Mini Pizza - Paneer Mushroom & cherry tomato topped

This was my second attempt at pizza after my spectacularly screwed up butter paper encrusted first pizza. The most important thing about pizza that nobody ever tells you which I guess is quite obvious to majority of the world but not to me is to never bake pizza on butter paper. I learnt it the hard way. If you place pizza on butter paper, even greased butter paper, you’ll end up with butter paper bottomed pizza. As Jagan put it “All over the world, People top pizza in several ways. But the first person to bottom a pizza is you”. So the second time I placed the dough on a greased aluminium foil and placed it on a really hot preheated baking tray. I used aluminium foil because I had no other easy way of transferring the pizza to the hot tray. This time the pizza was perfect. 

If you have pre-made pizza dough or readymade pizza base and the pizza sauce, making these pizzas is easy and quick. These pizzas tasted really good and with lot extra topping than restaurant pizzas. I am sending these mini pizzas to the Blogging Marathon – Mini Servings theme and to the Kid's delight event hosted by Nisha of The Magic Saucepan.

Prep time: 20 mins (with premade pizza base)

Cooking time: 20 mins

Makes: 20-25 mini tart size pizzas

Ingredients – Pizza Dough

Maida – 3 cups

Olive oil – 2 tbsp

Yeast – 2 tsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Water – as necessary

Ingredients - Pizza Sauce

Tomatoes – 5 

Salt to taste 

Black  Pepper powder – ½ tsp

Dried Oregano – ½ tsp

Garlic – 2 cloves

Ingredients – Pizza Topping

Paneer – 100 gm cubed

Mushroom – 100 gm chopped

Cherry tomatoes – 10 halved lengthwise

Dried Basil – 1 tsp

Dried Oregano – 1 tsp

Mozzarela cheese – 100 gm grated

Method

1. For the pizza base, combine flour, yeast, salt, olive oil and water to a soft, smooth dough. If using instant yeast, add directly. Else add yeast to a cup containing 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water and ½ tsp of sugar. Set aside to proof. Let the yeast froth. Then add to flour. Keep aside the kneaded dough in a warm place to rise for about 3 hours. Then divide and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a day and up to 3-4 days.

2. Before using remove from the fridge and let come to room temperature. Then roll on floured surface to a round pizza of your desired thickness. For Mini-pizzas, cut using a small lid into small circles. Alternately you can pinch small lemon sized balls of dough and stretch with your hands into small discs. Place mini pizzas inside mini tart tins or on a greased aluminium foil. 

3. For the pizza sauce, boil water , add tomatoes and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Switch off and leave the tomatoes in the water till the skin starts peeling away. Remove tomatoes from hot water and puree in a blender.

4. In a pan heat 1 tbsp olive oil and add the garlic cloves. Then add the pureed tomato and half a cup water and let cook for about 10-12 minutes or till the sauce is reduced to a thick spreadable consistency. Season with salt, black pepper powder and oregano. Mix well. Simmer for a minute. Switch off and discard the garlic cloves.

5. For the toppings, lightly sauté the cubed paneer in a tablespoon of  oil till golden around the edges. Remove on to a plate. Saute the mushrooms in oil till the edges turn golden – 4 minutes. Remove on to a plate. Halve the cherry tomatoes lengthwise. 

6. To assemble the pizza, brush top of pizza with olive oil. Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce. Layer the toppings on the pizza. Top with the grated cheese.

7. Preheat oven to its maximum temperature for at least half an hour with the baking tray inside the oven. 

8. Place the tart tins or pizzas along with the aluminium foil base on the preheated baking tray.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes till the bottom has browned and the cheese is melted. Remove and serve hot.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#31