PIZZA On A Platter

My 2 and a half year old nephew, PRITHHI love pizzas and this post is dedicated to him.

"I don't like food...I love it...If I don't love it...I don't Swallow"....the famous dialogue of EGO from the animated movie "Ratatouille" is the motto of many food critics. I also abide by this rule...I can hardly eat anything, which I don't happen to love with the very first bite. According to me, my sister is the best Cook in the world. She is just like the “little chef”, who cooks by smelling the flavors of spices and vegetables.

Today, I am going to share my sister’s recipe of a great peasant style home made PiZZa. I hope you all will love it and give it a try at home. The ingredients are easily available in any grocery store. However, you might be required to visit a retail market for the cheese. In this recipe, I have used Britannia Cheeza( cheese for pizza with mozzarella). It is the best available ready to use cheese available in the market.

To make a pizza for 3 people:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of plain flour (better to use atta if you prefer soft pizzas)
• 1 and a half cup of warm milk
• ¼ cup of vegetable Oil
• 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of yeast
• 2 table spoon of water
• 1 teaspoon of melted better to brush the surface of pizza base
• 1 tablespoon Tomato sauce ( use plain kissan tomato sauce)
• 1 cup of grated cheese
• ½ cup of thinly sliced onions, chopped green capsicums and tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon of Dry pizza spices(available in market)

To prepare the dough:

At first, you will need to mix the plain water, sugar and yeast together. And keep the mixture aside for 10 minutes. In the mean time you can whisk the flour. After 10 minutes, you will need to mix the flour, the yeast mixture, warm milk and vegetable oil together to make soft dough. You can add more oil and flour to make the dough soft. 

The next step is pretty easy, as you will be required to cover the mixture and wrap it under a damp cotton cloth. Here, you can see I have used a blue cloth, but it is better to use a white piece of cloth. 

Keep the covered dough aside for at least 2 hours. After 2 hours, you will find the dough to have doubled in size. Cut the dough in two pieces. Take one of the halves and roll it on a flat surface with the aid of your hands or a rolling pin. When the dough is rolled enough, you can use a fork to make designs on its surface.

 The Toppings:

Place the pizza base on a greased non-stick, flat, micro-wave safe dish. Smear the tomato sauce on the surface of the pizza base. Place the vegetables on top of it. Then you can add the grated cheese. Sprinkle the dry pizza spices on top. You can either cook it in grill mode on a high rack for 7 minutes or you can bake it for 11 to 15 minutes on a low rack in convection mode at a temperature of 180 degree Celsius. I prefer the grill mode, since it consumes less time!! 

After placing the sauce and vegetables

Cheese!!!

YUMM!!!

Now…just sit back and enjoy the PIZZA!!!

Silent Night Conversation With Myself

Sometimes I wonder if time could just stop for days or even months and years. The passing of time, the wind, and the seasons make you realize that nothing is going to stay the same way forever. Seasons change and people also change. We grow and start to complicate our lives. There are many people in the world like me, who don’t know what they really want from life. We become jealous and frustrated, when we see people living their dreams. The search for the right vision is truly difficult.

Before, I never felt the need for looking at a future…my future. I was very optimistic you see…But now, (its not that I have become a pessimist), I know that a person becomes terribly lonely at one point of life. Loneliness is quite scary. You don’t want to be alone or left out in a crowd full of strangers. Earlier, it was so easy to make friends. Now, one searches and analyzes the benefits of befriending someone.

Some people say and believe Social networking has made life more terrible than usual. Now, people leave messages and interact through facebook chats.  New posts and “likes”... have become the morning breakfast for this generation. My friend once told that I will become very lonely when at one point…I don’t know why she said that, but I am beginning to feel its effect. You will need to understand that the person most dear to you wont stay with you for the rest of your life. You will have to let go for yourself to find peace… at last.