Tandoori Chicken Pizza

They say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I agree. 

We have a gem of a pizza place here in Lakewood called, Laventina's Pizza. They make the most amazing Tandoori Chicken Pizza. It's loaded with beautiful Indian spices, not only in their chicken, but in a delicious Tandoori paste that replaces the usual pizza sauce. It's then topped with cheese, Tandoori chicken, fresh tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, and thinly sliced jalapenos that lend just the right amount of heat. 
It is absolutely superb! So when I taste something this delicious, I want to try to recreate it here at home. So , if you aren't local to Lakewood and can't pick up the original, here is my humble attempt to recreate Laventina's Tandoori Chicken Pizza. Enjoy!

Note: Plan to marinate the chicken overnight for best flavor. Also I used naan flatbread instead of making my own pizza dough and used Serrano chilies instead of jalapenos. 

Tandoori Chicken Pizza

Tandoori Masala Spice Mix (recipe from Pepperscale)
3 T paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Before use, heat powder in a large skillet for 30 seconds to 1 minute stirring until fragrant. Do not heat longer than a minute you do not want the oils to burn.

Tandoori Chicken
1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
salt and pepper
1 cup Greek yogurt
2-3 T  Tandoori Spice mix

Marinate Chicken Thighs- Salt and pepper boneless, skinless chicken thighs and place in a plastic ziploc bag. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of  Greek yogurt and about half of the prepared tandoori masala spice mix (2-3T) Add yogurt mixture to the chicken in the ziplock bag and squsih around to coat chicken. Refrigerate 2 hours or over night. Grill chicken and then chop into bite-sized pieces.

Tandoori Paste Pizza Sauce
2 T Tandoori Spice mix
2 T olive oil
2-3 T ketchup*
salt (to taste)

Heat spice mix with olive oil in a skillet until fragrant. 20-30 seconds. Add ketchup until mixture resembles a paste. Add salt to taste and set aside. 
*secret ingredient 😉

Tandoori Chicken Pizza
6 Naan Bread
Tandoori Paste Pizza Sauce (above)Tandoori Chicken, grilled and diced (above)
3-4 cups Mozzarella cheese, grated
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1-2 small serrano pepper, thinly sliced, seeds removed
cilantro leaves
red pepper flakes (to taste)

Assemble pizzas: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush Naan flatbread generously with Tandoori paste. Add mozzarella cheese, chicken, onions, tomatoes and serrano pepper slices. Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Garnish with cilantro leaves and red pepper flakes to taste for more heat.

Other recipes to try:

Thai Chicken Enchiladas

Spicy Pork Wonton Tacos

Vegetable Ceviche

Potato Gnocchi and Spinach Curry

Welcome to my 200th blog post! As I begin my fifth year blogging, I'm excited to get into the kitchen to cook and create delicious dishes each week. The last two years, life pulled me away from posting as often as I'd wanted, but looking forward, I already have a slew of seasonal, vegetable heavy recipes to share with you.  Also, as you may know, my serious passion next to food, is Halloween! I spend much of each year planning and creating new ideas for some deliciously festive Halloween dishes and I cannot wait to show you what I've come up with this year! They are so fun and did I mention, delicious! So stay tuned...Here is a spicy and comforting vegetarian main dish of Potato Gnocchi and Spinach Curry.   

I thought I'd be creative and have a bit of fun with the Indian dish, Aloo Palak, a curry with potato and spinach. In this delicious version, I substituted the potatoes with a coriander and turmeric infused potato gnocchi. It was a fun addition that added another layer of flavor and a chewy texture to an already amazing dish. I made this really spicy, by adding some Thai chilies from my backyard but you can always tone down the spice to your taste and omit them. Enjoy!

Potato Gnocchi and Spinach Curry

adapted recipe inspired by theprettybee.com
Serves 4

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbsp curry powder (I used Spice Hunter)
2 tsp Garam masala
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 cup vegetable broth
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
red pepper flakes (to taste)
2 cups spinach, chopped
1/2 cup peas
2 cans coconut milk
Potato Gnocchi (see recipe below)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 small hot chiles, sliced (to taste) 

Add oil to a large skillet, over medium high heat cook onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add next seven spices and heat until fragrant, ~2 minutes.  Add vegetable broth and garlic and simmer until reduced by half, 15-20 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, spinach, peas and coconut milk and heat through about 5-10 minutes. Add cooked gnocchi and cilantro. Garnish with hot chilies for added heat.

Coriander and Turmeric Infused Potato Gnocchi

2 medium potatoes (measure out 1 cup cooked potato)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt

Place unpeeled potatoes into a medium saucepan and cover with water. Cook until potatoes are cooked through. About 20-30 minutes. 
Drain and let potatoes cool slightly. Peel potatoes and mash with a potato ricer. Measure out 1 cup of packed cooked potatoes and add to a medium bowl. Let cool. Add coriander, turmeric, and salt to the all purpose flour and mix well. Add flour mixture and egg to the potatoes and mix until incorporated. Cut dough into quarters and roll each quarter into thin ropes of dough. Cut ropes into 1/2 inch pieces and roll between two forks to make grooves. 

Drop gnocchi into salted boiling water and cook until they float to the surface about 3-5 minutes.  Add gnocchi to prepared curry and serve immediately.

Other recipes to try:

Indian Spiced Lentils

Tomato Garlic Soup

Couscous and Carrot Salad

Indian Spiced Lentils

I went out to dinner last month with a few girlfriends and we had the most delicious Indian food and it inspired me to try to make some at home. I figured that this is probably not food my kiddos would venture to eat but I would keep the hot spices out of it and see if I could get them to try it. Served with Rice, they're basically the Indian equivalent to rice and beans and my kids love rice and beans so what could go wrong?  Well, the look of it for one. "What's that red stuff?" "What's that sauce?" My kids judge everything on how it looks. If it's unfamiliar they won't even try it, usually.

So this is what I did. I knew they would like it, the spice was mild and had the most comforting flavor so I knew if I could get them to try it I'd have them. I caught them while watching TV, their attention more focused on Ninjago than what I had in my hand. I took a small piece of Naan Bread and put a small spoonful of lentils on the bread. Without showing them what I had, I said, "I'll give you a dollar if you try this?" Of course my kids eyes and mouths opened at the mere mention of cold hard cash. (They're saving up for some NERF guns that they want so they are always looking for ways to earn more money) Before they got second thoughts, I quickly placed the bite sized lentils with Naan bread in their mouths. 
I was so surprised, as they didn't make any faces, no squinting eyes, no gagging, no spitting out...They chewed and swallowed and gave me a smile with a thumbs up! Yay! They liked it! I couldn't believe it! Of course, it has already back-fired on me because now anytime I want them to eat their dinner, no matter if it's something they like and are familiar with, they say, "If you give me a dollar I'll take a bite!" Ugh! Oh well, I still consider it a success that they tried something new!

I served these delicious Lentils with Tandoori Chicken, Basmati Rice and some Whole Wheat Naan Bread. I even had lentils with rice for breakfast the whole week after too! This is one of my new favorite dishes for sure!


Indian Spiced Lentils (recipe slightly adapted from The Diva Dish)
Serves 6

1 cup lentils (I used green lentils)
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup white wine

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, diced

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 15oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper(add more for heat)

2 tsp paprika

1 T ground coriander

1 tsp garam masala

2/3 cups vegetable broth

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper (to taste)

Rinse and sort lentils. Add 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth, wine and lentils to medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender, approximately 35 minutes. Makes about 2 1/2 cups of cooked lentils. Set aside.

Add onion and garlic into a skillet with a little oil and saute until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add sweet potato, bell peppers, tomato sauce, spices, 2/3 cup of vegetable broth, lemon juice, salt and pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add cooked lentils and simmer an additional 20-25 minutes. Add additional salt to taste as needed. Serve.