Tawa Pizza


Before pizza became a mainstream food in Pune, there were only a handful of places that made pizza. The place that was most famous for it's pizza in the pre-chain restaurant era was Supreme Pizza opposite Sambhaji Park on J.M. Road. Supreme's pizza was pretty much a slightly thicker version of Masala Papad that could scrape the roof of your mouth raw. The sauce was slightly modified Kissan ketchup and the cheese was Amul. For those of you who might not know, Amul is to cheese what Tofurkey is to Thanksgiving. The pizza was baked by arranging it in a small tawa like utensil and then shoved into this contraption that was pretty much like a Weber Grill, but not quite. But for whatever reason the Supreme pizza was delicious and one couldn't find parking for blocks around the small shack. I think Supreme is still around, but since the arrival of Pizza Hut, Domino's and some other Indian Pizza chains, the small family owned Supreme has lost the 'Supremacy'. Now, they just cater to the Pav Bhaji and Milkshake crowd. And perhaps bake the odd pizza for someone who wants it just for old time's sake.

Ingredients:

(Chappati Dough)
2 cups Wheat Flour (Chapati flour)
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Oil
1/4 cup Milk
Warm Water

(Pizza Sauce)
1 can Crushed tomato
1 tsp Garlic
1 tsp Fresh Oregano
1 tsp Fresh Basil
2 tsp chopped Parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Pepper (optional)
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Toppings
Mozzarella / Cheddar Cheese, Chopped Onion, Mushrooms, Peppers, Italian Sausage, Grilled Chicken (or whatever you like)

Method
Mix all the ingredients for the dough and knead adding warm water till you have dough with a nice consistency
Place aside and allow to rise for an hour
In a pot heat Olive Oil and add Garlic, Basil, Oregano and Parsley.
Saute and then add crushed tomato
Allow to simmer.
Roll the dough slightly thicker than a Paratha
On a Tawa, slightly cook the base
Shut off heat and turn the base so that the uncooked side is to the bottom
On the cooked side spread the sauce so that the whole base gets a little sauce
Make sure not to make the base soggy
Add cheese and toppings
On a very low flame heat the pizza in the Tawa with a lid on.
Serve when the cheese is melted and the toppings are cooked

Comments

archana said…
Liked your version of Tawa pizza,it is looking yummy :)
Thistlemoon said…
That is such an interesting little story about pizza in India! How cool!

So glad to have you as part of teh Foodie Blogroll!
TNL said…
I've had the ketchup-amul cheese pizzas before...I loved them...I did like Amul cheese a lot...especially the ones we got in the can.... :)

trupti
TBC said…
It's my first time here.
Tawa pizza looks so good!
Thanks for the recipe.
Anonymous said…
hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Supreme Pizza is still around and is just as good at it always was...I tried your recipe here and it made me think of home again
Chaitali said…
My dad tried pizza for the first time at Supreme Pizza when he was a student (sometime in the 70s)...and he dragged me there on my first day in Pune to share a pizza. But of course, to a certain bratty 17 year old it wasn't 'as good as Pizza Hut' :)
I still like Supreme Pizza.. I think it's better than other pizza chains.. and more worth the taste and size!!

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