Domino's pizza vs the Naanizza I made

As mentioned loads of times before, Fridays are pizza days for us. We mostly have pizza for dinner and if Friday is inconvenient, then Saturday it is. We are ardent pizza lovers and even the frozen ones make us drool. Well not so much, but you know we would have it without complaining much if that was our last choice!

Since we had guests visiting for the past 3 months, our pizza ritual had come to a standstill. We were just wondering how to revive it when I was asked to review the new Gourmet Pizza Range by Domino's. Of course I said yes, because its one of our favourite Pizza brands especially since we have had a couple of bad experiences with some of the other bands and we always return to Domino's. So off we log on to their website and make an order for a take away pizza. It's so convenient, I'm not joking. The wait for the pizza to arrive is the worst but since we are pro's at this whole thing, we time it perfectly well and get the pizza just when our stomachs start to rumble.

The Gourmet range from Domino's offers 4 different types of pizzas- the Firenze with salami, pepperoni and roquito peppers, the Florentine which is a vegetarian option with spinach, sun blush tomatoes, and feta cheese, the Rustica with chicken, bacon, spinach and tomatoes (which is what we ordered) and the Four seasons with a 1/4 of all the 3 above mentioned pizza's and sun blush tomato topping.

The Rustica was a good change from the usual Mighty Meaty which, as the name suggests, is loaded with all kinds of meat (delicious if I may add). This one was much mellow in nature with the individual flavours coming right through. If there was one complaint, I would say that the tomato was a bit too tangy for my liking and a bit over powering. I loved the addition of smoked bacon rashers and of course spinach is a winner for us any time.

To make the review more exciting, I was also asked to create my own pizza and compare it to that of Domino's. I decided to go ahead and try making my version of the Rustica pizza at home. Since I was a bit time constrained, I chose to use Naan as the base. I have done it a lot of times before and must say its a really easy and tasty alternative to a normal pizza base. If you manage to get flavoured naan then even better because you get the best of both worlds. I also used pancetta instead of bacon which was probably not the best idea because bacon would have done more justice to it taste wise. The pancetta was not a bad choice but in the larger scheme of things, its flavour just got lost. Comparing mine to the Domino's Rustica- I love the pizza sauce Domino's uses, which of course I couldn't get right, so full points to Domino's for that. I used normal cherry tomatoes instead of the sun blushed ones since I thought that was what made it a tad too tangy, so points for me on that one. The chicken strips, I shall keep them bigger next time because Id shredded them too fine for it to stand out, Rustica did a great job with the size of the strips. Since I didn't want to keep any leftover filling, I loaded my naanizza with toppings, which was perhaps one advantage over the Domino's. But then you cant have it all right :)

But on the whole Rustica stayed true to its name and I would definitely be trying out more pizza's from their Gourmet Range. People, if you haven't given it a go as yet, do try it and oh please do yourself a favour and also try the chicken kickers which I think is so yummy it makes me want to eat the entire thing without sharing with Ro. 

Naan- 4 small/ 2 big (plain or flavoured)

Pizza sauce- 4 tbsp

Baby spinach- 1/2 cup

Shredded chicken- 1 cup

Cherry tomatoes- 1/2 cup, sliced into halves

Pancetta- 4 to 5 rashers, cooked and sliced long

Mozzarella cheese- 1/4 to 1/2 cup (as required)

dried oregano- 1 tsp

Olive oil- to drizzle

Dice the chicken into chunks and marinate with salt and pepper. Cook in a saucepan till well done and keep aside to cool.

Shred using a fork and keep aside. You can store remaining chicken in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days, and use it in a sandwich or you can even freeze it.

Place the naan on a baking tray that has been lined with aluminium foil or baking paper.

Slather on 1 tbsp of pizza sauce on to each naan if using small ones, or 2 tbsp per big naan.

Arrange a layer of spinach leaves on top followed by shredded chicken.

Arrange the sliced cherry tomato cut side up. You may want to go easy on this if they are too tangy.

Either crumble the cooked pancetta and throw onto the naan or for a more orderly look, slice it lengthwise and place it strategically 

Finally add the mozzarella cheese, again in any way you like, over the toppings or next to it. Its cheese, you can eat it however:)

Sprinkle the oregano, drizzle olive oil and place in an oven preheated at 200C for about 6 t0 8 minutes.

Don't keep it in for too long, it can go crunchy on you.

Take it out of the oven and eat while hot, otherwise its rubbish.

Notes: Feel free to marinate the chicken with any spice you like. I kept it simple.

Some grated Parmesan would take it to the next level.

With thanks to Dominos Pizza for gift vouchers to pick up the pizza

Review: Domino's Reggae Reggae pizza

As you all might already know, I'm a big Domino's fan. So when I was asked to review their newly launched Reggae Reggae pizza, I didn't think twice. Gladly agreed to do so.

If you are a regular viewer of Saturday Kitchen Live, you would know Levi Roots who does gorgeous Caribbean cooking; and his new Reggae Reggae sauce is the main ingredient in this pizza. Its a very Caribbean inspired pizza with roast chicken, tomatoes, green peppers, pineapple and of course glorious mozzarella cheese. 

We went a notch further and ordered the large non-veg Reggae reggae pizza with a stuffed crust, which is also a new addition to their collection. The delivery, as usual, arrived on time (something I absolutely love about Domino's) and we dug into it with all gusto. First bite, and honestly I wasn't that impressed. I mean I don't usually prefer sweet/ spice combinations and maybe it was because I'm not a big BBQ sauce fan, that I didn't like the sauce too much. The addition of pineapple also was a bit of a bummer for me, but hey that's what Caribbean cooking is all about, so you need to go with the flow.

That said, after a few bites, the whole taste just grows on you. Prior to my observation, my husband thoroughly declared this pizza as more juicy and flavourful and he loved the sweet-spice flavours it imparted. But otherwise, the chicken was cooked to perfection and the cheese did its job really well. The stuffed crust was a bit of a let down and I don't think I'd order that again. But the next time if we pick up a Reggae Reggae pizza, I would do a thin crust and maybe try and omit the pineapple (just cos of preference, nothing else).

If you like BBQ flavours with a tint of sweetness, then this pizza is definitely for you. Vegetarians worry not, there is also a Vegetarian reggaie Reggae pizza with sweetcorn as an addition and can also be bought as one of Domino's oven baked subs. Go ahead and order and while you are at it, don't forget to check out their amazing pizza offers. We did ours as a 'Two for Tuesday' deal and paired it with an equally gorgeous 'Full House' Pizza.

With thanks to Dominos Pizza for gift vouchers to pick up the pizza

Review: Domino's pizza versus the sad one I made

I love Domino's pizza.period. And no I wasn't paid to say that. We have been big fans of Domino's from the time we were in India, since Saturdays are usually pizza and movie days and I totally look forward to it. We used to get the cheese stuffed crust back in India, something I miss out here, but I have a whole lotta other varieties to choose from.

So when I was given an opportunity to make my own pizza and compare it to the Domino's pizza, I didn't think twice, but jumped at it. Neat huh? Well yes, till I made my own pizza and figured out Id never be doing that again!

Other than the fact that I love their flavours, what I love even more is the fact that I can order the pizza online from Dominos and the deed is done in a matter of a few clicks. We have saved our info on their website and the next time we just have to log on and place our order. You get a confirmation number and if you are not comfortable giving your credit card details online, you can pay them on delivery. We have personally never had a bad experience with them; as in we didn't have to call and confirm or there is no delay in delivery. In fact they are scarily on time. You tell them you want it delivered at 8.15 and you'd be surprised when they land up exactly at that time, as opposed to a certain other pizza chain (lets just say the name starts with P) never delivered our pizza till an hour later. While we are on the pizza subject, I must also add that I have tried almost every pizza delivery place nearby, but we end up being loyal to Domino's just because their delivery is to the dot. You don't want to order for pizza and keep the movie and beer waiting just to realize that its been over 30 minutes and the pizza guys are still nowhere to be seen and even worse, you call them up and find out they are accidentally at the wrong place, or stuck in traffic (lame).

So we ordered 3 pizza's from Domino's over the weekend: 

The new Spanish Sizzler which has roast chicken, green peppers, chorizo sausage and roquito peppers. It was alright, except I didn't really like the sweetness of the peppers that much. 

The Tandoori Hot which was basic except that I love the hot jalapeño peppers in them

And my favourite the Mighty Meaty which has all those gorgeous toppings I love- pepperoni, ham, beef, sausage and mushrooms. 

And what I made at home a few days later was a Pepperoni and cheese pizza and my version of the Tandoori Hot. If I were to compare the pizzas, I'd say mine were horrible (no I'm not sucking up to Domino's..I mean it), except I was quite generous with the topping. Other than Mighty Meaty, I thought all the other pizza's were a big meagre when it came to the topping. I could find bits of chicken here and there, but not as much as I would have liked- an issue I've always had with Pizza chains. Taste-wise I must add, Domino's' any day kicked my pizza's butt. The cheese, the sauce, the spice everything was brilliant. I always end up burning the cheese and the topping and if I want to keep that consistency right, I end up under cooking the pizza base. Well its cos of hopeless amateurs like me, that chains like Domino's thrive I think :)

So without boring you any further, here's my recipe:

For the base:

All purpose flour- 145 gms + extra for dusting

Active Dry Yeast- 1 tsp

Salt- a pinch

olive oil- 1 tsp

Warm water- as required (I used about 100ml)

(or like me, just buy the ready made pizza base mix add enough water and make the dough)

Mix the yeast into the water, stir to dissolve and keep in a warm place for 10 minutes

Mix the AP flour and salt together in a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and oil to form a slightly sticky mixture. You can keep adding water till you get the deserved consistency.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and pliable.

Place it back into the mixing bowl, cover and keep in a warm place for up to 2 hrs. It would double in size by now. Punch the air out and knead for another 2 to 3 minutes and then roll out into a size (and shape) you prefer.

Topping:

Red pesto (I used that instead of pizza sauce)

Grated parmesan cheese

Grated mozzarella cheese

Cheddar cheese (optional)

Pepperoni slices

For the tandoori chicken:

Chicken breasts- 1 medium

Yogurt- 2 tbsp

Ginger paste- 1 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Lime juice- 1 tbsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Tandoori masala- 1 tbsp (If you have this, omit coriander and cumin powder)

Salt- if required

Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken. Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Grill in the oven at 176 for about 15 to 20 minutes on each side

Slice into strips and use for the pizza.

Assembling:

Generously spread the red pesto on the pizza base, leaving about half an inch from the sides.

Grate some parmesan cheese on the top

Cover with enough pepperoni/ tandoori chicken

sprinkle some mozzarella and cheddar on top and bake in an oven preheated at 220 for about 15 to 20 minutes.

I sprinkled some coriander leaves on top of the tandoori chicken pizza and it tasted good.

If anyone in UK is interested in taking part in this challenge, please do let me know and I can pass on the necessary details. You can make your own vegetarian pizza and compare it to a veg one as well..whichever suits you.

With thanks to Dominos Pizza for a gift voucher to pick up the pizza