Roasted Chickpea and Cauliflower Indian Pizza

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In a diverse region like the Bay Area, culinary hybrids like Indian pizza are bound to happen. You might think it's a kitschy oddity, but there are quite a few nearby restaurants that put an Indian twist on the classic pizza pie.  Here is my take on an Indian pizza.

You'll need:

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite sizes
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 8 ounces low-moisture mozzarella, sliced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• cilantro for garnish
• salt to taste
• 1 portion Indian tomato sauce, recipe below
• 1 portion your favorite pizza dough recipe (I used Peter Reinhart's Napolenata pizza dough)

For Indian tomato sauce, you'll need:

• 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, medium diced
• 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 26-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 green chili (optional)
• salt to taste

Begin by pureeing garlic, onion and ginger into a paste in a food processor. In a heavy medium pan, heat up canola oil until fat shimmers. Add mustard seeds, cumin and coriander. Stir for 2 minutes or until spices become fragrant. Stir in garlic, onion and ginger mixture and chili if desired. Cook for 2 minutes. Add canned tomatoes. Bring to simmer. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, garam masala. Season with salt. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Use a blender or an immersion blender, puree into smooth sauce.

While the sauce is cooking, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Separately toss cauliflower and chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of curry powder each. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes. Stir half way through the process.

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Roll out pizza dough. Add a thin and even layer of tomato sauce. Top with a layer of sliced mozzarella, roasted cauliflower and chickpeas. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Since there isn't a "classic" Indian pizza recipe, I took liberties with what I chose to add to the pizza (which included the entire spice rack). I really liked this pizza. The tomato sauce is subtly sweet and fragrant. The roasted chickpeas are slightly crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The curry powder and cauliflower are always wonderful together. Indian food goes beautifully on pizza... apparently!