What is a pizza without a base? A kulhad or earthern cup pizza!
An eatery by the name of ‘The Cone Chaat’ in the Indian western state of Gujarat is serving pizza in this style – a gluten-free idea! Ever since then, the trend went viral, with people queuing up to try this cheesy dish in a clay mug.
A kulhad is like a cup made from clay. In India, tea, coffee and kulfi (frozen Indian dessert) is usually served in a kulhad. However, a pizza is the first of its kind.
As per social media videos, kulhad pizza’s preparation begins by adding boiled corn in a bowl, tomatoes, paneer (cottage cheese), bread cut into cubes, tomato ketchup, mayonnaise, the restaurant’s signature sauces, chilli flakes, Indian chaat masala and oregano, all mixed together and added to the kulhad till it is half full. Then a layer of mozzarella cheese with boiled corn is added and baked.
With more than 2 million views on YouTube, this video shows how the dish can be made at home with minimal effort. Nevertheless, it beggars the question - how is it a pizza without a base? Something, people have been asking too.
A YouTube user, William Primo, commented on the video: "How is it pizza without dough? I mean if that is pizza, then anything or everything is pizza."
Another user, Shimna Chandran commented: "This is not pizza, this is potzza."
While the trend has sparked many debates and garnered appreciation, it is the effort to create something unique by the eatery that has people talking. It might not qualify as a pizza, but can definitely be a quick one-mug meal – Indian style!
An all-purpose flat-bread that is prepared using leavened dough, coated with fresh tomato sauce, topped with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese is what a traditional pizza is. According to historytoday.com, pizza is the world’s first fast food.
Pizza travelled from its birthplace in Naples, Italy, to the United States of America via Italian immigrants. In the year 1905, the first pizzeria by the name of Lombardi opened in New York. And that is how the world discovered pizza.
Here is quick recipe for you try this one-mug savoury snack at home:
Ingredients:
1 cup of bread cubed (white bread)
½ onion chopped
½ cup boiled corn
½ cup deseeded tomatoes diced
1 tsp red chili flakes
½ tsp chaat masala powder (create at home with equal measures of roasted cumin powder, black salt and dried mango powder)
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
5 tbsp mayonnaise
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 clove of chopped garlic
1 tsp oregano or as required
1 tbsp crumbed paneer or cottage cheese
1 sprig of coriander to garnish
Method:
1. In a bowl, add boiled corn, onion, tomatoes, paneer, if you are using.
2. Then add the cheese and sauces.
3. Add chaat masala powder, chilly flakes and oregano, mix them well together.
4. Take a kulhad or a mug, fill it half way through with this mix and layer it with mozzarella cheese.
5. Layer the remaining half with the mix and top it with sweetcorn, mayonnaise and ketchup.
6. Bake in the oven for 2 minutes at 180C.
Garnish with some freshly chopped coriander and eat hot.
