#priyakrishna

[directlywithlizzie]

Recipe 22: Roti Pizzas (Priya Krishna’s Indian-ish)

Will it “pizza”? YES!

When I sit down to do my weekly menu planning, I always want to include at least one fast and fun recipe, something that doesn’t require a ton of effort but is super tasty and reminiscent of something you’d share on a night out with your pals. Different variations of nachos, quesadillas, and OF COURSE pizza fall into this category, so when I saw the Indian-ish Roti Pizzas I was ready to give them a whirl!

SKILL RATING: Easy-Peasy

Like . . . so totally Easy-Peasy at that! I made both the Chutney-Cheddar and Potato-Rosemary versions, which I will assume is only slightly more time consuming than doing one type. The Cilantro Chutney recipe is included in the cookbook and takes about 3 minutes and 5 ingredients to make more than enough. (I spooned a little of the leftover spicy chutney on my eggs this morning, and it was great!) Preparing the roti for the toppings requires, poking them with a fork or scoring them slightly so they don’t puff up while baking and then brushing them with a little olive oil and letting them crisp in the oven for 5-7 minutes. I don’t have a broiler or a pizza pan, so I set them on a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and that worked out well.

TASTE RATING: 5/5

We loved this new (extremely easy) way to make pizzas at home. The roti have the texture and bite of a very thin-crust pizza, crispy and tender in all the right places. Her topping suggestions were simple so that the limited ingredients all have a chance to shine. She also says: “Feel free to get as creative as you want! Try making them with sweet ingredients, like cinnamon-sprinkled apples or Nutella and strawberries. Roti pizza parties are for all.” Done and done. I would love to make rotating batches for a casual cocktail gathering, they are fun to make and the possibilities are pretty endless. I would recommend avoiding going too heavy on the toppings. The roti are delicious, but don’t have the structural integrity to handle gobs of heavy cheese and sauce like in a Chicago-style pizza. A little goes a long way here and makes for a tasty and elegant take on everyone’s favorite party food!

Read my “Cook With Me This Year” post for background on my little kitchen project.

[directlywithlizzie]

Recipe 21: Matar Paneer and Roasted Aloo Gobhi (Priya Krishna’s Indian-ish)

Go directly to your paneer-est kitchen and make this immediately!

While everyone else seemed to be posting their requisite corned beef, cabbage, and potato pics the other evening, we took a slightly different route for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner. But . . . hey! There were potatoes involved. I have bookmarked a bunch of recipe’s in Priya Krishna’s delightful Indian-ish and after my success with Kachumber Tilapia and Chickpea Flour Green Beans I was eager to try out more! This time around, I went for a couple of dishes I have enjoyed versions of at different Indian restaurants in the past, Matar Paneer and Aloo Gobhi, but that I’ve never made at home. What can I say? Once again, she totally knocks it out of the park on taste! I love this cookbook and look forward to going back for another helping soon.

SKILL RATING: Medium-Effort

Just as with my first go at cooking from Indian-ish, I would rate the effort somewhere in the middle. Partially, this is because I chose to cook two dishes for the same meal and included a batch of rice. Once again, nothing here is really all that difficult, but it does take a sense of timing and organization to make sure everything finishes at about the same time. As I would encourage a cook when trying any recipe for the first time, make sure to read through all the instructions before making these dishes, there is both cooking and cool-down time necessary. But this also gives you the opportunity to make parts of the meal ahead and then throw everything together closer to dinner time. For example, I started roasting my potatoes and cauliflower in the afternoon and went to a Zoom meeting to multitask during the process. I will admit, as much as I’m looking forward to going back to work, the ability to simultaneously tackle work and home projects, has been a pleasant aspect in these seemingly endless months of lockdown.

TASTE RATING: 4/5

Both parts of the meal were great! The 4/5 rating has more to do with my preparation than the recipes. First of all, for me . . . the paneer could have been much spicier. I really enjoyed the creamy, almost ricotta-like taste of the paneer mingling with the toasty cumin and coriander spices, but I wanted a little more heat. This is, of course, an easy fix. For the Aloo Gobhi, I wanted to make use of a bag of frozen cauliflower rather than buying a fresh head, which proved to be a sub-optimal choice. While the flavors and spices were wonderful, the texture was a little bit lacking. It was still really good, but I will definitely use fresh next time for a denser bite. For both recipes she recommends a pinch of asafetida as “optional, but really great.” GO WITH THIS OPTION! This pungent spice is commonly used in Indian cooking and is an amazingly savory flavor-booster. While, you probably won’t see it at the Safeway, you can find it easily online (if you MUST) or at your local Indian market (which you SHOULD to support a community business).

Read my “Cook With Me This Year” post for background on my little kitchen project.