Pizza on the grill

Ok, so before everyone gives up on me completely, I decided to post something again!  Grilled pizza is something we make often in summer simply because it nicer to be cooking outdoors in the evening, and the grill always seems to add that extra smoky flavour to the pizza.


I am not adding a recipe for the pizza base here simply because there are many good ones out there. Here is a list to a few that I use.

Pizza base recipe list

Cooking them on a grill is slightly different from cooking them in an oven. They cannot be too soggy and cannot handle as many toppings as they cook very fast on the grill. It is also easier to make individual pizzas than a single large one. You need to work really fast once you have fired up the grill, so the key is to get everything assembled ahead of time.

The base needs to be partially grilled before any toppings are added so that it firms up enough to be able to hold the toppings. Once it is partially grilled, the toppings are added on the partially cooked side, and the whole pizza cooked again till the cheese starts bubbling.

• Prepare the dough for the pizza base ahead of time, and divide them into individual size portions.
• Prepare the toppings for the pizza, fewer is better in this case.
• Heat up the grill to about 400F. Roll out the dough (or shape by hand) till they are about a 1/4 inch thick. Place the crust on the grill grate . You can fit in as many as your grate can handle. Cook one side till light brown spots start to appear (a couple of mins), and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
• Once all the crusts are done, make sure the grilled side of the crust is on top, and add the toppings.
• Grill the pizzas until the cheese starts bubbling. Do keep an eye out to make sure the crust does not burn as each grill is different and cooking time varies anywhere from 2-8 mins

My very first post...Finally!!

After creating an ID here in 2007, (yes..I am that big a procrastinator), I've finally gotten motivated enough to start this blog, and hopefully will stick to it. Most of my family is vegetarian, so this blog will focus mainly on veg recipes, some of them passed down from my mom, many of my own experiments - all of which my family patiently (sometimes reluctantly?) tests....

For my first post, I picked something sweet , a popular snack in our household - UnniAppam. Initially I used to think this was a rather time consuming snack, but it is the one thing that my son frequently requests. Since practice makes perfect, we now make it quite regularly. The only special utensil you need to make these is the "Appakaral ". The one I own is a non-stick, and serves it purpose pretty well.

Ingredients:

Rice ( Long grain like Basmati) - 2 cups

Jaggery - 1 - 11/2 cups (depending on taste)

Ripe Banana - 1

Cardamom - 1/2 tsp powdered

Sesame seeds - 1 tblsp (optional)

Cocounut chopped thin - 1 1/2  tblsp (optional)

Water - for grinding

Oil - for frying

Soak the rice for 2-3 hrs.

Dry roast the sesame seeds and coconut pieces seperately in a pan and keep aside.

Grind the rice along with the jaggery and banana with a little water. The batter should be slightly coarse, and the consistency should be like that of dosa batter

Add the powdered cardamom, roasted sesame , and roasted chopped coconut to the batter.

Heat the appakaral with oil . Make sure the impressions are only 3/4 full with oil as it will spill out when  the batter is poured in.

Pour the batter into the impressions when the oil is hot, and fry in medium heat . Flip them over when they start to turn brown. \

Remove when golden brown and drain on paper towels.Repeat with rest of the batter.

Appams can be stored for  3-4 days in an airtight container.