Punjabi Pizza

You can do anything with a pizza crust: Sauce + protein + vegetables + cheese = pizza!

Christopher and I like Indian food, and we thought the idea of warm Indian spices on a pizza crust sounded good. We were right.

Punjabi Pizza

This pizza is topped with a light cilantro-jalapeno pesto, curry-spiced ground turkey and chickpeas and mozzarella cheese. The warm Indian spices and the mix of ground turkey and chickpeas lend an unexpected flavor and texture to everyday pizza crust.

(Adapted from Rachael Ray)

Ingredients

1 batch pizza crust dough (I used a basic pizza crust recipe from Jenna at Eat, Live, Run.)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, stems removed

1 medium jalapeno, seeded

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound ground turkey

2/3 cup cooked chickpeas

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/4-1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion (optional)

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions

Prepare pizza crust dough according to your favorite recipe.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse the cilantro and jalapeno until they are finely chopped, then stream in the 2 tablespoons olive oil until the mixture forms a paste. Set the “sauce” aside.

In a nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and ground turkey and cook until the meat starts to brown, about 3-5 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, curry powder and garam masala and cook, smashing some, but not all of the chickpeas with the back of a wooden spatula, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.

Press the pizza crust dough into a sheet pan. (I used a large sheet pan for a thin, crispy crust.) Spread the cilantro-jalapeno sauce over the unbaked crust. Then, sprinkle on the turkey-chickpea mixture and red onions, if desired. (I put onions on my half of the pie.) Sprinkle on the cheese.

Place the pan in the oven and bake the pizza for 10 minutes. Then, turn on the broiler, and broil the pizza until the cheese is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.

Christopher and I ate this pizza for dinner two nights in a row and looked forward to it more the second night than the first night because we knew of the delicious and comforting meal ahead.

We loved the Indian flavors. But we wanted more bite—perhaps a bit more jalapeno and a dash of lime juice in the sauce.

It’s a fairly quick and easy meal. Try it: You might find a new favorite pizza combination!