Harissa Pizaa

I have been making pizza in home for a long time. Initially I used the readymade store bought pizza base...but gradually I gathered courage to make the base at home. It was not easy, and most of the time, I used to end up with a yeasty flavoured dough. Thank god I made those mistakes...because now I know what not to do...to prevent ruining the dough.

If you are trying to make pizza dough in home, remember, measurement is very necessary. Respect the ratio of flour to yeast, to get the perfect smooth dough. Also kneading is very important to make the gluten work, which in turn makes the dough elastic.

For my homemade pizzas...I do not like too many toppings. Just a good amount of good quality cheese is good for me along with a good quality pizza sauce. You can use any kind of sauce as your base. Anyone will work, as long as it is tasty.

Harissa Pizza

Makes 1 large pizza

Ingredients:

For the Pizza Dough:

2 cups of all purpose flour, and more for dusting

1 sachet / 7 gm  of active dry yeast

1 tsp honey

A pinch of kosher salt

2 tbsp olive oil

For the Harissa Paste:

1 red capsicum

1 green capsicum

4 green chillies

6-8 fat garlic cloves

Juice of 1 lime

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp roasted and ground cumin seeds

1 tsp roasted and ground coriander seeds

1 tsp dry chilli flakes

A handful of fresh coriander leaves

Salt & pepper

¼ cup of olive oil

For the topping:

Parmesan

Grated Mozzarella

2 tbsp softened unsalted butter

Olive oil to drizzle

Some chopped coriander leaves to sprinkle on top

Method:

Make the dough:

Take 1 cup of warm water and add the active dry yeast into it.

Stir and keep it aside for 12-15 minutes or until the mixture becomes fizzy.

Take the flour in a bowl and make a well inside it.

Pour the yeast water, salt and oil inside it and gently start to incorporate all the flour with the water. If required add a little more water. In the end you will have a sticky dough.

Transfer this dough to a dusted flat surface and start kneading the dough with the back of your palms. Stretch it and knead it for almost 5 minutes until you have a smooth elastic dough.

Tuck the edges of the dough at the bottom and place it inside a dusted bowl.

Dust some flour on the dough as well.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place it in a warm dark place (I keep it inside the oven with the light switched on) for 2 hours.

After 2 hours you will see the dough becoming double in size.

Transfer the dough again to a dusted surface and knead for 2-3 minutes.

Divide the dough into two equal proportions and again give them a round shape.

Place them individually on a dusted tray or bowl and cover with a damp cloth.

Keep aside for 15 minutes max. And then your pizza dough is ready.

Make the harissa paste:

Take the red and green capsicum, and char them on the stovetop on medium flame.

Take them off the flame when their outer skin is black and blistered.

Let them come to room temperature and then discard their charred skin and their seeds.

Put them inside a blender.

Add in the green chillies, paprika, roasted and ground cumin seeds, coriander seeds, dry chilli flakes, paprika, coriander leaves, lime juice, garlic cloves and olive oil.

Blend until you have a smooth paste.

Season with salt and pepper.

Scrap the paste into an airtight container and close the lid.

Make the pizza:

Take one portion of the pizza dough and dust it with flour.

Pressing it with your fingers spread the dough into a round large medium thin tortilla.

You can also roll it out with a rolling pin.

Once done, gently transfer it to a dusted pizza mould or pizza stone. If you have none, then transfer it to a baking sheet. Dusting the pizza mould or stone or baking stone is necessary because it prevents the pizza to stick to the surface.

Take the softened butter in a bowl and mix 2-3 tbsp of harissa with it.

Spread the harissa over rolled out pizza.

Sprinkle the parmesan and mozzarella.

Drizzle some olive oil for extra flavour.

Pop it inside the oven for 7-10 minutes at 250F or the pizza bread is nice and crisp and the cheese is melted, bubbly and golden.

Take the pizza out of the oven and sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves over the pizza.

Slice the pizza and serve immediately.