Indian Pudas- Chickpea Based Pizzas

Indian Pudas- Chickpea Based Pizzas

These little pizzas take a step away from stodgy traditional pizzas and turns a pizza into something that fits the principles of Renew Reset Recharge®. Traditionally a Puda is an Indian spiced chickpea pancake with vegetables. The base is made from chickpea flour, spices and grated vegetables, but what is great about this recipe is that it replaces wheat flour in the base with chickpea flour which is rich in fibre and protein (so will keep you fuller for longer and will be slower to digest).

 

These are also fantastic if you can’t eat wheat or gluten. Wheat flour contains just 11g protein per 100g and chickpea flour 24g protein. Also chickpea flour contains around three to four times as much fibre as wheat flour (around 11g per 100g instead of 2.5g)! So for RRR, the chickpeas become your protein and 75g of your vegetables are already taken care of. Add in the tomatoes and a salad and you will have exceeded your vegetable amounts. For weight loss, omit the cheese, otherwise feel free to add it on top.

While Pudas have been around a while, I first saw the idea of making them into pizzas in a Jasmine Hemsley video online and was mesmerised! I thought this was pure genius and am more than happy to give her credit for this crazy combination! I have adapted the tomato sauce and I tend to use Mozzarella, Jasmine prefers Ricotta—but both work well.

While you may think that curry spices and pizza should not appear on the same plate, this honestly works beautifully, you just need to trust in the recipe. I have even found that children like them too (maybe don’t try to hard sell it to them as a pizza beforehand!)

Ingredients, makes 2

Puda

120g chickpea/ gram flour

75g grated courgette

75g grated carrot

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon roasted curry powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 handful of chopped fresh coriander

1 teaspoon Himalayan salt

ghee or extra virgin olive oil to cook

Tomato Sauce

3 cloves garlic

500g fresh tomatoes, cut up into small pieces

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Pepper

Splash of water

Topping

140g ball of Mozzarella, drained, sliced
Rocket

Tomato Sauce, Method

The key with this sauce is that it becomes very concentrated which really brings the flavours to life. Tomatoes vary in their water content, but what you are aiming for is a rich, thick tomato sauce that is dense, but not dry. It should hold its shape when being spooned onto the pudas.

  1. Roughly chop the fresh tomatoes and add to a pan with the crushed garlic cloves.
  2. Add the salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and a splash of water and simmer on a medium heat with a lid on for 20 minutes and without a lid for a further 20 minutes.
  3. Stir frequently and press with a potato masher to make sure there are no chunks of tomato in the finished sauce*. You are aiming for a thick sauce that is slightly jammy in texture. *You are welcome to pop it through a bullet processor if you want it to be completely smooth.

Pudas, Method

  1. Turn the oven on to 200º C
  2. Weigh the chickpea flour, spices and water into a food processor or large bowl. Mix until combined or whisk by hand until smooth and then stir in the grated vegetables. This should form a soft batter. If you can, leave to stand for 20 minutes to thicken slightly.
  3. Heat a small pancake frying pan and add a little ghee or olive oil.
  4. Pour in half of the mixture, and spread with the back of a spoon so that it covers the base of the pan. It will be quite thick. Avoid touching the mixture again and leave to cook on a medium high heat until the top layer has set and you start to see small air bubbles forming. At this point flip the pancake to cook the other side. This usually takes 4-5 minutes on one side and 3-4 minutes on the other.
  5. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and top with swirls of the tomato sauce and the sliced Mozzarella cheese
  6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven, top with a handful of rocket and serve.

Plant based?

Simply top with roasted vegetables and spinach or a little soft plant based cheese. This dish contains around 20g protein per serving without cheese and 30g with cheese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dominique Ludwig

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