Paneer tikka Pan Pizza

I love pizza.. regardless of crust or toppings (of course without meat) - pan, handtossed, deep dish, brooklyn style, thin-crust even the bread and bagel pizza :-) a soft chewy bread loaded with veggies and other toppings loaded generously with cheese! Just can't stop raving about pizzzzzza.. I had my first ever pizza at Pizza Hut a few years ago after I got married and came here.. and boy.. I was completely hooked :-) Ahh good old days.. we used to order delivery, be total couch potatoes and sit in front of the TV for hours watching the 24 hrs special law and order marathon episodes :D
Never tried making them at home (r u kidding, never ever made even a simple daal before getting married) pizza was sooooo out of my comfort zone, but then I started getting comfy in the kitchen trying, tweaking, started baking and all.. and one good day made pizza.. I was jumping all around the house.. it was so good so perfect (now I make different kinds). Today I will talk about pan pizza.. I don't use a cast iron pan but instead use my round non stick baking pan (read about it in some food magazine).. yeah you heard me right, a regular baking pan. It comes out so perfect every time. You have to try it to believe me. Can be made using any kind of topping but my love for paneer and pizza is behind this recipe. In fact Pizza Hut has  a paneer pizza on the menu in India. Also I use whole wheat flour instead of the traditional all purpose flour to reduce the guilt ;)

Here goes.

Ingredients: makes 2 8" pizza

Atta or whole wheat flour ....................... 1 cup

All purpose flour .................................. 1 cup

Lukewarm milk ..................................... 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp

Rapid rise yeast .................................... 1 1/4 tsp

Extra virgin olive oil .............................. 3 tsp + 5 tsp

Salt ................................................... 3/4 tsp

Sugar ................................................. 1/2 tsp

Garlic powder ....................................... 1/2 tsp

Pizza sauce ........................................... 1/2 cup or as needed

Mozzarella cheese ................................... 1/2 cup (shredded) or as needed

Paneer tikka .......................................... one recipe

Method:

1. Dissolve yeast, salt and sugar in the milk. Mix and set aside for 7-8 minutes or until it gets frothy.

2. Add 3 tsp of oil in the above mixture.

3.In a medium size bowl, take whole wheat and all purpose flour. Mix in the garlic powder. Make a well in the middle. Pour the yeast mixture and knead to form a soft dough. If the dough is too soft, add a little flour to make it manageable. Knead for 5 - 6 minutes till the dough is smooth. Apply a little oil on your palms so the dough does not stick to your hands.

4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and keep aside for 15 - 20 minutes.

5. Take two 8" cake pans. Grease each with 2 - 3 tsp olive oil.

6. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll each part in a 10" diameter disc using a rolling pin. Place the rolled dough into the cake pan. Note that as the dough is a couple of inches more in diameter than the cake pan, it will rise up the sides of the pan.

7. Cover both cake pans with a plastic wrap or a wet kitchen towel and keep in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours (I place it under my kitchen counter light and it works great). The dough will appear to have risen.

8. Preheat the oven to 425 deg F. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 7 - 8 minutes till they get a light golden brown on top. Take them out and brush the top with olive oil. Spread the pizza sauce equally on each pizza and arrange the tikkas on top. Sprinkle some cheese and bake again at 425 deg F for 9 - 11 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and starts to get light golden brown on top. Take them out of the oven and place on a cooling rack.

9. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Slice and serve. ENJOY!

Notes:

1. Make sure that the milk is warm but not hot as hot milk will kill the yeast.
2. Please see my paneer tikka recipe here.

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