Healthy and Delicious Pizza

When we talk of the NextGen foods, encounters are common in most Indian households about the difference in food culture that changed over time. Most of the older generation often speaks about the home food that they used to enjoy. Snacks like poha, upma, sheavai-upma were common in holds as evening snacks and later replaced by chats like shevpuri, bhelpuri etc. In the event of foreign food culture that seem to have raided here Italian dishes like Pasta and Pizza have included in the likes of children and they have dominated most menus of restaurants too. The only reason that I would restrict is the presence of refined flour or maida while making the base, the use of various sauces that are prepared many days in advance and contain many preservatives, and loads of cheese that is usually unhealthy and said to be the major cause of childhood obesity in these days.

In these circumstances, I would best suggest to make the pizza at home . With a little pre-preparation and planning a delicious pizza can be made at home.

Ingredients for the Pizza base.

Whole wheat flour / Atta – 2cups

Melted butter/ oil -2 tsp

salt-1/2 tsp

Baking powder- ½ tsp

 water as required

Method :

Knead the dough with the above ingredients and allow to rest for about half an hour. Keep the consistency same as for rotis/ Chapatis. Variations such as adding some chilli flakes, oregano, ajwain to the dough can be done for some extra flavor.

Ingredients for Pizza sauce

Chopped onions- 1cup

Tomatoes -2 large –blended coarsely

Tomato puree/ Tomato Ketchup- 2tbspns                   

Salt to taste

Pizza masala- A blend of spices like oregano, pepper, basil, rosemary etc.-as required

Black Pepper- as required

oil-2 tsp

Capsicum- 1 finely chopped(optional)

Garlic – 8-10 cloves- finely chopped

Chopped parsley or coriander

sugar- 1tbspoon(optional)

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add garlic, sauté for some time and add onions, sauté till they turn pink. Add tomatoes and other ingredients and cook till they blend well. The consistency should be thick and therefore do not add much water. The sauce can be made spicy by adding green chillies/ capsico sauce.

This sauce turns out very tasty and can be used as a sauce for pastas too.

How to proceed:

Roll out the dough into a 6 inch thick base about 1/8 of an inch thick. I preferred keeping the base thin as it turns out crispy and since we have not added yeast , a thick base is not preferable.

Add some butter on a hot tawa and keep the base on it, Spread about 3-4 tsp of pizza sauce on it.

Add onion rings, capsicum rings, tomato slices, mushroom , paneer, olives or even chicken if you like.

Sprinkle pizza cheese on top, cover and cook for 10 minutes on low flame. Cut the pizza into portions and serve. Enjoy……..!!!!!

This pizza is relatively low fat and can be made more healthy with the addition of veggies in it. The amount of cheese is a lot less that the commercial ones. Cheese although is a good source of calcium and protein, it also contains saturated fat and cholesterol and that’s why not advisable in large amounts.

Turn to the homemade version and snack on it.

Spinach Parathas(Palak ka Paratha)

These parathas are easy to prepare. They  are an excellent breakfast option knowing the goodness of spinach and the nutrients that go with it. Besides ,they are a great hit with the kids. The bright green colored look of the parathas brings a yummilicious SMILE which we mothers always look forward. The rendering smell of spinach is effectively masked with the flavor of garlic  and other spices resulting in amazing parathas good enough to be eaten at anytime of the day, tiffins or guest-parties. I have skipped the use of green chillies as it makes the parathas too spicy for kids. If necessary green chillies can be ground with the spinach.

Ingredients

Spinach-washed and chopped- 2 cups

Garlic- 7-8 cloves

Garam masala powder-1 tsp

Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp

Chilli powder – ½ tsp

seasame seeds (til) 1 tsp

salt to taste

whole wheat flour-3 cups

oil – to knead the dough and to cook the parathas

Method

In a mixie jar blend spinach, garlic, garam masala, turmeric, chilli powder, into a smooth paste without adding any water. Pour out the puree into a large bowl, add salt ,oil  and seasame seeds and knead in the wheat flour, taking water only if necessary  just as we knead the regular chapatti dough. Knead a little more with oiled palms and leave the dough covered for 10-15 minutes. It would look a bright green firm dough.

Roll out parathas and cook on a tawa applying oil on both sides till golden brown. Serve with your favourite chutney.

Karwar- Truly worth a Visit

We did an amazing tour last year end in December. I was accompanied by my husband and daughter while we visited KARWAR- A coastal town in north Karnataka bordering Goa. A major part of it is under the control of Indian Navy under the prestigious project Seabird.  We enjoyed what the nature opened its wings and offered us to explore.

Being a coastal town, we decided to spend most of the time on the beach. The beach had clean waters, clean sand and a wonderful view of the sunset.  A garden just alongside the beach turned out to be a good recreation and education park as there was an old Navy ship installed for the public to see. The kids loved to see the ship in its real form complete with the engine, fake models of ammunition and the life of a sailor inside the ship.

The beach waters welcomed us with cool and steady waves and we had our share of fun when we became kids along with the kids.

Now for some FooooooD!!!

The afternoon lunch was hosted by SHWETA LUNCH HOME. A popular restaurant which served delicious  fish Thalis made traditionally with all Karwar authenticity.

The restaurant was a gleeful one , crowded to prove itself and aroma of fried fish told us ‘We are at the Right Place’

We saw a few familiar boards. One with an appreciation from the famous Rocky and Mayur team “Highway on My Plate” which telecasts on the channel NDTV Goodtimes. The other one was with NDTV Zaika India ka , Vinod Dua ke Saath.  Both these posters were proudly exhibited by the owner who took personal effort to see all his customers were served properly.

It was a mouth watering platter with rotis,rice, fish curry, Bangda fry, Solkadi, vegetables and salad. We also took a Pomfret fry to suffice our appetite. The taste was indeed traditional and made with the right expertise to blend the spices which brought out the flavor in full galore. We ate to our hearts content and thanked the owner for his hospitality.

We also visited Shree GuruMatt  which is the Samadhi Shree Padmanabh Swami. Thus with many memories of Karwar  we proceeded on our tour. I would like to appeal to all readers to visit Karwar- An Unexplored destination in Karnataka that unfolds nature in its mesmerizing  form