I love pizza. Like insanely love it. And when I went gluten-free, I thought my pizza eating days were going to be limited to the cardboard-like GF pizza doughs I had tried in a few restaurants or the strangely doughy mixes and frozen crusts I had found in the grocery stores GF aisles. But then I discovered this amazing mix at Whole Foods by Namaste and my pizza eating has multiplied from almost never to weekly. Even my pizza connoisseur husband is a huge fan of this thin and crispy dough – and he is tough gluten-eating pizza critic bordering on pizza snob. So the quest for a yummy GF pizza crust was over.
Now for the toppings. Although I love traditional Italian pizza toppings, I sometimes feel like having something closer to home. My family is originally from India and we would eat lots of tandoori chicken at our summer BBQs. Warmly spiced and pretty in pink, the chicken is a perfect topping for a Bollywood style pizza. The rest of the toppings follow the Indian spice route with ginger, garlic, coriander and balanced out with zucchini, carrots and mushrooms. The balance of flavours.
A quick note Namaste Pizza Crust – this dough is cake batter-like. Meaning it looks nothing like regular pizza dough. When you spread it onto the pan, you use just dump the batter onto the greased sheet pan and spread it around like you would frosting on a cake, until you get a thin even layer. And for $5.99/bag, you get enough mix in each package to make two 14″ pizzas which is the best bang for your GF buck, and it’s way more delicious and fresher than anything in the GF freezer. You just need a mixer, water, and some oil. Bonus: it’s yeast-free so it’s great if you have yeast sensitivities like me and my mom.
I normally use store-bought tandoori spice mixes or paste which you can find in the international aisle in many grocery stores. If you can’t find it or prefer to make your own, you can whip up your own using the one at epicurious.com (search tandoori – sorry I haven’t figured out how to include links here yet).
Tandoori Chicken Pizza
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
- Standard sheet pan or round pan at least 14"
- Mixer
INGREDIENTS
Tandoori Chicken
- 2 Tbsp tandoori paste or 1 Tbsp tandoori spice mix (use less if you want less heat)
- 1 cup plain yogurt (soy, coconut, almond are great non-dairy or even goat yogurt)
- 2 boneless (skinless chicken thighs or 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (organic preferably))
Bollywood Pizza (Tandoori Chicken) - Yeast-free, Egg-free, Nut-free
- 1/2 bag of Namaste Pizza Crust Mix (1 1/2 cups)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp grated or minced garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
- 2 Tbsp grated or minced ginger
- 1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella (I use goat cheese)
- 3/4 cup zucchini (cored and sliced (see photo above - the cores can make crust soggy))
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1 cup mushroom (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup sliced tandoori chicken (from above)
- 1/4 cup coriander (finely chopped)
INSTRUCTIONS
Tandoori Chicken
- Add tandoori mix to yogurt and mix. Cut chicken into 2" pieces and add to tandoori mix until coated. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour to overnight. Place chicken in oven ready container and back at 400 degrees for ten minutes or until cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices to make up 1 cup. Use any leftovers for next days lunch - perfect in sandwiches, wraps or on a salad.
Bollywood Pizza (Tandoori Chicken) - Yeast-free, Egg-free, Nut-free
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine Namaste crust mix with 1 1/4 cup water and 1 tsp olive oil. Mix with mixer for 3 minutes for 3 minutes (use whisk attachment if you have stand mixer). Batter will have the consistency of cake batter. Spread onto lightly oiled baking sheet in a thin even layer (make sure you fill the entire baking sheet for a light crispy crust). Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove crust from oven. Spread olive oil, ginger and garlic onto crust (leave 1/2" border for crust). Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese, followed by mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, chicken, coriander and remaining cheese. Bake pizza for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly golden brown. Serve with drizzled olive oil and hot pepper flakes (optional).
0 Comments