Onion and Bacon pizza

Smell of fried onion and fried bacon is irresistible. When they combine with cheese on pizza the taste is also delicious.

Here is an easy recipe for onion and bacon pizza.

Onion and Bacon pizza

                                 Recipe summary
                                           For
                             Onion and Bacon pizza

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time:25 minutes

     Serves: 2
                                                 
..Add the butter to a frying pan and fry 3 bacon strips in low heat for three minutes or till they becomes crispy. Slice the bacon strips into 1" pieces.

Ingredients

2. Add the vegetable oil to the bacon oil remaining in the frying pan. Fry 1 big chopped onion in medium heat for about 10 minutes or till the onion pieces become brown in colour.  

3. Cut 1 tomato into halves and scoop out the seeds. Chop tomato into 2 cm pieces.

Onion and Bacon pizza

4. Take a pizza base (see my recipe) and spread ¼  cup tomato puree.

5. Sprinkle the fried onion and arrange tomato, bacon and   capsicum pieces on top.

 6. Sprinkle ½ cup shredded Parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

7.Bake for 8 minutes at 210°C.    

         

 Onion and Bacon pizza is ready.                                                    

                   Recipe follows in detail with pictures.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time:25 minutes

     Serves: 2


Ingredients
Main

3 strips of bacon
Others
1 big onion chopped into 2 cm pieces

1 tomato for topping

½ capsicum chopped into 2 cm pieces

1 tsp butter

1 tea spoon of vegetable oil

½ cup shredded parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella cheese

¼ cup tomato puree

1 Pizza base

Ingredients for Onion and Bacon pizza

Pizza base with tomato puree spread

Method

1.      Add the butter to a frying pan and fry bacon strips in low heat for three minutes or till they becomes crispy. Slice the bacon strips into 1” pieces.

2.      Add the vegetable oil to the bacon oil remaining in the frying pan. Fry onion in medium heat for about 10 minutes or till the onion pieces become brown in colour.  Adding a little oil to the butter prevents it from burning.  

3.      Cut tomato into halves and scoop out the seeds. Chop tomato into 2 cm pieces.

4.      Take a pizza base (see my recipe) and spread tomato puree.

5.      Sprinkle the fried onion and arrange tomato, bacon and capsicum pieces on top.

6.      Sprinkle cheese.

Pizza base with all toppings added

7.      Bake for 8 minutes at 210°C.    

Easy way of transferring pizza from baking tray to a plate

Your pizza is ready,

Fenugreek Seeds

This is a spice used in Indian cooking. It has a bitter taste.

Fenugreek seeds

Health benefits of fenugreek

Fenugreek is used for many conditions. But there is not enough scientific research evidence to justify any of these claims. These are the common beliefs.
1. Lowering of blood sugar level.
2. Lowering of cholesterol.
3. Lowering of triglycerides in people with type 2 diabetes.
4. Cure heartburn.
5. Remedy for stomach upset and constipation. Hardening of arteries.
6. Gout
7. Baldness
8. Increase in milk flow for breast feeding mothers.
9. Sometimes it is used to mask taste of medicines.
10. Extracts are used in soaps and cosmetics.
11. Helps breast enlargements.
12. Reduce menstrual pain.
13. Loosing weight.
14. Reduce fever

Usually people will take one tea spoonful of fenugreek seeds with a glass of water, preferably in the morning. Sometimes fenugreek seeds are soaked overnight in a glass of water. The infusion and the seeds are consumed in the morning in empty stomach. This will improve digestion, bowel movement and help in heat burn.

Fenugreek is commonly used as a spice and for medicinal purposes in the major producing countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, Nepal, Bangladesh, Argentina, Egypt, France, Spain, Turkey and Morocco.

In some parts of the world a cooling drink is made out of it.

It is used in small quantity due to its bitterness. It is consumed raw as well as cooked. In most recopies only a very little quantity (typically ¼ to ½ teaspoon) is used because of its bitterness.

	Unit
		Value per 100 g
Proximates
Water	g	8.84
Energy	kcal	323
Protein	g	23
Total lipid (fat)	g	6.41
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	58.35
Fibre, total dietary	g	24.6
Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	3
Thiamin	mg	0.322
Riboflavin	mg	0.366
Niacin	mg	1.64
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.6
Folate, DFE	µg	57
Vitamin B-12	µg	0
Vitamin A, RAE	µg	3
Vitamin A, IU	IU	60
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)	µg	0
Vitamin D	IU	0
Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	1.46
Cholesterol	mg	0

 Source: USDA

Tomato puree spread for pizza

Tomato the lovely bright red creation of nature is seen as a fruit or as a vegetable, which is eaten just plucked from the tree or consumed as a juice or cooked. One way of cooking is making it into a puree. There are so many ways of making a puree. You can try mine too.

Tomato puree spread for pizza

                                   Recipe summary
                                           For
                       Tomato puree spread for pizza    
Preparation time:    20 minutes  
Cooking time:  20 minutes       
           
                 

  1. Blanch, 4 tomatoes  peel and core.

2.Chop it finely or liquidize

3. Add 6 Tbsp tomato sauce, 5 Tbsp puree, 1 tsp paste and finally chopped tomato.

Ingredients

              
4.  Add ½ tsp thyme, ½ tsp oregano, ¼ tsp rosemary, 3 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt and mix well.

              

5. Heat a sauce pan or a wok and add 3 Tbsp oil and sauté 2 chopped onions until it becomes translucent.

Tomato puree spread for pizza

6.Add 2 chopped garlic and ¼ tsp ginger and fry for one minute.

7. Add 1 bay leaf (1 tsp powder)  ¼ tsp and bring to a boil.

              
8. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for two minutes.

             
9. Remove from fire and let it cool.

               Tomato puree spread for pizza   is ready.                                                  

                 Recipe follows in detail with pictures.                    
             

                                
Preparation time:    20 minutes  
Cooking time:  20 minutes       
          

Ingredients:
Main

               4 tomatoes (300 grams)
Others

               2 onions (200 grams) (Chopped finely)

               2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)

              ¼ tea spoon ginger (chopped finely)

Ingredients

Seasoning:

              6 table spoon tomato sauce

              5 table spoon tomato puree

              1 tea spoon tomato paste

              1 bay leaf (1 tea spoon powder)

              ¹⁄₂ tea spoon thyme

              ¹⁄₂ tea spoon oregano

              ¼ tea spoon rosemary

              ¼ tea spoon black pepper powder
              1 tea spoon chili powder.

              3 tea spoon sugar

              3 table spoon oil

              1 tea spoon salt

Method:

               Blanch, peel and core tomato.

               Chop it finely or liquidize

               Add tomato sauce, puree, paste and finally chopped tomato.

               Add thyme, oregano, rosemary, sugar and salt and mix well.

               Heat a sauce pan or a wok and add oil and sauté onion until it becomes translucent.


               Add garlic and ginger and fry for one minute.

               Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

               Reduce the heat and let it simmer for two minutes.

               Remove from fire and let it cool.

              

Puree on a pizza base

You can store this puree in refrigerator for 3 days or freeze it.

Spicy Chicken Curry Pizza

Pizzas are delicious and are enjoyed by everyone and particularly by children. They are costly when you eat out or order a home delivery.   It is very easy to make pizza at home although it is a little time consuming.  Most of the cooking time you will be waiting for the dough to rise or the dough is in the oven. You can do some other work while waiting. Although the cooking time shown in the recipe is intimidating, actually there is not much work to do. You can try out many variations. Every time you can make a different pizza. Today I am going to make a pizza with chicken curry as main ingredient.  

Some people are put off by the word curry because it is hot. Children also cannot take hot food. The ingredients that make this curry hot are green chilli, curry powder, pepper powder and ginger. You can use as little of these ingredients or even entirely omit them. The curry will taste just nice without these ingredients. I have not used any coconut milk in this recipe. If you add some coconut milk or a tea spoon of sugar it will go a long way in reducing the heat of the hot ingredients.

Spicy Chicken Curry Pizza

     

                                      Recipe summary
                                                For
                             Spicy Chicken Curry Pizza
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: one hour ( making of curry)

Serves: 2

Cooking chicken curry:
1. Clean 500 grams boneless chicken meat and cut into ½ cm pieces.

2. Add 1 table spoon curry powder, ½ tsp pepper powder ½ tsp turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste ( 4 cloves,5 cm ginger),  1 tsp salt to chicken and set it aside 
   or overnight in the refrigerator.
                
3.Heat 3 table spoon oil in a pan, reduce fire, add  2" cinnamon stick,2  cloves, 1 cardamom fry for 3 seconds.

4. Add  dry chili, 1 lemon grass followed by 2"pandan leaf. When you get a nice aroma, add  ½ tsp cumin seeds  ½ tsp fennel seeds followed by  ½ tsp fenugreek seeds and fry for 2 minutes.

5.Add 2  chopped onions and fry till it becomes translucent.  Add the 1 chopped green chilli, curry leaf and the marinated chicken and stir well.

6. Add the marinated chicken and stir well.

7. Add water to cover the chicken, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally.  When the curry becomes dry turn off the heat.
( This can be a recipe for simple chicken curry too)

Spicy Chicken Curry Pizza

8. Once the curry is cool remove the cinnamon stick, pandan leaf and lemon grass.
You can mash the chicken a little to spread easily on the base.

Topping the pizza

1. Take a pizza base and spread a thin layer of tomato puree.
2. Spread the chicken curry  and arrange 2 onion cut into rings,   ½ cup of pine apple pieces, rings of green bell pepper and ¼ cup  mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
3 Bake for 8 minutes


                  Spicy Chicken Curry Pizza is ready. 

                                                                                  

                   Recipe follows in detail with pictures.
                                           
                                  

 Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: one hour ( making of curry)
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Main
Pizza base

For the chicken curry
                   Boneless chicken flesh 500 grams
                   2 onions
                   1 green chilly
                   1 tomato
                   2 sprigs of curry leaves
                   3 table spoon sesame oil or olive oil

Ingredients

Marination:
                   1 table spoon curry powder
                   ½ tea spoon pepper powder
                   ½ tea spoon turmeric powder
                   1 tea spoon salt
                   4 cloves garlic
                   5 cm ginger piece


Seasoning:
                   2 inches (5 cm) Cinnamon stick
                   2 cloves
                   1 cardamom
                   ½ tea spoon cumin seeds
                   ½ tea spoon fennel seeds
                   ½ tea spoon fenugreek seeds
                   1 lemon grass
                   2 inches piece pandan leaf (screw pine leaf)

Topping:

Toppings

Tomato puree

              2 medium onions cut into rings
              1/2 cup pineapple pieces
              1 green bell pepper cut into rings
              1/4 cup mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
1. Clean and cut chicken into ½ cm pieces.

Chicken chopped

2. Grind garlic and ginger to a paste.
3. Add all marinating ingredients to chicken and set it aside for till you prepare other ingredients
   or overnight in the refrigerator.

Marinated chicken

4. Chop onion, green chilli, and curry leaves.

Cooking method:
1. Heat oil in a non-stick wok or sauce pan, reduce fire add cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom fry for 3 seconds.
2. Add lemon grass followed by pandan leaf. When you get a nice aroma, add cumin seeds fennel seeds followed by fenugreek seeds and continue to fry for another 2 seconds. Don’t burn it.

Curry is being cooked in a wok

3. Add onion and fry till it becomes translucent. You can increase the fire. Adding a pinch of salt to the onion helps it to fry faster. Add the green chilli, curry leaf and the marinated chicken and stir well.
4. Add water to cover the chicken, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally. This slow cooking makes the chicken soft and tender. When the curry becomes dry turn off the heat.

Finished chicken curry

5. Once the curry is cool remove the cinnamon stick, pandan leaf and lemon grass.
6. If you want the chicken to be chunky in your pizza leave it as it is but if you want it to be more like a paste mash chicken chunks with spoon. If the chicken chunks are mashed it will be easier to spread it on the pizza.
                   
Tip:

Pandan leaf is used in Eastern dishes. In western countries dried pandan leaf is available
in Asian grocery stores. If you cannot get omit pandan leaf and lemon grass.

Instead of adding fennel or sweet cumin at the beginning when you are frying the seasoning, you can dry roast fennel seeds in slow fire, taking care not to burn. Grind roasted fennel seed to powder form and sprinkle to the curry and stir once and cover at the end before you take the curry off the heat. If you have fennel seed powder you can use it instead of dry roasting and grinding. It will give a nice aroma to the curry.

You can also serve this curry with rice, bread or couscous.

Topping the pizza

1. Take a pizza base and spread a thin layer of tomato puree.

With tomato puree spread

2. Spread the chicken curry  

With chicken curry spread

Arrange other toppings and cheese.

Other toppings

Pizza with  toppings

Sprinkle the cheese

Cheese added and ready to bake

3 Bake for 8 minutes
4. Pizza is ready to serve.