Mushroom Curry Pizza
Spicy curry with oyster & white beech mushrooms, sweet potatoes, paneer, roasted peanuts, cilantro, lime juice, red chilis & mango chutney
Curry is the perfect food to help you get through a long winter. It's hearty and warming, but all the bright colors and spicy flavors make you feel like you're in a much hotter place, despite the grey weather. Maybe that's partly why the Brits like it so much. Anyway, we combined all of our favorite curry flavors from different traditions to create this pizza, and added some mushrooms to make it a little heartier. Plus, we dolloped some mango chutney here and there for a burst of sweetness against the spice. And since it's hard to make just a little bit of curry, we had delicious leftovers to eat over rice the next day.
Recipe
Ingredients:
1 ball of pizza dough
olive oil
salt & pepper
flour for dusting
semolina flour for pizza stone
1/4-1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
cilantro for garnish
juice of 1/2 lime
a few dollops of mango chutney
~6-8 ounces paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes
For the curry*:
~200g mixed mushrooms (we used oyster & white beech), torn into bite size pieces if necessary
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch ginger, peeled & minced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1-2 red chilis, divided, half minced & half thinly sliced (you'll used the sliced ones for garnish)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 sweet potato, peeled & cut into small cubes (we used the Japanese Murasaki variety, which we found at Trader Joe's, but any sweet potato will do)
1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste (optional)
1 teaspoon mixed mustard seeds (black & yellow)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon curry powder
4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 can coconut milk (don't forget to shake this like your life depended on it so you don't end up with a separated clumpy mess)
*This is going to be a bit more curry than you'll need for the pizza. Feel free to cut the ingredients in half, or just enjoy it again the next day over rice.
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 550° F, or as hot as it will go. First, you're going to brown the mushrooms in a pan with a little bit of oil over medium heat, until they are nutty and golden. If they are getting too soft without browning, feel free to turn up the heat a bit and let them hang out, undisturbed. When they get to where you want them, take them out and set them aside for now.
In the same pan, add the onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes or so, adding more oil if necessary. Now add the garlic, ginger, minced chili & spices, and cook for another couple minutes, until fragrant.
Add the sweet potato and cook for another couple minutes, stirring until fully coated. Next, add the coconut milk, tamarind paste (if using), tomatoes & mushrooms. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat. Add about half each of your paneer & peanuts, and simmer until your sweet potatoes are soft and your sauce has thickened.
Prepare your dough using the instructions on the right. Once you've baked your dough for a minute, take it out and spread an even layer of the curry mixture on top. Next, add the remaining paneer & peanuts, plus some small dollops of mango chutney.
Pop it in the oven and bake until the crust is a nice golden brown, then take it out and add some fresh cilantro, chili slices & a squeeze of lime juice. Now slice it up and enjoy!
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