Tandoori Paneer Pizza

We live in the California Bay Area where there are so many Indian restaurants, its unbelievable. We tried Desi Pizza when we first moved here, and when I say Desi, it is Desi! Since then I have been wanting to try them out at home. Recently one of my friends in LA made this Tandoori Paneer Pizza and told me how she made it, so I decided to give it a try and I must say it came out delicious!

This recipe will make 3 Medium size pizza

Ingredients:

Tandoori Paneer Sauce:

• 3 cups of tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cup of cubed Panner (small cubes)
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic and chilli paste (use according to your taste)
• 1/2 tsp of each, cinnamon & clove powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 1/2 tbsp of Tandoori Masala Powder
• 1/2 tbsp  red chilli powder (optional)
• 1/2 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp brown sugar 
• freshly crushed black pepper to taste

 Pizza Dough:

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 ½ cup warm water
• 3 ½ cups flour (2 cups all purpose flour & 1 1/2 regular wheat flour)
• 1 tablespoons EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• Pinch teaspoon salt  

Topping:

• Baby spinach
• Parmesan OR Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Method:

Tandoori Sauce:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat and add the ginger + garlic and chilli paste, cook it till raw garlic smell goes away, add the onion and cook it till it becomes translucent.
2. Add the cinnamon & clove powder along with the tandoori masala, & salt
3. Cook it till its fragrant & then add the tomato sauce and lower the heat. 
4. Let it simmer for 5 minutes then add red chilli powder, garam masala, cilantro and black pepper to the sauce.
5. Add the cubed paneer to the sauce and let it cook for another 5 min or so.
6. Take it off the heat and add the chopped baby spinach leaves to the sauce, the heat of the sauce will wilt the spinach.
7. Let it cool down completely.
8. This is the sauce that will go on top of the pizza sauce. The longer you marinate the panner in the sauce the better it'll taste. (I made the sauce a day before and stored it in the fridge).

 
 Dough & Assembling the Pizza:

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast on the warm water, and stir to dissolve it. Set aside until the yeast starts forming bubbles in about 5 minutes.
2. Sift the flour. Pour the flour into a large bowl or on a work surface. Mold the flour in a mound shape with a hole in the center. 
3. Pour in the center the yeast mix, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
4. Using a spatula draw the ingredients together. Then mix with your hands to form dough. 
5. Sprinkle some flour on the work surface. Place the dough on the floured surface.
6. Knead the dough briefly with your hands pushing and folding. Knead just long enough for the dough to take in a little more flour, and until it no longer sticking to your hands 
7. With your hand, spread a little olive oil inside a bowl. Transfer the dough into the bowl. 
8. On the top of the dough, make two incisions that cross, and spread with a very small amount of olive oil. This last step will prevent the surface of the dough from breaking too much while rising.  Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth, and set the bowl aside for approximately 1½ – 2 hours until the dough doubles in volume. The time required for rising will depend on the strength of the yeast and the temperature of the room. 
9. When the dough is double its original size, punch it down to eliminate the air bubbles. 
10. On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough into three equal pieces
11. Roll out the dough like any pizza base.
12. Brush the edges of the pizza base with olive oil, spread the tandoori paneer sauce on the base, sprinkle cheese & bake it at 400 degress for 15-17 minutes.