Chicken 65 Pizza
A perfect marriage between a South Indian and a South Italian recipe
Fusion!!! No other word causes such ambiguity in the culinary world as that of fusion. It is celebrated by some renowned chefs, whereas some absolutely abhor it due to the dire consequences of their experiments. I remember watching Chef’s Table on Netflix, where a celebrated dessert chef once tried to make experimental fusion desserts and failed miserably. However, hailing from one of the most gastronomic cities, fusion food has never scared me personally. I guess I have always tried to enjoy experimentation with food but definitely within a certain limit. Yes, I say the word limit because there are definitely certain things that you will be committing a cardinal sin if you mix.
Whenever we hear pizza, our mind automatically wanders to mozzarella, pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions, marinara sauce, and fresh mozzarella. Even to this day, people highly debate about whether you should use pineapple on a pizza (Personally, I feel fruit shouldn’t be anywhere near a pizza). What if I told you that you can still make pizza with your natural ingredients and fuse 2 cuisines (Indian and Italian) in one. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Chicken 65 pizza. I concocted this recipe during my graduate student days when I felt rather adventurous on a mundane weekend. I feel nothing can lift your spirits rather than a well-cooked meal on a cold, dreary night. I have to admit that being a graduate student, I did have to use a few easy store-bought readymade things (as you would see in the actual recipe), but I would highly encourage you if you have the time and resources to take the long route. For ease, I have divided this recipe into few parts.
Ingredients:
For marination:
- 2 lbs (910 gms) Boneless chicken thighs (you can use chicken breast too if you like bad chewy meat)
- 3 tsp Chicken 65 masala (It is readily available in any Indian/ Asian grocery store; picture provided below; if you don't have it, you can make your own by blending together1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, and black pepper)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 4 cloves of Garlic
- About 1 inch freshly peeled ginger
- 1 tsp rice flour or cornflour
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For tossing and seasoning the chicken:
- 2–3 tbsp oil or baking spray
- 5–6 shallots peeled
- 3 cloves of Garlic, minced into fine pieces
- 1 inch of Ginger, minced into fine pieces, you can julienne it if you are feeling fancy
- 3 green chilies, chopped into small pieces
- 1 sprig of curry leaves, finely chopped (available in any Indian/Asian grocery store)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 4 tsp Buttermilk or yogurt (if you are using yogurt, sprinkle little water and beat it to a smooth consistency)
- Chopped cilantro to garnish
- Chopped spring onions to garnish
For the pizza:
- Store-bought ready-to-bake pizza dough. (This works absolutely fine. However, if you want the full shebang, then I urge you to take a look at Cooking at Home’s recipe here (Published on The Cookbook for all on Feb 13, 2021)
- Marinara sauce (usually any good store-bought Marinara sauce will work)
- Mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
For the chicken 65:
- Grind the ginger and garlic into a smooth paste.
- Cube the chicken and coat it with this ginger-garlic paste, Chicken 65 masala, lemon juice, rice flour, and salt.
- Marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan. You can alternatively use baking spray too. Wait for the oil to be heated enough. Fry the marinated chicken pieces in shallow oil and take them out of the oil once they are done.
- If you want to opt for a healthier option, you can stick the chicken in an air fryer or bake it at 425 F for 20 mins or until tender. Add an adequate amount of baking spray as this will ensure that the chicken does not stick to your pan.
- Once the chicken is done, it is time to toss it in delightful seasoning.
- You can eat the previously used frying oil, or if you opted for the healthier option, it is time to heat your oil now.
- Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter in the hot oil.
- One by one, add the chopped shallots, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, chopped curry leaves, chopped green chili in the oil, and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until the raw smell of garlic is gone.
- Add the chicken and toss it in the previously added veggies for 5 minutes.
- Lower the flame (this is extremely important) and add the buttermilk to the tossed chicken.
- Turn off the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro and chopped spring onions (optional)
For the pizza:
- Preheat the oven to 450 F and put the baking pan in there
- Sprinkle normal flour or rice flour on your baking sheet.
- Roll out and shape the pizza dough according to the shape of the baking pan you are using. Normally, ready-to-bake pizza doughs can be shaped into a diameter of about 12 inches.
- Put the dough carefully on the baking pan and let it bake for 10 minutes. This step will ensure a good crust.
- Take the dough out of the pan and spread marinara sauce evenly on the dough.
- Add the previously made Chicken 65 evenly on the pizza.
- Generously add mozzarella cheese on top. Make sure it covers the entire toppings.
- Bake for about 15 minutes. The crust should be golden and crispy, and the cheese should be melted.
- Take it out.
- Well, slice and serve. What are you waiting for?
Voila, you have created your own signature fusion dish. Let me know in the comments section how it turns out!!!
