My 'go to' tomato sauce and a chicken tikka pizza

Till recently I used to buy pizza sauce and marinara sauce for pasta and such and after using half of the bottle, the remaining used to stay in the fridge where it would grow other inedible stuff and finally make its way through to the bin. And then again, when I needed a couple of spoons of tomato sauce for a pizza, I'd go out and buy a bottle which would repeat the same cycle.

That's when a friend mentioned she made her own tomato sauce and it freezes really well. I shrugged off the idea saying I'd never really do it because it sounded like a tough job. What I didn't know was the number of easy peacy recipes on the internet that fetched me same results. So off I went on a fanatic search and came up with this easy to do recipe that suited my taste buds and more importantly, was easy to prepare. I now use this for any kinda dishes like in a lasagna, for spaghetti meatballs and of course as the pizza sauce. If not anything, it works well as a dip for those tortilla chips as well. 

So yesterday after a rather heavy dinner, the husband suddenly announces that he wants pizza. I had a doubt if I heard him right and asked him what he meant. He said he had a craving for pizza. Yes, craving is the exact word he used. I said if he was hungry, I could make a couple more rotis, but no he wanted pizza and only pizza.

Well too bad, I wasn't going to make pizza at 8 in the night nor was I gonna order pizza because I was too damn full to eat anything more. Fed him some grapes and promised I'd make pizza soon. Well little did I know it would be this soon, but I ended up making it today and even had the will power to take some pics in spite of the lighting being shitty and such.

I happened to have some sauce tucked away in my freezer and thought it was a good idea to blog it since I intend on making it again. I also had some leftover chicken tikka from a dinner party on Sunday and decided to go for an Indianised version, just for kicks. I'm mighty thrilled with the outcome, as I have evolved from the amoeba shaped pizza to a rather round-like one in about 6 months. I'm getting there people, I'm getting there :)

On a completely different note, a big thanks to my uber creative friend Arun for doing the header for me. He's such a genius, you should check out some of his work here. When he becomes an aspiring film maker, I'm not gonna have this privilege. But till then I'm definitely gonna harass him for random stuff like this. Thanks a bunch A.

Sending the tomato sauce and pizza to the 'Taste for Tomatoes' competition over at Love the Garden. Now I'm just crossing my fingers and waiting to see if I've won :)

Tomato sauce (loosely adapted from Jamie Oliver's recipe)

Chopped tomatoes- 400 gms (canned)

Garlic- 5 cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Fresh basil leaves- a handful, cleaned and torn

Olive oil- 1 1/2 tbsp

Dried oregano- 1/2 tsp

Dried red chilli- 2, broken in half (optional)

Salt and pepper- to taste

Into a saucepan add the olive oil and once it becomes hot throw in the chopped garlic.

Swirl it around a bit and once it changes colour a bit, add the tomato followed by all other ingredients.

Stir well and bring to a boil.

Then reduce heat to low and let it simmer away for about 20 minutes, and remember to stir in between.

Once it becomes thick and saucy-like, remove from heat and let it cool for a while.

using an immersion blender, blend to a smoother consistency.

Store in sterilized glass jars and once completely cool, freeze.

When ready to use again, thaw at room temperature, gently heat at a really low temperature and use again.

Notes: I added a wee bit of home made garam masala to the tomato sauce because i was doing a chicken tikka pizza. 

The red chillies add a bit of spice, so omit if you dont want a spicier version.

Chicken tikka pizza (makes 2 8-inch pizzas)

For the base (recipe halved from here)

Plain flour- 250 gms

Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Luke warm water- 150 ml

Active dry yeast- 1 tsp

Sugar- 1/4 tsp

For the topping:

Above mentioned tomato sauce- 1 cup 

Chicken tikka pieces- 2 cups (recipe from here, the first part only i.e, the marinade and then grill as per instructions)

Grated Mozzarella cheese- 1/4 cup (optional)

Fresh mozzarella balls- 2 medium, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices

Cherry tomatoes- 1/2 cup, each of them sliced in half

Spinach leaves- 1/4 cup, pre cooked in the microwave for a couple of seconds

Grated Parmesan cheese- a couple of spoons (optional)

Olive oil- to drizzle

In a small bowl mix together the yeast and sugar and pour in 50ml lukewarm water. 

Mix well and leave aside for about 10 minutes by which time the yeast would bubble up.

In another large bowl whisk together the flour and salt and rub into it the olive oil, till slightly crumbly.

Once the yeast mix is ready, pour it into the flour mix along with 100ml lukewarm water, and using your hand mix till they all come together.

Lightly flour a work surface and knead till it is no longer sticky, say for about 4 to 5 minutes (yeah that's all it takes, trust me).

Place it back in the bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel and keep aside to rise for about an hour.

When you are ready to make the pizza, punch down the dough, knead it a couple of times and roll it out into the desired shape and to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. I used my silicone mat for this purpose so didn't need any flour. If doing so on your work top, then lightly flour the surface.

Place in a lightly greased pizza pan and then using your fingers stretch it out further.

Generously douse with the tomato sauce, leaving about half an inch from the edges.

Top with grated mozzarella, if using, or else place the chicken tikka slices randomly. Don't crowd it too much though.

Next, arrange the chopped tomatoes followed by fresh mozzarella.

Finally top with the cooked spinach leaves, drizzle some olive oil and place in an oven preheated at 200C.

Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, by which time the cheese would have melted.

Once you take it out, you can sprinkle some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, drizzle some more olive oil, slice and serve with a glass of wine...BLISS!

Notes: Add olives and mushrooms if you feel like and as a veg option, paneer tikka can be used. Just replace the chicken in the recipe with paneer.

The pizza is crisp around the edges and soft at the centre, just like we love it.

It is thin crust and not deep pan. For that you will have to keep the base thicker while rolling it out.