Tikka Masala Pizza

One thing we grew to love while living in San Francisco was Indian Pizza. It's not something we've found in Minneapolis so, we're left to make it for ourselves. Previously, we've made one with Indian BBQ Sauce but it wasn't really exactly the same. I remembered that the pizza we loved so much had a tikka masala sauce so that's what we tried this time.

This was totally it, the Indian Pizza we had been looking for. The sauce, which was adapted from 660 Curries, was sweet with a touch of spic & worked perfectly as a pizza sauce. Since I was using cooked chicken that wouldn't be marinated, like it typically is in chicken tikka masala, I added some of the seasonings that would have been in the marinate to the crust dough instead.

For all you purists out there before you leave a comment saying this isn't Indian & this isn't really Tikka Masala (which isn't Indian either), I know it's not traditional. It's a pizza made with what are typically Indian flavors & spices & heck we loved it.

Tikka Masala Pizza

Crust

1/2 c warm water
1/2 t yeast
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t ground ginger
pinch turmeric
pinch cardamon
1 t kosher salt
1 T olive oil + more for greasing the bowl
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

Put the water into a medium bowl. Add the yeast, cumin, ginger, turmeric, cardamon, salt & olive oil. Stir to mix. Add the 1/2 cup at a time. Knead until you get a smooth dough adding more flour is needed. Put a little oil in the bowl. Put the dough in the bowl & roll to coat with oil. Cover with a towel & let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Makes enough for 1 pizza

Tikka Masala Sauce

1 T butter
1/2 c roughly chopped onion
1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped
1/4 c roast red pepper
2 T sliced or slivered almonds
2 T golden raisins
1/2 c diced tomatoes, including juice
2 T heavy cream
1/8 t garam masala
1/8 t cayenne pepper
good pinch of kosher salt

In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, jalapeno, red pepper, almonds & raisins. Cook stirring from time to time until soft & golden brown, about 10 - 12 minutes. Add the tomatoes, deglazing the pan is necessary. Put into a food processor. Add the cream, garam masala, cayenne & salt. Process until you get a thick, sort of gritty sauce.

Enough for 1 pizza with a little leftover (looks like its just enough for me to use on a couple chicken breasts)

Topping

5 small yukon gold potatoes, cooked for about 15 minutes
1/4 - 1/3 c frozen peas
1/4 c cooked shredded chicken
grated mozzarella
2 T chopped cilantro

Let the potatoes cool & then slice thin.

Preheat oven to 475 F. Grease a baking sheet. Press the dough out on the sheet to create a thin crust pizza. Spread the sauce over the pizza. Top with the potatoes, peas & chicken. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake for 13 - 15 minutes until the cheese is melted & the crust is brown. Sprinkle with cilantro & serve.

2 -3 servings.

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