!! It took nearly 8-9 minutes in the Pizza Maker and the Pizza is ready to be served. 

Make slices using the Pizza cutter and serve the slices with Parmesan cheese and  red chilli flakes on top.

Enjoy with a side of some chilled Apple cider. You will remember me then....Enjoy this recipe my dear friends and let me know your experience.

Pineapple Gojju / Karnartaka Style Pineapple Gojju

A big tasty pineapple sitting inside the refrigerator triggered my mind to make a Karnataka style dinner couple of days back. I have been thinking of doing this yummy Pineapple Gojju which I relished when I were in Bangalore at restaurants and work place. I always enjoyed the spicy, sweety and tangy taste of this gojju and it goes well with hot rice and a good accompaniment for rotis / chappathis too.  With the limited ingredients I had then, I made a small course Karnataka meal this time comprising of Pineapple Gojju, Cucumber Koshimbir, Sorekai Chutney and Sorekai Pappu. A different meal at the end of the day was quite interesting and we enjoyed the Karnataka cuisine very much. I will come back with more traditional Karanataka dishes soon... At my home, we always love to explore different cuisines of India, love to introduce these special cuisines to the kids (including the biggest one - my husband). I want them to have the opportunity to experience the wide range of tastes and the depth of variety of the cuisines from each region of  Mother India.

Ingredients

Pineapple Cubes - 1.5 cups

Tamarind Juice - 1 cup

Oil - 3 tsp

Hing - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 5 or 6

Dry Red chillies - 2 Medium

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Bisibelebath Powder / MTR Sambar Powder - 1 tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Jaggery - 1 small pinch

Simple Karanataka Meal - Sorekai Pappu, Cucumber Koshimbir, Sorekai Chutney, Pineapple Gojju

Method

• In the cooking vessel, add the oil first. When its heated, add Hing, Mustard seeds, Jeera, urad dal, channa dal, curry leaves and dry red chillies in order. When its roasted enough, add the pineapple cubes into the vessel and cook them on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
• Add the powders, tamarind juice, pinch of jaggery and required amount of salt and allow the Gojju to boil till it thickens little bit. Switch off the flame and serve with hot rice or hot rotis/chappathis. 

Tips

Try to make this Gojju with a tangy and sweety pineapple than using a very sweet pineapple. If the tangyness of the pineapple is good enough, we could reduce the amount of tamarind juice.

Cucumber Kosambari / Cucumber Kosambir / Vellarikai Kosambari

Kosambari also called as "Koshimbir" or "Kosambir" in other parts of India is made generally using soaked Moong dal, fresh coconut flakes and any preferred vegetables like cucumber, carrot, etc., Mostly its served as one of the side dishes in an elaborate festive meal and its also offered as prasadam to God during festivals.

Above all, I like this cucumber kosambari mainly due to its low calorie value. And its an excellent choice for weight reduction.

Ingredients

Fresh Cucumber - 1

Fresh coconut flakes - 1 tbsp

Soaked Moong Dal - 1/4 cup

Salt - As required

Fresh coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Oil - 1 tsp

Hing - 1 dash

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Procedure

Cut the cucumber into small pieces. You can either peel off the skin if its too thick or cut the cucumber with the skin if its tender. Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl. In the frying  pan, add the oil. When its heated, add the hing and mustard seeds. When it starts sputtering, pour it over the bowl. Mix everything thoroughly and garnish with the crushed coriander leaves at the end. 

Tips / Variations

Try to add salt just before serving the Kosambari as it might get watery. 

Care should be taken while adding salt as even an extra pinch would ruin the entire Kosambari.

Tempering process is totally optional.

Gundu Urulaikizhangu Fry / Small Baby Potato Fry / Chinna Urulaikizhangu Curry

"Gundu Urulaikizhangu curry" makes every kid happy and in fact, my blog will not be complete without my favourite childhood recipe. Whenever my eyes get a glimpse of these yummy golden baby potatoes during my vegetable shopping, I grab a small bunch of these tiny potatoes and make this curry. Sometimes, I would fix any main dish just to go with this small potato curry in my kitchen. Of course, I made my kids too love this curry!!! 

Ingredients

Small Golden Potatoes - 15 or 18.

Oil - 2 tbsp 

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 3 tsp 

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Sambar Powder - 2 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp

Dhaniya Powder / Coriander Powder - 1 tsp ( Optional ) ( If you want to taste this curry only with the chili taste, you can plug this off )

Salt - To Taste

Curry Leaves - 5 or 6 

Method

• Cook the golden potatoes with the skin. After its cooked, peel off the skin and cut them into halves if the size is considerably bigger. If its tiny, fry the potato as it is.
• First add the oil in the frying pan. When its heated, add the Hing, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves in succession.
• Add all the peeled potatoes into the pan now. Add all the powders and requires amount of salt into the pan.
• Gently coat all the potatoes with the powders and fry them uniformly. For 2 minutes, just close the lid and allow them to get cooked.
• Then fry them without lid on medium flame till you get crispy, golden potatoes. Add little more oil if required while frying them. If you use a non-stick pan, the amount of oil for frying would be less.