Whole Wheat Tandoori Chicken Pizza

Few days back, I had blogged about Homemade Vegetable Pizza. Many readers loved it and a few readers asked for a Chicken Pizza. Thanks everyone for the lovely response. So, for all chicken lovers, here is a desi style Tandoori Chicken pizza with a few vegetables. Plus, its made of whole wheat flour. Hope you all enjoy this as much we loved it.

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 2 1/2 cups
Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
Active Dry Yeast - 2 1/4 tsp
Garlic Powder - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Corn Meal - 1 tbsp (optional)

Boneless Chicken - about 1/2 pound
Lime/Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp
Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1 tsp
Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Tomato Paste - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger - an inch piece
Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp
Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Mozzarella Cheese - about 1 cup
Cheddar Cheese - about 1/4 cup (optional)

Mini Bell Peppers - 2
Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum - about half
Black Olives - 6
Red Onion - 1 small
Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs

How to bake Homemade Tanduri Chicken Pizza:

Make Pizza Dough:

• In a large bowl, add yeast, sugar and 1 cup warm water. Let the yeast turn foamy, about 5 - 8 minutes. Add salt, garlic powder and whole wheat flour.  You can use all purpose flour/maida as well. Mix all the ingredients well.  Now add 2 - 3 tbsp oil and knead to form a smooth elastic dough. Knead well for about 5 minutes. Feel free to add more oil for a softer dough.
• Apply little oil to the dough and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place, until it doubles, about 2 hours.
• Punch down the dough and knead again lightly. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let the dough rise again until it has doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Punch down the dough again and use it for preparing pizza at once, or freeze the dough for later.

Cooking Chicken:

• In a mixing bowl, add lemon juice, 1 tsp Tandoori Masala, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper and salt. Mix all the ingredients well. Add boneless chicken and let it marinate for about an hour. One chicken breast was more than enough for us.
• Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish with oil. Place the marinated chicken on the greased dish and bake for about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Let the chicken cool for about 10 minutes. Dice chicken into bite size pieces.  

Making Tandoori Pizza Sauce:

• In a mixing bowl, add 1/2 tomato paste. Add grated (or finely chopped) ginger and garlic. Add 1 tsp Tandoori Masala and 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper.  Crush the kasuri methi leaves between palms and add that too. Add about 1/2 cup water and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well.
• I used store bought tomato paste.  You can use fresh tomatoes as well.

Vegetable Toppings and Cheese:

• Grate the cheeses. Add more or less cheese to suit your taste.
• Dice peppers and onion into bite size pieces. Cut olives into rings and finely chop cilantro.

Assembling Whole Wheat Tanduri Chicken Pizza:

• Preheat the oven at 450 degrees F. Grease a baking pan with olive oil. 
• Roll the pizza dough using a rolling pin. Sprinkle some corn meal on the work surface. Place the rolled pizza on the corn meal and slightly press it so that corn meal sticks.
• Place the rolled pizza on the greased pan. Spread the pizza dough in such a way that the edges are slightly thick and the central part forms a well for the toppings. Brush the rolled pizza all over with oil. You can use melted butter as well. Make dents with your fingers, so that pizza does not puff up.
• Apply Tandoori Pizza Sauce as much as you want. Top it with grated cheese.  And finally, spread cooked chicken and vegetable toppings as much as you want.
• Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese melts and edges turn golden brown.

Enjoy desi Tandoori Chicken Pizza anytime you want.