Here is the easiest version of Pizza I have made so far using All Purpose Flour. This is a good choice for beginners though there are healthier Pizza crusts like Whole Wheat Crust, Cauliflower Crust, Coconut Flour Crust and so on.

Home made Vegetable Pizza

A perfect crust can be obtained by baking the Pizza on a Pizza Stone at the highest oven temperature. If you don’t have a Pizza Stone, you can use a Pizza Pan or Baking Sheet. I have used  pie pans and cake pans for making my pizza.

Ingredients

1. All Purpose Flour – 2 cups
2. Yeast – 1 tsp
3. Warm Water – 1/2 cup
4. Salt – to taste
5. Sugar – 1 tbsp
6. Corn Flour/All Purpose Flour – for dusting
7. Canned Tomato Sauce/Puree – 1/4 cup
8. Dried Parsley Flakes – 2 tsp
9. Garlic Powder – 1/4 tsp
10. Barbeque Sauce – 2 tbsp (optional)
11. Thinly Sliced Tomatoes  – 1 medium
12. Thinly Sliced Mushrooms – 4 or 5
13. Thinly Sliced Bell Peppers – half of one small bell pepper
14. Chopped Fresh or Frozen Spinach – 1/4 cup or less
15. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – 1/4 cup (You can use Low Fat Cheese)
16. Olive Oil – 2 tsp + 1 tsp (for coating the pizza pan)

 Preparation Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of lightly warm water along with 1 tbsp sugar. Keep it aside for ten minutes so that it becomes foamy.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, little salt, 2 tsp olive oil and the yeast solution. Knead lightly to form a smooth dough and leave it aside for ten minutes. You may have to add a few tablespoons of water while kneading.
3. Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup of the canned tomato sauce, parsley flakes, garlic powder and salt in another bowl. You can also add 2 tbsp of barbeque sauce for an extra kick.
4. Dust your working surface with little corn/all purpose flour and roll the dough into desired shape. The crust shouldn’t be too thin but should be atleast 1/4″ thick. You can roll it into 10-12″ diameter approximately. Brush the top of the dough with little olive oil.
5. If using frozen spinach, defrost it. If using fresh spinach, wash it thoroughly and then chop it.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Lightly grease a pizza pan, stone or baking sheet with olive oil and dust with all purpose flour or corn flour.
7. Transfer the rolled out dough to the pan and press lightly. Pinch the edges to keep the toppings inside.
8. Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the crust. Top the crust with all the vegetables and shredded cheese.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes on the lowest rack until the cheese melts. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Note

1. For a thin and crispy crust, roll the dough into a thinner circle and bake for 12-15 minutes on 450 degree F.
2. Feel free to top the pizza with vegetables of your choice like olives, basil, onions and so on but do not overcrowd the pizza with too many toppings.
3. You can also lightly saute toppings like onions and mushrooms in little oil before adding it to your pizza base.
4. Be careful with the amount of tomato sauce you spread on the base or else the pizza will become soggy.

Vegetable Pizza

Some use Grated Coconut, while other use Coconut Milk. Some use Whole Dairy Milk instead of Coconut Milk. Some use Yeast for fermentation while others use Coconut Water or Toddy.

Palappam is often served for Christian Weddings. It goes well with Fish Molee, Vegetable Stew, Egg Roast, Kerala Chicken Curry and so on.

Kerala Palappam

I make Appams for parties and whenever we have guests. Though it is time consuming, the end result is well worth the effort.

Ingredients

1. Raw Rice – 2 cups (Use any short or long grain rice)
2. Cooked Rice – 3/4 cup approx
3. Yeast – 1.5 to 2 tsp
4. Sugar – 1 tbsp + 3-4 tbsp or as needed
5. Salt – to taste
6. Thick Coconut Milk – 1/2 cup
7. Ice cubes – as needed
8. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Soak the rice for atleast 6 hours or leave it overnight.
2. Wash and drain the rice and keep aside.
3. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in 1/2 cup of lightly warm water. Keep it aside for ten minutes until it foams.
4. Next, you need to grind the rice in several batches. Grind around two handfuls of raw rice along with a few tablespoons of cooked rice and very little water. I add 2-3 ice cubes while grinding each batch to prevent the mixie from overheating. Grind until you get a smooth batter.
5. Transfer the batter to large bowl. Continue doing this with the remaining rice.
6. While grinding the last batch, add the yeast solution to the mixie.
7. Leave the batter in a warm place for 6-8 hours. I usually leave it overnight. Enusre that the bowl is large enough to prevent the batter from overflowing after fermentation.
8. The batter would have risen after fermentation and will look foamy. Stir the batter and check the consistency. Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of coconut milk to make a batter of medium consistency. If the batter appears thin after fermentation, skip the coconut milk.
9. Add sugar as per desired sweetness (3-4 tbsp) and salt to taste. Mix everything together.
10. At this stage, you can start preparing the Appams with this batter or for extra lacy appams, leave the batter untouched for half an hour. The batter will froth and rise again. Spoon the foamy layer from the batter and transfer it to another dish. Use this foamy batter for making Appams.
11. Heat a Palappam Chatti and lightly grease it with oil.
12. Once the Palappam Chatti is hot, pour a ladle full of batter and swirl the pan in one direction so that the batter spreads to the edges.
13. Keep it covered and allow the Appam to cook for a few minutes.
14. Once cooked the edges of the appam will start separating from the pan. Remove the appam carefully with a spatula.

Note

• You may need to adjust the amount of cooked rice used in this recipe. If you use too much of boiled rice, the appams will become sticky. If the rice used is less, appams won’t be soft. Try using 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cooked rice but not more than that.
• While grinding the rice, try adding very little water. The unfermented batter should be thick as it will rise and thin out after fermentation.
• To make appams with brown laces, increase the amount of sugar.

Vegetarian Rice Noodles

Ingredients

1. Rice Stick/Noodles – 1 packet 250g approx
2. Diced Onions – 1 small
3. Diced Tomatoes – 1 small
4. Diced Beans – 1/2 cup
5. Diced Carrots – 1/2 cup
6. Diced Bell Peppers – 1/2 cup
7. Cashew halves – 10 to 12
8. Curry Leaves – a sprig
9. Slit Red/Green Chillies – 2 (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
10. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
11. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
12. Garlic Powder – 1/4 tsp
13. Oil – 2 tbsp
14. Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
15. Lemon Juice/Vinegar – 1 to 2 tsp
16. Sugar – 1 tsp
17. Salt – to taste
18. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Bring water to a boil and cook the rice noodles in salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Keep an eye as these noodles cook in 3-5 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
   Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and splutter mustard seeds.  Add the onions, cashews and chillies and saute until the onions are translucent.
2. Throw in the curry leaves along with the chopped beans. Saute for a few minutes.
3. Next, throw in the carrots and stir fry for a few minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and bell peppers along with salt to taste.
5. Continue sauteing until the vegetables are cooked.
6. Reduce heat and add turmeric powder, chilly powder and garlic powder. Stir fry for a minute and add lemon juice or vinegar along with 1 tsp sugar.
7. Add the cooked rice noodles and toss everything together and remove from stove top.
8. Serve with any pickle or chutney of your choice.

Kerala Olan

I have used a variety of Squash similar to Sambar Cucumber (Vellarikka) and Red Beans for preparing Olan. You can use vegetables like Yellow Pumpkin, White Pumpkin, Ash Gourd and any beans like Black Eyed Beans, Cowpeas and so on.

Ingredients

1. Red Beans – 3/4 cup (Soaked overnight)
2. Ash gourd or any Squash – 3 cups (peeled & diced)
3. Slit Green Chillies – 4 or 5
4. Thin Coconut Milk – 1 cup
5. Thick Coconut Milk – 1/2 cup
6. Salt – to taste
7. Coconut Oil – 1 tbsp
8. Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
9. Curry Leaves – a sprig
10. Thinly Sliced Shallots – 3 or 4
11. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Soak the beans overnight. Wash and drain the soaked beans. Pressure cook the beans along with salt to taste.
2. Meanwhile, peel the squash and dice it into small cubes.
3. Cook the squash in and 1/2 cup water and 1 cup thin coconut milk along with the slit green chillies and salt to taste.
4. Be careful not to overcook the squash or else it will lose it’s shape.
5. Add the pressure cooked beans to the squash and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.
6. Pour in the thick coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Season with mustard seeds, shallots and curry leaves. Remove from stove top and keep covered so that the flavors are absorbed by the vegetables.

Vellarikka Moru Curry

I have used Plain Yogurt for making this Moru Curry. As the Yogurt is thick, I never add grated Coconut. We enjoyed this yummy Vellarikka Moru curry with rice.

Ingredients

1. Sambar Cucumber (Vellarikka)  – 2 cups (Peeled & diced)
2. Plain Yogurt – 2 cups
3. Slit Green Chillies – 3
4. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 + 1/4 tsp
5. Water – 1 cup
6. Salt – to taste

For Seasoning

1. Finely sliced Shallots – 5 or 6
2. Dried Red Chillies – 3 or 4
3. Curry Leaves – A sprig
4. Finely Minced Ginger – 2 tsp
5. Turmeric -  1/4 tsp
6. Fenugreek (Uluva) – A pinch
7. Jeera (Cumin) Seeds or Powder – 1/4 tsp
8. Oil – 2 tbsp
9. Mustard – 1/2 tsp

Preparation Method

1. Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds. Dice it into small pieces.
2. In a deep pan, cook the cucumber pieces with salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, slit green chillies and little water. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the cucumber pieces are tender.
3. Meanwhile, blend the yogurt along with 1 cup water, 1/4 tsp turmeric and little salt.
4. Pour the yogurt mix into the cooked cucumber, stirring continuously. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Never allow the Curry to boil.
5. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in another pan and splutter mustard seeds.
6. Saute shallots, red chillies, ginger and curry leaves for a few minutes.
7. Add a pinch of turmeric, cumin (jeerakam) and fenugreek. Stir and remove from heat.
8. Add the seasoning to the yogurt mixture and keep on stirring for a few more minutes.Add more salt if required.
9. Serve with rice and other Kerala Side dishes.

Home grown Cucumber/Squash