Growing up, my mom used to make pizza on special days. It needed a bit planning and special ingredients to make them and they are the yummiest pizza. Living in a small town, all these varieties were sparsely available in restaurants and the enthusiastic cooks would make them at home. Imagine my surprise when I had pizza (My cousin said these are the real pizzas!) outside for the first time. My mouth rejected the US style pizza. It wasn't what I had eaten so far! Stringy mozzarella cheese in a pizza? No thanks.. I loved the mountain of uncooked, finely shredded processed cheese. Bread-like base? Nope. The home-made thin, crisp base was(and is) the preference. And don't get me started on the delicious spicy gravy! Prepared on a pan in the absence of conventional oven, it was a treat. Then I went to college and eating those pizzas became rare and it had been at least a decade since I had it last. Of course, in the meantime, I developed my likeness for the US style pizza. And coming here in the States, I got to taste the original Italian pizzas that are truly delicious.
One day, a friend asked me if I knew how to make Jasuben style pizza. A quick search and I realized she was talking about the kind of pizzas my mom made and the craving began. Honestly, I was very intimidated by the base, as I remember how time-consuming it was to make them. And the gravy took a long time to get done too. There came a day when the craving over-powered the laziness and I set to recreate the pizza at home. Surprisingly, it was not that time consuming as I had expected it to be. The base was a bit of disappointment but I have found a good ready-to-use substitute of it in Indian store. The gravy was delicious and just as I remember the taste. The toppings are not really much of work. So try this gujurati style pizza. You can call it Jasuben na pizza, Choice na Pizza or Amdavadi pizza but for me, this is Mom-style pizza! :)
Serves: 6-7 Pizzas
Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 50 min
Difficulty level: Easy
Ingredients:
6 Pizza base, 6-8 inch Round Base (You can use a bread like Afghani Naan that has a slight rise and softness to it. Or make a softer bhakhri)
For Gravy:
11-12 Medium Ripe Tomatoes
1/4 cup onion, finely cut
3 cloves Garlic
1/4 cup Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Sauce
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper Powder
2 pinches Garam Masala
2 tsp. Oil
1 tsp. Sugar (Optional)
Salt as per taste
Water to boil tomatoes
For Toppings:
2 cups shredded Processed Cheese
1 large Green Bell Pepper, finely cut
1 medium Onion, finely cut
3 Tomatoes, finely cut
Method:
1) Put enough water that would cover the tomatoes in a cooking pot and heat it to boil. Once the water starts boiling, add the tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes are tender. The way to know is to insert knife and see if it penetrates easily to the center. Once done, take them off the heat and remove the skin.
2) Crush the tomatoes to puree with a hand blender. Keep aside.
3) Heat oil in a cooking pot. Once hot enough, add the onion and garlic and cook till translucent. Add the tomato puree. Now you have to just let the gravy cook and evaporate all the water until it becomes really thick. It should take around 45 minutes on medium heat. Keep stirring frequently so that the gravy doesn't burn at the bottom. In the meanwhile, you can prepare the toppings.
4) Once the gravy has thickened, add the hot and sweet sauce, garam masala, salt and pepper. Taste and if you feel it needs more sugar, go ahead and add a teaspoonful. It really depends on how sour your tomatoes are. The Maggi hot and sweet sauce really has everything added so you don't need anything else but if you don't have one at home, just add red chili powder and sugar till you get and sweet, tangy and spicy gravy.
5) Let the gravy cool down a little. Once ready to serve, heat up a flat tava/ cooking pan. Take a pizza base and spread 2-3 spoonful of gravy depending on the amount of gravy you like on your pizza. Top with a layer of onions, tomatoes, bell peppers each.
Now if you like the cheese a little melted, then go ahead and add cheese too. I don't so I just put the prepared pizza on the tava and cover the pizza with a deep container and let it cook for 4-5 min on low heat such that the base bottom gets crispy. You can apply some butter on the bottom of the base too before cooking it. Remove from heat and add a big handful of cheese and enjoy.
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