Pizzas at home
I first saw Ni at the graduate school yard sale in his trademark green jacket, his eyes screened by the sunglasses, his hands full of bounty he had just picked up for a steal, walking alongside my new neighbour, Vamshi. I walked towards them, preparing for an awkward interaction (as most of mine are,) and found myself consciously trying to look anywhere else but at him. When he removed his glasses, squinted against the sunlight with a smile to say ‘hello’, I swear I heard my brain say ‘Woah, girl.’ After that, it was not long before I was tumbling down the hill, falling for him.
Among the things that made me weak in my knees, one of the first was actually watching him work his magic in the kitchen. It was one of those waves that just hits you out of nowhere. Vamshi, Ni, and I were pulling a late nighter studying at Ni’s house and it was his turn to make dinner. Vamshi and I sat at the kitchen counter, the both of them discussing some class while I was trying to get through a very dry recommended reading for my novella class. I looked up and suddenly noticed him moving so gracefully between chopping vegetables and checking on his pasta sauce on the stove. With the kitchen towel on his shoulder and armed with a spatula, he looked so happy. I’m not sure how much time had passed before I caught myself staring and pretended to go back to reading. So much for playing it cool.
One late night, the three of us were doing laundry, exchanging stories as Vamshi lightly strummed his guitar and Ni told us about his adventures of building a makeshift brick oven to make pizzas. He then pulled out the recipe that he’d created along with the incredible photos of the rustic pizzas. True to my husband’s sense of humour, the recipe made me burst out into giggles, but more urgently, made me crave those pizzas.
Unfortunately, I had to wait a lot of impatient months for it. Every time we’d remember to make it, it would be the wrong time or we wouldn’t have any of the ingredients. On one snowy evening, however, everything came together. I got a message as I was getting out of class from Ni that he was making pizzas for dinner. I skipped all the way home, there might have been a couple of clicking my heels there too.
Once again I sat at his kitchen counter, chopping the veggies as he rolled out the soft dough. The theme was pick your own toppings, so we brought it all: broccoli, peppers, bacon, corn, jalapenos, onions, spinach, and mushrooms. The sauce that he made from scratch was flirty with tang and spice. As he assembled the pizza, he kept explaining his steps so that I could make the next one and not hover at the oven waiting for it to bake as I usually have a tendency to do. By the time I finished loading mine with the chopped bacon and jalapenos, I could smell the pizza bubbling in the oven. The crunch of the crust as Ni ran his knife to cut it was as satisfying as hearing a well-seasoned cricket bat knock away that perfect ball. The pizza could’ve easily rivaled others I’ve had before, so fresh and cheesy. We ended up making so many pizzas that night, trying different combinations and calling more people to his place to try it out.
My luck with getting Ni to make pizzas today remains the same. Somehow we never think of it at the right time. In a pandemic, however, thinking about food is all I do and I went around his office space, poking him into submission, until he agreed to make pizzas again. Last Sunday, we made an evening out of it by pouring ourselves a pickleback whisky (badly missing Vamshi who’d introduced us to the drink,) while prepping the ingredients for the pizza. This time we went with spicy roasted paneer, italian sausages, onions, peppers, mushrooms, baby corn and jalapenos. I once again stood back against the kitchen counter to watch him meticulously arrange the toppings on the bed of rich, spicy, tangy red sauce.
The crunch as he rolled the pizza cutter through the pizza took me right back to his apartment five years ago.
Here is the original recipe that Ni had created.
AuthorPriyanka SivaramakrishnanDifficultyIntermediateA fully loaded pizza on a thin crust, baked to golden perfection.
Dissolve the 2 tbsp of sugar in 1/2 cup of warm water. Mix in the dry active yeast and set it aside for 5 minutes, until the yeast does its work. The mix should've doubled.
Add the flour, salt, and olive oil to the yeast mix and stir well.
Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes. Push down on the dough with the base of your palm, fold the dough onto itself, repeat until it becomes soft and pliable. Poke the dough, if it bounces back, you are good to go.
Transfer the dough into a oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and allow it to rest for 1/2 hour to 1 in a dark, warm corner of your kitchen. At the end of the rest, the dough should've doubled in size.
Blanch the tomatoes in hot water for 10 minutes. Carefully peel the skin and chop them into small cubes.
In a pot, heat a tbsp of olive oil and add the bay leaves. Add the minced garlic and finely chopped onions. Saute until the onions become translucent.
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, and salt. Let this simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Balance the salt and tang of the tomato with some sugar. Mix well. The sauce should now be nice and thick in its consistency. If you'd like it to be smooth, remove the bay leaves and run it through the blender for a quick minute.
Your pizza sauce is now ready.
Split the dough into equal balls. Sprinkle some flour on a clean kitchen counter. Take one dough ball and roll it out into a small circle. Start from the center and roll out, making sure that you have a thick crust. Don't be afraid to use your hand and push the dough around.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F while you assemble your pizza.
Lightly oil the pan on which you'll be placing the pizza base. Place the base on the pan.
Dab the top of the base with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle some salt.
Spread the sauce, drizzle the mozzarella, and load up the pizza with your favoured toppings. Sprinkle some more mozzarella on top, because what the hell, we all could use more cheese.
Place the pizza in the oven for 20-25 mins, until the crust is nice and golden.
Remove the pizza from the pan and allow it to rest on a wire mesh for 5 mins. This is to make sure that your base does not become soggy with the condensation.
Season your pizza with some dried oregano and chilli flakes. Enjoy your handiwork!
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve the 2 tbsp of sugar in 1/2 cup of warm water. Mix in the dry active yeast and set it aside for 5 minutes, until the yeast does its work. The mix should've doubled.
Add the flour, salt, and olive oil to the yeast mix and stir well.
Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes. Push down on the dough with the base of your palm, fold the dough onto itself, repeat until it becomes soft and pliable. Poke the dough, if it bounces back, you are good to go.
Transfer the dough into a oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and allow it to rest for 1/2 hour to 1 in a dark, warm corner of your kitchen. At the end of the rest, the dough should've doubled in size.
Blanch the tomatoes in hot water for 10 minutes. Carefully peel the skin and chop them into small cubes.
In a pot, heat a tbsp of olive oil and add the bay leaves. Add the minced garlic and finely chopped onions. Saute until the onions become translucent.
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, and salt. Let this simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Balance the salt and tang of the tomato with some sugar. Mix well. The sauce should now be nice and thick in its consistency. If you'd like it to be smooth, remove the bay leaves and run it through the blender for a quick minute.
Your pizza sauce is now ready.
Split the dough into equal balls. Sprinkle some flour on a clean kitchen counter. Take one dough ball and roll it out into a small circle. Start from the center and roll out, making sure that you have a thick crust. Don't be afraid to use your hand and push the dough around.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F while you assemble your pizza.
Lightly oil the pan on which you'll be placing the pizza base. Place the base on the pan.
Dab the top of the base with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle some salt.
Spread the sauce, drizzle the mozzarella, and load up the pizza with your favoured toppings. Sprinkle some more mozzarella on top, because what the hell, we all could use more cheese.
Place the pizza in the oven for 20-25 mins, until the crust is nice and golden.
Remove the pizza from the pan and allow it to rest on a wire mesh for 5 mins. This is to make sure that your base does not become soggy with the condensation.
Season your pizza with some dried oregano and chilli flakes. Enjoy your handiwork!