How To make Pizza At Home

Pizza is one of the most popular food of the world. Pizza is one of the most popular dishes around the world. It is generally a flat round bread which is oven-baked and covered with tomatoes or a tomato-based sauce and mozzarella cheese. Toppings are also added depending on the region, culture or personal preference. In this article, we will be learning how to make a pizza at home.

The basic steps in pizza making are first preparing dough, then pizza sauce. After that, cheese and toppings are added according to taste and then the pizza is baked in an oven. This seems to be simple while reading but preparing a good mouth watering pizza at home drains in a lot of hard work. However, you will be able to make pizza at home easily using this step-by-step guide.
Let's start from the scratch.

Making Pizza Dough
Dough making has been known to humans since ages now, but mastering the art to make perfect pizza dough can be a bit cumbersome sometimes. At home, Pizza dough is prepared by hands, no special machinery is required. However to prepare hand-made dough you will need to have a large mixing bowl, a measuring cup, measuring spoons, a large whisk or wooden mixing spoon and some kitchen film before you start. It will be better if you also keep a small hand towel ready before starting the process.
Ingredients:
1 - 1/4 Oz Envelope - Active dry yeast, (or 2 1/4 Tsp)
1 1/2 Cups - Warm water (110°F - 115°F)
4 Cups - Bread flour
1 1/2 Tsp. - Salt
2 Tbsp. - Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. - Sugar
Extra flour
Extra olive oil

Process
Pour the warm water in a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar and dissolve it. Next, dissolve the yeast by stirring continuously after addition. Allow the mixture to settle down for 10 minutes or extra so that the yeast becomes active.
Now add the yeast and olive oil, when the appearance of the mixture becomes foamy and cloudy at the surface. Dissolve it continuous stirring. Then add 3 cups of flour to the mixture one-by-one and whisk in until dissolved completely. Make sure the mixture is completely smooth. Use your hands to combine the dough until all of the dry flour has moistened into a mass.
When the flour has absorbed all of the moisture and congealed into a firm mass, remove it from the bowl to a floured tabletop to knead it. Fold it in half again and push it into itself, again and again for perhaps 10 to 12 minutes or so, or about 200 cycles. It is very important that the dough is very well kneaded.
After kneading is complete, when dough transforms into a silky, smoothly-textured ball, coat the dough ball with a thin layer of olive oil. After that place it in the bottom of a large mixing bowl that has also been coated on the inside with olive oil.
Now comes the step on panning the prepared pizza dough. One of the most demanding of the pizza maker's many challenges is getting the raw pizza dough ball into a pizza pan. The panning of pizza can be done by various methods as per your convenience. The popular methods are Pizza dough sheeting, pizza dough pressing, hand tossing pizza dough- do it only if you don't get hazy when catching, hand pressing pizza dough, and last is pin rolling pizza dough.

Making Pizza Sauce 

Normally at home, we recommend using tomato sauce only which is lightly herbed with oregano and basil. Some pizza lovers prefer to have even simpler sauce than this, however tomato sauce is the simplest to prepare at home.
Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. - Butter
16 Oz. - Can of tomato puree
3 Tbsp. - Olive Oil
1 Tsp. - Salt
3 Cloves - Garlic, minced
1/4 Tsp. - Black Pepper
3 Large - Yellow onions, minced
1 Tsp. - Whole oregano
2 Qts. - Canned whole Italian tomatoes
1 Tsp. - Whole basil


Process
Melt the butter with olive oil in an oven or large skillet. Now slowly but completely sauté the garlic and onion. Then add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and puree. Boil it.
Cover the mixture and let it bubble for two hours. In between, stir it occasionally. Crush the tomatoes with the masher. Continue the process till the sauce reaches the consistency of a soup.
Set the sauce aside to cool before applying it to your pizza dough, or, or refrigerate it for use in the future.
Pizza Topping
Ladle about 7 to 8 oz. of pizza sauce into the middle, bottom of the dough shell. Spread the sauce evenly over the surface of the dough sheet. Spoon the sauce out to the edge of the dough sheet. Leave a small margin on the outer-side of the dough sheet, which allows the crust to rise and crisp more quickly than the covered dough; creating the classic, puffed up edge of the pizza.
Now create a layer of the shredded cheese over the sauce. Shred about two cups of cheese. Arrange your toppings over this layer of cheese.
Add toppings according to your preference.
Baking the Pizza

Preheat your oven up-to the temperature of 450° F for about 10 to 15 minutes. When preheating is done, place a prepped pizza in the oven at the centre. Place the pan in the oven such as there is maximum circulation of air around the pan. The baking will take about 10-15 minutes at that temperature.
Signs to look for that the pizza is ready are:

1) The cheese has melted on top and is beginning to brown.
2) The crust edge has browned, from a medium to a golden brown.
3) Now carefully lift the edge of the pizza to inspect its bottom, it should be evenly brown.

If these signs are evident, your pizza's done! Thus now you are ready to throw regular pizza parties of your home made pizza to your friends and family.

How To Make Rasgulla

What is your choice when it comes to sweets?

What?............... Rasgullas............... is that what your thinking,

I don’t think you’d find anyone who’d say no to them. Not even the hubby who doesn’t really have a sweet tooth says no to Rasgullas! I made these for a special occasion last week, and here’s a visual treat for you guys as well…

Ingredients

• 1/2 liter Milk
• 2 tsp Flour (maida)
• 1/4 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• 4-5 drops Rosewater Essence

1. Heat milk in a pan and bring it to boil for about 8-10 minutes.

2. When it starts boiling, add lemon juice and wait for the milk to curdle completely.
3. Remove from the heat and let it cool for about 3-5 minutes.
4. Pour over a thin muslin/cotton cloth and tie it with a tight knot. On straining this milk, the curd is obtained is called "paneer". wash paneer well using muslin cloth under cold running water to remove lemon juice flavor.
5. Knead paneer for about 5-7 minutes to make a smooth dough. Add flour and knead again for few minutes.The softness of the rasgulla depends on how well you knead the paneer. The more you knead, the more spongy will be the rasgullas

6. Make smalls of about 1 inch in size (8-10) of the dough and keep aside.
7. Next make sugar syrup. Mix sugar, water, and cardamom powder in a saucepan and bring it to boil.
8. Add paneer balls to the hot syrup on a medium heat and cook for about 15-20 minutes with lid partially covered.
9. Transfer into a serving dish.
10. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

How to Make Chicken Biryani

• Ingredients for marinating the chicken
  • 1 Kilo Chicken on the bone cut into 12-16 pieces
  • 1/2 Teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 Tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
  • 1 Teaspoon of coriander powder
  • A little salt

Mix all of the above ingredients and let the chicken marinate for 6-12 hours, more the better.

• Herbs, spices and condiments used are as follows
  • 8 cloves
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 6 green Cardamoms
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1/2 Teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds)
  • A few pinches grated nutmeg and mace each
  • 1 Teaspoon Coriander powder
  • 1 Teaspoon red Chili powder (to taste)
  • 5-6 Tablespoon of chopped fresh mint
  • 2-3 chopped green Chilies
  • 4-5 chopped Tomatoes
  • A whole bunch of fresh coriander leaves
• For fried onions
  • About 8-9 medium size onions
• Other Ingredients
  • Oil for deep frying and 3-4 tablespoon for cooking
  • 1 Tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
  • 1/2 cup of milk
  • A few strands of Saffron (kesar)
  • Desi ghee (clarified butter) about 6-7 Tablespoons
  • Cashew nuts ( a few or as many as you want)
  • Raisins and almonds are optional
  • Salt to taste
• Alternative authentic ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon Gram Masala Powder
  • 1 tablespoon or less of Green Cardamom Powder
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • a pinch of red chilli powder(Optional)
  • a pinch of green chilli(Optional)
  • 2 - 3 teaspoon gralic powder
  • 2 -3 teaspoons of onion powder
  • 2 - 4 teaspoons ginger powder
  • 1 kilo basmati, jasmine or ganador rice
  • 1 cup tomato paste(not tomato sauce)
  • 1 cup milk or cream
  • Yogurt
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves
  • Saffron
  
  Method
  
  Deep fry the onions:
  
  While the chicken is marinating, slice the onions very thin. You can use a food processor for this or a slicer. Now heat oil and fry these sliced onions in batches. The heat should be medium. Definitely not high, otherwise the onions will get burned.
  Stir the onions continuously for uniform browning. When they become light brown, drain them on kitchen paper. Keep them aside. They will get nice crispy as they cool down.
  
  Cook the Chicken:
  
  Take a deep, wide mouth vessel and heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in it. In this add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, little bit of shahi jeera and allow to crackle. Now add a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste and stir a little. Now tip out all the marinated chicken and the marinade. Cook on a high flame so that the water gets evaporated quickly. Add the chopped tomatoes, mint, green chilies, all dry powders(coriander, chili), and salt. Cook till the chicken is cooked and the gravy (masala) is not watery. Add one third of the fried onions. Mix well. Keep aside.
  
  Boiling the Rice
  
  Boiling rice is one of the most important part of cooking a biryani. The rice needs to be parboiled. Meaning, it should be three fourth cooked. The rest of it gets cooked on dum (when we layer the chicken and rice, seal it and put on a very slow fire).
  
  Take a big deep wide mouth vessel, add lots of water (at least 10 times more than rice). Add ample salt (this is very important because the rice needs to be salty when cooked). Also add a cinnamon stick, a couple of green cardamoms, a few cloves and the rest of caraway seeds (shahi jeera), for flavoring the rice.
  
  Now boil all this for a few minutes on a high flame (7 minutes or so). This is how to check if the rice is done. Without burning your fingers, take a few grains of rice (use a clean spoon to take some out of the boiling water), break a grain, if it breaks into 3 parts easily, your rice is done.
  
  Strain the rice and spread it on a clean surface (a tray or something), so that it cools faster. If you want to pick out the whole spices which you added, you can do that now. Or else just let them be.
  
  
  • Chop the coriander leaves
  • Boil the milk and add crushed saffron in it. Give it a stir.
  • In desi ghee, fry the cashew nuts till golden brown. Also the almonds and raisins, if using. Keep aside.
  • Keep some melted desi ghee aside.
  Layering the biryani:
  
  • Take a heavy bottom pan with a lid (non stick is best).
  • Take some melted ghee and grease the bottom of the pan with it. Then
  • Put a layer of rice,
  • Then a layer of chicken
  • followed by a layer of fried onions
  • then a layer of chopped coriander.
  • Repeat and finish off with the rice layer. Lastly, sprinkle the leftover fried onions (if any), cashews and other nuts. Pour the saffron milk on top. Also pour some desi ghee down the sides of the pan and some on top of the rice. It will trickle down with the heat.
  • Yep, you are done. Seal the lid by sticking it with some chapati dough or simply fix a big foil before placing the lid. The idea is to restrict the steam from escaping. Place this pot on a very slow flame. Ideally place this vessel on top of another flat pan or tawa, so that the bottom of the pan doesn't come in direct contact with the heat source.
  • Leave for one hour. When you open it, what you get is the magical, flavorsome and aromatic chicken biryani. Please dig in. Don't forget to prepare a riata while your biryani is cooking. Enjoy hot biryani with a cold raita.
  
  Here is Another method
  
  
  

Sugar Free Sweets to Make With Children

Children love baking and cooking - and what could be more fun than making sweets?
These sugar free sweets make healthier alternatives to the sweets youngsters traditionally make and then munch their way through!Encourage them to have a bit of fun while they are cooking with you. Let them come up with some of their own ingredients and consider how these could be worked into your dish.

Chocolate Orange Faces

This is a delicious rich sugar free sweet that children will love. It has a fresh, orangey flavour and they can top it off by making their own funny faces from tiny pieces of shredded orange peel.

Ingredients:

• 400g (14oz) cocoa
• Five tbs honey
• 250ml double cream
• 30g (1oz) butter
• Two sweet oranges

Method:

Melt your honey, butter and cocoa powder together in a medium pan over a low heat. Stir until completely dissolved. Keeping your pan on a very low heat, gently stir in your cream. Remove from the heat and allow to start cooling. Squeeze your oranges and save the peel. Stir the juice into your cooling liquid. Carefully scrape the pith from the remaining orange peel and cut the peel into tiny circles for eyes and strips for mouths. Grease an 18cm fudge tin and pour your liquid in.

Once it is completely cool, place in the fridge and allow to set over night. Place your tiny peels of cut peel on a place in the fridge too. When the chocolate is set, remove from the fridge and cut into squares with a sharp knife Take your orange peel and make a face on each square. The chocolate should still be soft enough to press the pieces into it. You could even make hair, glasses and moustaches from the shreds of peel too!

Chocolate And Strawberry Shapes

These sweets can be cut into whatever shapes you choose. Try buying seasonal cutters and cutting out sweet Santas, pumpkins or Easter eggs, depending on the time of year.Adorn your sweets with pieces of chewy fresh strawberry if you choose. Use the pieces of fruit to make faces, animal spots or just decorations.

Ingredients:

• 150g (5oz) cocoa powder
• Two tablespoons sugar free strawberry jam
• 150g (5oz) soft ground almonds
• One small egg
• Handful of fresh strawberries (optional)

Method:

Melt your cocoa powder and sugar free jam in a small pan. Pour your almonds into a bowl and slowly add the hot liquid. Beat your egg, then add it to the mixture, little by little, until you have a good paste. Place in the fridge and allow to harden. Take your mixture and roll out on a surface that has been lightly dusted with cocoa powder. Take your cookie or sweet cutters and cut into shapes. Place each shape on a lightly greased baking sheet and place in the fridge to set. If you want to dress your sweeties up further, try taking a handful of fresh strawberries, washing and hulling them, then chopping them up and lightly grilling the pieces for a moment or two. Then press your chewy strawberry pieces into the top of each sweet shape to decorate.

Sugar Free Fruit Fudges

Sugar free fruit fudges work well because the fruit you use in your mixture will often bring an added sweetness with it. Raisins, sultanas, cranberries and other dried fruit are incredibly high in natural sugar and will give an extra sugary burst as you bite into the fudge.Try teaming the fruit up with other flavours as well, to create unusual varieties of sugar free fudge. Cranberries work well with apples, for example, and raisins are delicious with ground almonds. And of course chocolate is always delicious with any fruit. Adults can also choose to add a splash of brandy to liven their fruit fudge up a little!

Sugar Free Hazelnut And Raisin Fudge

This is a serious fudge to get stuck into. Overflowing with fruit and nuts, it has wonderful bite and is extremely filling.

Ingredients:

• 400g (14oz) cocoa powder
• 75g (2.5oz) whole hazelnuts
• 75g (2.5oz) plump raisins
• 30g (1oz) butter
• 350ml double cream
• Four tbsp honey

Method:

Take a large pan and in it place your cocoa powder, butter and honey. Stir over a gently heat until completely melted and your liquid is smooth. Slowly stir in your double cream. Then add your raisins and your hazelnuts. Pour your mixture into a greased fudge tin and allow to cool. Then place in the fridge and leave to set over night. Once solid, mark out and cut into squares.

Cranberry And Apple Fudge

This fudge uses honey again as a sweetener. Added sugar free apple juice also gives it a sweet boost.

Ingredients:

• Three tbsp honey
• 200ml double cream
• 30g (1oz) butter
• 50ml sugar free apple juice
• 100g (3.5oz) dried cranberries

Method:

Gently melt your butter and honey together in a medium-sized pan. Then stir in your apple juice and your cranberries. Once completely mixed, remove from the heat and allow to cool. After 10 minutes, stir in your double cream. Pour your mixture into a greased fudge tin and leave to cool. Then place in the fridge over night to set. Mark out and cut into squares.

Chocolate Orange Fudge

The fruit in this recipe is sultana but the strongest flavour comes from the orange. Both work with the granulated sweetener as a sugar replacement. The combination of the strong chocolate with the rich fruitiness of the orange and sultana will create a delicious winter fudge.

Ingredients:

• 110g (4oz) cocoa powder
• 110g (4oz) butter
• One tsp vanilla essence
• Two sweet oranges
• 550ml double cream
100g (3.5oz) sultanas
• Five tbs granulated sweetener (or as per manufacturer’s instructions)

Method:

Melt your butter, cocoa and sweetener in a large pan over a low heat. Stir until completely dissolved. Add your vanilla essence and stir again. Squeeze the juice from your two sweet oranges and grate the zest from the fruit. Stir both the orange juice and zest into your liquid. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Then stir in your cream and your sultanas. Pour into a greased fudge tin and place in a fridge over night to set. Cut into squares the following day.

How To Make Sugar Free Vanilla and Ginger Crunch

A friend of mine messaged me and asked 
My dad wants me to make homemade ice cream for him, but it cannot have any sugar. 

Does anyone know of a really great sugar-free vanilla ice cream recipe for diabetics??

yes my dear friend here is a recipe for you to try,

The new thing about sugar free ice cream is without the sugar the ice cream will be more solid and icy,and
the crunch of the sugar free ginger biscuits contrasts beautifully with the creamy vanilla ice cream in the recipe. To zing it up further add small pieces of dark sugar free chocolate (or high cocoa content, dark chocolate) at the biscuit stage.

Ingredients:

• One vanilla pod
• Three large eggs
• Two tablespoons granulated sweetener or splenda  (or as per manufacturers instructions)
• 350ml fresh double cream
• 400ml full fat milk
• 10 sugar free ginger biscuits

Method:

Once again begin by taking a medium sized pan. Pour your milk and your double cream into it. Then take your vanilla pod and slit it along one side. Scrape out all the seeds with a teaspoon and put into the cream. Cut the pod into quarters and drop it into the pan too. 
Put to one side for half an hour to allow the liquid to draw the flavour. Then heat the cream and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it almost reaches boiling point. Set to one side for a further quarter of an hour. Meanwhile, crack your three eggs and separate the yolks into a medium sized bowl. Mix with a fork and then pour your warm vanilla mixture in. Return to your pan and place back on a low heat. Keep stirring until the liquid thickens and becomes custard-like. 
Once again, do not allow the mixture to boil, however. Then remove from the heat, pick out your pieces of vanilla pod and stir in your sweetener. Pour your mixture into a large metal bowl and allow to cool, stirring every so often if a skin seems to be forming. 
Once cool, cover and place in the freezer. Allow to freeze for about three hours then remove from freezer and whisk in a blender. Replace in the freezer then repeat at least three more times every three hours or so. Meanwhile, take your ginger biscuits and place in a large sandwich bag. Using a rolling pin break into small pieces. After your final whisk, stir in the pieces of biscuit, a few at a time. If you wish to add chocolate chunks too, break your sugar free dark chocolate when you crush your biscuits ands stir them in at the same time.

Sugar Free Mint Chocolate Ice-Cream

Sugar Free Mint Chocolate Ice-Cream

A chocolate ice-cream with a minty essence, this makes a change from plain chocolate ice-cream. The peppermint essence beautifully complements the bitter cocoa flavour. .

Ingredients:

• Three egg yolks
• 200g (7oz) cocoa powder
• Three tbsp sugar free strawberry jam
• Half pint of double cream
• 250ml full fat milk
• One tsp peppermint essence

Method:

Beat your egg yolks and jam together in a large bowl. In a large saucepan heat your milk and cocoa powder. Stir until all the cocoa has dissolved. Pour into your egg and jam mixture, and mix well. Stir in your cream and peppermint essence. Take a clean airtight container, with a fitted lid, and pour your mixture in. Place in the freezer for two to three hours or until half frozen. Remove and whiz up again. Repeat the process at least once more, preferably twice.

Chocolate Orange Ice-Cream For Grown-Ups

Definitely not a dish for the children, this sugar free chocolate ice-cream calls for a splash of whisky. The whisky gives it a good kick and makes this dessert the perfect way to round off a meal. Those who are happy to have a little sugar in their ice-cream could substitute the whisky and orange for a liqueur of their choosing.

Ingredients:

• 250g (9oz) cocoa powder
• Three tbsp sugar free jam
• Two oranges
• A splash of whisky
• One pint of double cream

Method:

Sieve your cocoa into a large bowl and mix with your cream and sugar free strawberry jam, using a hand blender (or whiz all your ingredients in a food processor). Grate the zest of your oranges and squeeze the juice, stir into your liquid ice-cream, along with a splash of whisky Take a clean airtight container, with a fitted lid, and pour your mixture in. Place in the freezer for two to three hours or until half frozen. Remove and whiz up again. Repeat the process at least once more, preferably twice.