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Butter Chicken Pizza With Indian Spiced Crust

Butter Chicken Pizza With Indian Spiced Crust

Sneha Paul
Indian-Style butter chicken pizza with spiced crust. A dish that blends the classic Indian flavours with the most famous Italian snack.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Bake Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine Indian, Italian
Servings 12 inch pizza

Ingredients
  

For the chicken tikka:

  • 250 g boneless chicken cut into bite-size pieces
  • cup hung curd
  • 2 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp mustard oil
  • ½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp roasted gram flour or besan
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala powder
  • Salt to taste

For the makhani sauce (gravy):

  • 2 cups tomato puree
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2- inch cinnamon stick
  • 2 cloves
  • 3 green cardamoms
  • ¼ cup onion paste
  • ½ tbsp garlic paste
  • ½ tbsp ginger paste
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tsp sugar granulated
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp cashew paste
  • ½ tsp black pepper powder
  • ½ tbsp kasuri methi roasted and crushed
  • 3 tbsp fresh cream

For the Indian-style masala dough:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 ¼ tsp instant dry yeast
  • 1.5 carom seeds or ajwain
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper powder
  • 1.5 tsp sugar castor or superfine
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ¾ -1 cup warm water
  • Olive oil for greasing
  • All-purpose flour for dusting
  • Cornmeal for dusting

Other ingredients:

  • Garlic oil for greasing
  • Mozzarella cheese grated, as per your liking
  • Onion slices as per your liking
  • Fried garlic as per your liking

Instructions
 

To make the chicken tikka:

  • In a bowl, add hung curd, garlic paste, ginger paste, mustard oil, lemon juice, roasted gram flour, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and salt. Give it a good mix.
  • Then add the chicken and mix well. Make sure all the chicken pieces are covered in the marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. You can also place it in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 250-degree Celsius. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  • Place the chicken pieces over the lined tray. Roast them for 15-20 minutes. Make sure they are tender on the inside and golden brown on the outside.

To make the makhani sauce:

  • Heat a saucepan over medium flame. Pour oil and butter. Allow the butter to melt completely.
  • Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and green cardamoms in the pan. Cook them for a minute or until they are fragrant.
  • Add onion paste and cook it for a few minutes. Make sure all the water in the paste dries out and the raw onion smell disappears.
  • Then add garlic and ginger paste. Cook for a few minutes until the raw smell disappears.
  • Add tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, sugar, salt and cashew paste. Mix well.
  • Bring it to a boil. Then reduce the flame and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes or until oil separates from the sauce.
  • Then add black pepper powder and roasted kasuri methi. Mix well.
  • Turn the heat off. Take the whole spices out of the sauce and discard them.
  • Add fresh cream and mix it well. Makhani sauce is ready. Keep it aside to cool down.

To make the Indian spiced pizza dough:

  • In a large bowl, add all-purpose flour and instant dry yeast. Mix well.
  • Then add carom seeds or ajwain, turmeric powder, black pepper powder, sugar and salt. Combine everything together.
  • Pour olive oil into the flour mixture. Add warm water little at a time and make a smooth dough.
  • Dust the work surface with flour. Place the dough over it. Knead it for 5 minutes. Now you can knead it in two ways.
  • First Method: Place the dough over the floured surface and stretch it with the heel of your palm, away from your face. Then fold it back and rotate the dough 90-degrees in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction. Again stretch, fold and rotate. Keep repeating until the dough is smooth.
  • Second Method: Apply flour on your palm. Hold the dough and fold the edges into the centre, away from your face. Just like folding a book. Then turn it and fold again. Continue folding it for around 8-9 times. I saw this technique on Natasha’s Kitchen and I prefer this method over the previous one.
  • To check if the dough is ready to rise, press it with your finger and it should bounce back. Otherwise, keep kneading it.
  • Pull the sides of the dough towards the bottom. Gather the ends together. Pinch and seal it. And form a smooth ball.
  • Grease the bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in it. Brush a little oil over the dough as well.
  • Cover with cling wrap. Allow it to rise for a few hours until it has doubled in size.
  • During summer it may double in size in just 30 minutes to 1 hour. But in winters, it may require more time. I made this in November and it was around 25-degree Celsius. The dough took approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to double its original size.
  • Unwrap and punch the dough down to release all the air bubbles. Form a smooth dough ball.

To make the butter chicken pizza:

  • Preheat the oven to 200-degree Celsius for at least 15-20 minutes.
  • Take a piece of parchment paper, the same as the size of the pizza tray. Dust with cornmeal. Place the dough over it. Cover with cling wrap. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
  • After the second rise, the pizza dough is ready. Punch the centre of the dough again and make a depression. Then with your palm and fingers gently spread the dough and make a circular shape. Make sure the edge remains thick and the centre remains thin.
  • While stretching the dough, if it starts to shrink back then wait for a few minutes and let the dough relax. After that continue spreading it.
  • Brush garlic flavoured oil over the pizza base. Prick it with a fork.
  • Place the dough over the pizza tray. If you are using parchment paper then you can easily slide the pizza base over the tray with the help of the paper (Watch the video). If not, then carefully lift it up and place it over the tray.
  • Bake for 10 minutes. Then take it out and place it over a rack.
  • Again bush the dough with garlic flavoured oil. Add the makhani sauce and spread it out. Leaving a 1 cm border around the base.
  • Add mozzarella cheese, chicken tikka, onion slices and fried garlic. Add more cheese over them. Sprinkle kasuri methi powder over the pizza.
  • Put it back into the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is slightly golden.
  • Then take the butter chicken pizza out and cut it into slices. Serve hot!

Notes

Resting Time: 2 hours 30 minutes (not included in total time)
 
Keyword butter chicken pizza, indian pizza crust, indian pizza recipe