Roshi’s Online Store

As the first order of business for this post, I would like to announce the opening of the Roshi’s Online Store.  As our very first product, we will be selling incense sticks (known as agarbathies in India) which I brought back from India this summer.  The incense sticks are hand made by the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India.  The Aurobindo Ashram is well known for its support of cottage industries (industries made by hand, in a home and not a factory), like production of incense sticks, textiles, artwork, etc.  I brought back a bunch of these incense sticks for myself because they smelled so wonderful and they are made with all natural ingredients. For more information on the incense, you can visit the Auroshikha website.  Then head over to our store to pick up a batch.

Chaat it up Pizza

So I actually started this recipe with something completely different in mind, which ended up not working out like I wanted it too (I would of had to use a dehydrator to get it just right, and you all know how Ro and I dislike waiting for food).  After playing around with what I had made, I thought I would go for more of a fusion feel on this one.  The idea of pizza popped into my head, and so the chaat it up pizza was born.  I actually wasn’t sure if it would taste good until I took a bite, and wow! what a bite. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with chaat (literally meaning to lick or to taste), this should be a good introduction.  Chaat is style of Indian snack food, mostly found in the north of India, and consists of all of my favorite Indian dishes.  Chaat usually consists of a variety of cracker like snacks, topped yogurt, tamarind chutney, yogurt, and basically every spice known to man.  The result is an explosion of flavors you probably didn’t know was possible and a stomach that will likely be angry with you for submitting it to such a concoction.  Luckily, this dish should give you all of those wonderful flavors without the resulting gas problems.  Hope you all enjoy it!

Ingredients

Crust:
* You’re favorite raw cracker/bread (should be hardy enough to hold all of toppings - I use Wheat-Free crusts from Mauk Family Farm’s)

1st layer:
* 3 handfuls cashew
* 2 medium tomatoes

2nd layer:
* 2 carrots
* 2 zucchini
* 4 sticks broccoli
* 1 medium tomato 
* 1 teaspoon coriander powder
* 1 teaspoon cumin powder
* 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
* 1 1/2 tablespoon Nama Shoyu/Braggs Liquid Aminos/Soy Sauce
* 2 handfuls walnut pieces

3rd layer:
* sliced tomato
* chaat masala (I prefer MDH’s Chunky Chaat Masala - available at your local Indian grocery store)

Directions

1st layer:
In a food processor, put all of your cashews and just 1/2 of a tomato.  Keep adding more tomato until the juices from the tomato makes the mixture mildly smooth and sauce like.  If you have any tomato leftover, you can use it for the 2nd layer. That’s it for step 1.

2nd layer:
Grate carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and tomato into a large mixing bowl.  Then add coriander, cumin, turmeric, Nama Shoyu, and walnuts pieces.  Let the mixture sit for a bit so all the juices have time to mix together.

Assembly:
Take one slice of crust, and spread tomato-cashew mixture on top as the 1st layer.  Then, top with the vegetable mixture for layer 2.  Place thinly sliced tomatoes on top of the vegetable mixture, and, finally, dust the top of the pizza with chaat masala.  Chaat masala has a very strong taste, so first add a little to see how much you’d like to add.  I personally love spiced up food so I like to add a bit more than a dusting, but it’s up to you.  After that, all you gotta do is take a bite and enjoy it!

–Rishi