Paneer, onion, chilli & garlic naan pizza

It wasn’t until the last time I went to Mumbai that I realised just how popular Indian fusion pizzas are. I ate my fair share, and now you can have a go at making your own.

MAKES 4 PREP 40min, plus rising COOK 15min per pizza

• Plain flour, for dusting

• 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 large red onion, finely chopped

• 4 red chillies, finely chopped

• 250g paneer, cut into small cubes

• 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 4tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

FOR THE NAAN DOUGH

• 600g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

• 1tbsp salt

• 1tsp baking powder

• 7g dried yeast

• 2tbsp sugar FOR THE SAUCE

• 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves, smashed

• 3tbsp finely chopped coriander stalks

• 2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes, blended 1 To make the dough, sift flour, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Bring 210ml water to a rapid boil. Pour into a jug and top with 210ml cold water. Stir in yeast and sugar and leave to froth up for 10min. Make a well in the flour and pour in. Mix together with your hands for a minute or so, then leave to rest for 2min. Knead dough for about 5 minutes. It will be sticky, but don’t be tempted to add more flour. Form into a ball, cover, then leave to rise for an hour in a warm place. 2 To make the sauce, heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and toss in garlic. Allow oil to take on flavour of garlic for a couple of min, then add chopped coriander stalks. Fry for a further minute, then pour in tomatoes. Simmer for about 10min, until it thickens to consistency of a pizza sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 3 Divide dough into four balls and rest, covered, for 5min. Lightly dust work surface with flour and roll or stretch dough out thinly until about

25cm diameter.

4 Heat a heavy-based pan over high heat until base of pan is extremely hot. Slap naan discs around between your hands to remove excess flour. Fry on first side until bubbles form on top.

Flip it over briefly to brown other side. Repeat with remainder.

5 Preheat grill to high. Spread sauce equally over pizza bases. Top with garlic, onion, chillies and paneer. Put one pizza on a baking sheet and cook for about 5min, until cheese is soft and the crust is nicely browned.

6 Drizzle top with a little olive oil and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Repeat to cook remaining pizzas and serve hot.

MAKE IT VEGAN Many people substitute tofu for paneer. This changes the dish, but it is still very good. If you prefer a cheesier pizza without the paneer, try using vegan mozzarella.➺