Pizza is everyones favourite, specially kids love it. My daughter is crazy for pizza. She can eat pizza all day, everyday. But I can't let her eat pizza everyday, The two main concerns for which we avoid pizza are cheese and yeast. If we talk about cheese than we know that mostly we use cheddar or mozzarella for making pizza. Well, my daughter is so lean, so she can have both cheeses as she doesn't have to lose weight, infact I would be glad if she would gain some weight, and she is physically active also, so she can digest that easily. But still, too much of cheese is not good for her as well, and here we are not only talking about her but all of us. Both the cheeses should not be eaten too much. Mozzarella cheese is high in fat and cheddar contains both fat and salt in a large amount. So first of all, we should mind the portion size. While eating cheese, we should not only check that how much dairy we can consume everyday, but we must check the fat and salt content in the cheese that we are going to have.
Once when I was searching about the portion size of cheese, I went through a website, where I read that, "A 30g portion of cheese provides seven per cent of your daily calories and there can be more salt in a portion of cheddar than in a packet of crisps". I am sharing the link here, so you can also check the website for some useful information. So, we should not cut out all types of cheeses from our diet, but we should eat it sensibly. For instance, we can have cottage cheese more often, but we should eat cheddar cheese sparingly.
So, if I make pizza with cheddar or mozzarella, I should not offer it to my kids or myself more often, but I can treat myself or my kids with a sensible portion of pizza atleast once in a week.
Now when we are done with "Cheese", we should talk about yeast, whether yeast is good for us or not.
Yeast has some benefits if taken the right amount of it. But more of it can lead to some infections. So, I mostly try to avoid yeast, for instance, instead of bread and buns, i mostly use home made tortillas, parathas, or pan cakes for breakfast. When it comes to pizza, we all know that yeast works as a leavening agent and makes a bubbly and airy crust for pizza. Without yeast we cannot get the particular texture of the crust. But if you also avoid yeast in your diet or specially in your kids' diet, then the baking powder and baking soda can work for you, though it will not make the exact typical crust, but we can use it anyhow. I prefer to make a thin crust pizza with no-yeast dough, and cook it on low heat which makes a well cooked crust and still not making the base so hard. Though it is not that harmful to include a little amount of yeast in your diet once in a while, but you can definitely opt for some healthy options. You can even make the pizza base without any dough, you can make it with vegetables and eggs that is the most healthy option for kids.
No-yeast pizza dough goes good when you make the pizza in microwave or in a pan, and it is easy to make also. as you do not have to wait for long to make your dough rise, you do not have to light the oven. You just have to knead and roll the dough and put in slightly greased frying pan, flip it after 2-3 minutes, top it with your favorite topping and cook it covered for few minutes on very low flame. If you already have prepared pizza sauce than you can surprise your kids with this delicious treat in just 15 or 20 minutes.
Still, I would say that is there is no hard and fast rule that what topping you are going to make for your pizza, you can decide it yourself as you know the taste of your family better. And you can use yeast sparingly, even pan pizza can be made with the yeast raised dough.
Ingredients:
For Dough:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp yogurt
- 1 & 1/2 tbsp oil
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Mix all ingredients and knead a soft and smooth dough with luke warm water.
- 1/4 cup chicken(small cubes)
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp chicken tikka or tandoori chicken powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp yogurt
- 2 tsp oil
Marinate chicken with all ingredients and cook on medium heat until dry and tender. Give a coal smoke if you like.
(You can also use leftover chicken).
(You can also use leftover chicken).
For Topping:
- Pizza sauce (Check the recipe here)
- Onion (small cubes)
- Capsicum (small cubes)
- Chicken chunks
- Cheddar cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Dried oregano leaves
- Crushed red chillies (optional)
Directions to make pan pizza:
- Roll the dough and place in a slightly heated greased frying pan. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes on very low flame.
- Flip it and remove from stove.
- Top with pizza sauce and all other ingredients. Add cheese at the top and sprinkle with dried oregano leaves and crushed red chillies if you want.
