Sicilian Pizza Recipe

I was bit bored with eating the usual shaped pizza, so last night I tried ‘Sicilian Pizza’. It came out quite delicious. Sharing the recipe which is enough for 8 people and it was ready in 45mins.

Sicilian Pizza in the oven

Ingredients

• 2 packages (4-1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 cups warm water
• 4 cups of flour
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• ½ cup olive oil, divided
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 40-45 pepperonis
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Method

1. Coat an 18×13-inch sheet pan with ¼ cup olive oil and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast and sugar with the warm water. Allow to proof about 10 minutes.
3. Add the flour and garlic salt and mix on low speed for a few minutes before slowly adding the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil. Mix until a smooth ball starts to form, about 5 minutes.
4. Press dough evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°F. Once dough has risen to almost double in height, flatten the bottom and press the dough up the sides of the pan with your hands..
6. Spread pizza sauce evenly over dough. Sprinkle sauce evenly with half the cheese and then all the pepperoni. Sprinkle pepperoni evenly with remaining cheese and then sprinkle the whole pizza.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust starts to brown and the cheese starts to bubble. Let set 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

 

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Deep Dish Pizza Recipe

It’s Eid al-Adha which means we have lots of meat, instead of doing BBQ on day 1 of Eid I decided to made Deep Dish Pizza cos Deep Dish Pizza at Sobremesa was total disappointment.

Pizza Crust

Crust

3 ¹/₂ cups all-purpose flour

2  tablespoons active dry yeast

3 tablespoons cornmeal

1 ¹/₂ teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons Butter

1 cup water

Sauce

2 tablespoons Butter

1 small (¹/₂ cup) onion, chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic

1  can diced tomatoes, drained

1  can tomato sauce

1  can tomato paste

¹/₂ teaspoon salt

¹/₂ teaspoon Italian seasoning

Toppings

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

500 grams Italian sausage, cooked, cooled, crumbled

18 to 24 slices pepperoni

¹/₂ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 170ºF. Turn off oven.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast, cornmeal, sugar and salt in bowl. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in saucepan. Add water; cook until mixture comes to 120-130ºF. Add to flour mixture; mix until just moistened. Add remaining 2 cups flour to form stiff dough.
3. Knead dough on lightly floured surface 5-7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Spray inside of bowl with no-stick cooking spray. Place dough into bowl; turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap; place in oven. Let rise 30 minutes or until double in size.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium-low heat just until sizzling. Add onions; cook 4-5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic; cook 1-2 minutes. Add all remaining sauce ingredients; cook until bubbles begun to form at surface. Remove from heat; set aside.
5. Remove dough from oven. Heat oven to 450ºF.
6. Punch down dough; divide in half. Roll each half into 11 inch circle on floured surface. Spray 2 (9-inch) spring form pans with no-stick cooking spray. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pans. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese over bottom of each pan. Layer each with half of sauce (about 1 1/4 cups); 9 to 12 pepperoni slices and half of Italian sausage. Top each with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
7. Cover pans with aluminum foil; bake 30-40 minutes or until crust is browned. Uncover; bake 5-7 minutes or until cheese begins to brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting. Remove sides of pans; cut each pizza into 8 slices.

Basbousa Recipe I learned via Periscope

Few days back I learned a new recipe for Ramadan via Periscope from Middle East. It’s a traditional Middle Eastern sweet cake and looks quite easy so I give it a try.

Learned new recipe for #Ramadan via #Periscope #AchievementUnlocked

— Farman (@farmansha) May 29, 2017

Ingredients:

2 cups semolina flour

1/3 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup milk, or as needed

1/4 cup whole almonds

For Syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square baking dish.
• In a large bowl, mix together the semolina flour, baking powder, 1 cup sugar, coconut and butter. Add the yogurt and milk; mix until moistened but not runny or liquid. If you see that it is too dry, add more milk. Spread into a greased 8 inch square baking dish, smoothing the top as much as possible. Decorate the top with whole almonds.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. While the basbousa is baking, combine the water, 1 cup of sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for at least 5 minutes.
• When the basbousa has finished baking, pour the syrup over it as evenly as possible. Place it back in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the syrup has been fully absorbed. Let rest for about 20 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.

 

Vegetable Tempura Recipe

Tempura is the very popular Japanese dish used with sea food or vegetables.  It is the lighter version of Pakora. The key for perfect tempura is batter and the temperature of oil.

The temperature has to be between 320-356°F (160°C – 180°C) depending on how long it takes to cook through the ingredients.  To check your oil if its perfect for frying just put a pinch of your batter into the oil and after few seconds it has to fry and float on the surface, if its settles down at the bottom then your oil is not ready for frying. Cold batter is absolutely necessary for the unique fluffy and crisp tempura. To keep it cold I put it over the bowl filled with ice cubes.

Tempura Batter

Ingredients:

1 carrot
1 capsicum
1  potato
1/2 eggplant
Oil for deep frying

For tempura batter:

1 cup plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup  ice  water

Vegetable Tempura

Method:

• Heat the oil in a deep skillet until smoking.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add enough water to make a thin batter.
• Cook the vegetables in batches by coating in batter then deep frying in the oil until crisp.
• Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately.

Prawn Biryani Recipe

Among all Biryani recipes, Prawn Biryani is the most easy to made. Now almost every weekend I cook something. Yesterday I made Prawn Biryani for lunch and it turned out awesome.

Ingredients:

• 500gm Prawn
• 400gm Basmati Rice
• 2 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 tablespoon Red chili powder
• Whole garam masala (3 cloves, cinnamon stick, 3 black pepper, 2 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom)
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 3 tablespoon Yogurt
• Biryani masala (you can use any brand)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Coriander leaves
• 3-4 finely chopped Mint leaves
• Salt (to taste)
• Food color (optional I used yellow color)
• 4 tablespoon Oil

Method:

• Peal the cover and wash the prawns. Now add red chili powder, 1tsp of ginger-garlic paste and salt to the prawn.
• Heat oil in a pan when oil becomes hot add   prawns batch by batch for frying. Fry them till it turns brown.
• Add chopped onion to the hot oil and fry it till it turns to brown, add rest of ginger-garlic paste and  whole garam masala to the hot oil fry it for a while once it done and fry 3-4 mins.
• Now add the biryani masala and yogurt to this onion masala and mix it well.
• Add the fried prawns to this yogurt mixture and let it cook for a while.
• Take a pan with 2-3 cups of water, when water starts boiling add little oil and washed rice to it.
• Boil the rice till its 90% done.
• Now layer the prawns at bottom then rice on top of it. Sprinkle coriander and mint leaves on the top of rice. Sprinkle food  color on top of the rice and cover it in very low flame for 5 to 6 minutes.
• Now biryani is ready, best served with raita.

Egg in a Hole Recipe

Yesterday I made this super easy Egg in a Hole. If you are in a hurry for your office then this is the perfect recipe for you.

Ingredients:

1 Brown Bread Slice

1 tablespoon butter

1 egg

Salt and Pepper freshly grounded

Method:

Cut a round hole in the center of a slice of bread with a biscuit or cookie cutter. You can also use the rim of a small glass.

Heat the butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the bread and cook until it’s toasted. Flip, adding more butter to the pan.

Crack an egg on a flat surface (for a cleaner break). Drop the egg gently in the hole. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until set but still soft. Serve warm.

Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe

Usually on weekends I picked  one recipe from the internet and made it with little twist. So, last Sunday I searched the recipe of Salsa and made it with some extra added ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 5 tomatoes
• 1 onion (roughly chopped)
• 1 capsicum (seeded and roughly chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
• 1 jalapeño  (seeded and roughly chopped)
• 1 cup chopped cilantro (green coriander)
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder*
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes*
• 1 teaspoon  coriander powder*
• salt to taste

*I added those extra ingredients to give it a little twist

roasted tomatoes

Method:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until tomatoes begin to blister. Remove from heat.
2. Place the roasted tomatoes into a blender or food processor with the rest of the ingredients and pulse until combined and just slightly chunky, yet fairly smooth.
3. Serve with chips, tortillas, tacos or burritos.