Curried Peppers and Paneer Pizza

Sweet bell peppers, onions and tomatoes cooked together with spices are a classic Indian vegetable dish and when cooked in the Instant Pot, they melt into each other. Once you stir in the paneer at the end, you have a perfect late-summer ratatouilleish side dish, but I like to take this recipe a step further and make the veggies the base for an Indian pizza.

Cuisine

Indian

Course

Lunch, Main Course

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

1-2 hours

Diet

Vegetarian

Cooking Technique

Pressure Cook, Sauté

Keywords

1-2 hours, 6 servings, baking sheet or pizza stone, Chandra Ram, chopped cilantro leaves, contributed, cook 35 min, crushed red pepper flakes, easy, garlic, ghee or vegetable oil, green thai chile, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground turmeric, indian, kosher salt, lunch, main course, onion, paneer and/or fresh mozzarella, prep 15 min, pressure cook, red bell pepper, sauté, store-bought pizza dough, tomatoes, vegetarian

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

35 min

Servings

6 servings

Ingredients

Baking sheet or pizza stone
3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1 onion
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp garlic
1 green thai chile
3 red bell pepper
2 large tomatoes
1 lbs store-bought pizza dough
8 ounces paneer and/or fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 450°F.
Using the Sauté function on High, heat the ghee in the inner pot for about 1 minute, until shimmering. Add the onion and salt; cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and garlic; cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
Stir in the peppers and tomatoes. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
Once the cooking is complete, quick-release the pressure. Remove the lid and using the Sauté function on Low, simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes, until thickened slightly.
Transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor; pulse until the sauce is somewhat smooth but still slightly chunky.
Divide the pizza dough in half. Roll each half until flat and about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Spread a thin layer of the sauce onto each crust, up to about 1 inch from the edges. Top with paneer and/or mozzarella slices. Transfer 1 pizza (with the parchment paper) to the preheated baking sheet or pizza stone in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the crust is brown. Remove the pizza from the oven. Repeat with second pizza.
Top both pizzas with cilantro leaves and crushed red pepper flakes (if using) then cut into pieces and serve.

Notes