My mum was born in Bangladesh (and is half-Pakistani) and because of this, growing up, I ate a lot of South-Asian inspired food. You'd think I would be bored of it by now. But no, it's still one of my favourite cuisines to cook and eat, along with Italian and Mexican food.
So, naturally, this is my all time favourite pizza. But I'm willing to bet that it'll become yours, too. The spicy tandoori flavours balance beautifully with the acidity of the mint yoghurt, and the sweetness of capsicum and pineapple. The flavour combination is complex and delicious. It's a vegetarian pizza to wow anyone. I thought what better recipe to start off with - a fusion of two of my favourite cuisines!
My recipe uses a clever method to prepare the tofu - using a cheese grater. I learnt this trick from another food blogger, Sam Turnbull (It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken). I've simply adapted her recipe with tandoori flavours to recreate this old favourite pizza of mine. But be sure to check out her post, because it's really a game-changer. It completely transformed my relationship with tofu.
Ingredients
(Tandoori Tofu)
250g extra firm tofu
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sunflower oil (or any other unflavoured vegetable oil)
1 tablespoon greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons spicy tandoori paste
(Mint Yoghurt)
1 tablespoon greek yoghurt
handful of fresh mint leaves
(Pizzas)
2 store-bought pizza bases
1 tablespoon pizza sauce
1 tablespoon mango chutney
1 small purple onion, sliced very thinly
1 small red capsicum, sliced very thinly
1 small can pineapple pieces
1 cup shredded cheese
(Garnishing)
3-4 shallots, sliced (white & light green parts only)
1/3 cup pine nuts, crushed
How to Make the Tandoori Tofu
Step 1: Dry the tofu
To begin, remove the tofu from its packaging and dry with paper towel - you don't need to press the tofu for this recipe, as it will dry out in the oven.
Step 2: Grate the tofu
Using the large side of a cheese grater, grate the tofu into shreds. Set aside.
Step 3: Prepare the marinate
In a small bowl, whisk oil and 1 tablespoon of tandoori paste, until combined.
Step 4: Coat the tofu
Using a silicone spatula, carefully fold the shredded tofu into the prepared marinate.
Make sure every piece of tofu gets coated.
Step 5: Bake the tofu
Place coated tofu pieces onto a lined baking dish.
Place in the oven (set at 180'C) and bake for 28 minutes - stirring the tofu halfway through (at 14 minutes) *continue onto step 6 after stirring the tofu*
The tofu should look something like this when it's finished baking.
Step 6: Prepare sauce
Add the remaining tablespoon of tandoori paste, water and yoghurt to a small saucepan. Whisk over a low heat while tofu finishes baking.
Step 7: Transfer baked tofu to sauce
Turn off the heat on your stove. Then, carefully pick up the edges of the baking paper and pour the tofu into the saucepan.
Again, carefully, using the silicone spatula, fold the tofu into the sauce to completely coat all pieces.
Your finished tandoori tofu should like something like this:
How to Make the Mint Yoghurt Dressing
Step 1: Prepare mint leaves
Wash and dry your mint leaves. Finely chop with a sharp knife. Set aside.
Step 2: Combine with yoghurt
In a small bowl, whisk together the shredded mint leaves and yoghurt.
Now that you've got all your elements prepared, you're ready to start making the pizzas!
How to Make Tandoori 'Chicken' Pizzas (with shredded tofu)
Step 1: Sauce the bases
Mix the pizza sauce and mango chutney and spread this over your pizza bases.
Step 2: Add a little cheese
Because what is pizza without it??? I always like to add a little on the bottom (before any other toppings) and then more on the top - for that cheesy goodness.
Step 3: Add the "chicken" (tofu)
Next, evenly spread the pre-pared tandoori tofu onto each base.
Step 4: Add some toppings
Top with the thinly sliced onion, capsicum and pineapple.
Step 5: add some garnishes
Top with crushed pine nuts, shallots and mint yoghurt.
Step 6: Cheese please!
As I said before, cheese is essential... Add as much cheese to the top as your heart desires!
Step 7: Cook the pizzas
Cook your prepared pizzas in a preheated oven (set at 220'C) for about 10 minutes. Make sure you watch your pizzas closely as their cooking, to avoid burning.
The pizzas should come out looking something like this:
Step 8: Finishing touches
Lastly, top cooked pizzas with a little extra crushed pine nuts and shallots. Cut pizzas into 8 slices each, and serve immediately.
Comments