recipe: chicken tikka masala pizza

i love love the chicken tikka masala recipe from allrecipes.com - it is AMAZING (esp with homemade garlic grilled naan... aaah). i'm surprised i haven't posted it on here yet, but better late than never. the recipe is great as-is without tweaks (aside from cutting back on the salt), so it's posted just about verbatim.

since i'm still waning off of my DIY pizza kick, i was inspired to make a tikka masala pizza. the chicken recipe is HOT, so having the dough/cheese to mellow it out seems like a match that was just made in heaven.

ingredients list: (note: i halved the amount of chicken / chicken marinade, but kept the amount of sauce the same as the original recipe. if you were making this as a dish and NOT a pizza, more chicken & marinade would be needed)

- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/3 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream

- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 1-1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 cups mozz cheese
- pinch salt
- olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

to make:
marinade: in a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black papper, ginger, and 1 tsp salt. stir in chicken, and marinate for a least one hour (i let it sit overnight).

sauce/chicken: preheat grill for high heat. thread chicken onto skewers, then lighly oil the grill grate. grill chicken about 5 minutes per side, until fully cooked through.

melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. saute garlic & jalapeno for 1 minute. season with 2 tsp cumin, paprika, and 1 tsp salt. stir in tomato sauce and cream. simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. add chicken, and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

pizza: while sauce is simmering, mix 1 tbsp olive oil, pinch salt, and garlic powder in a small bowl and set aside. heat grill to medium heat. preheat oven (with pizza stone in oven also) to 450 degrees.

roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the stone. spread the finished tikka masala sauce, chicken, mozz cheese, onion & mushroom over the dough. bake in preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes.

you can fully cook the pizza in the oven for a total of 14-16 minutes, or if you want to grill it, carefully transfer it to the preheated grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust starts to get a nice char to it. brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture within the last few minutes of cooking, then garnish with the fresh cilantro. allow to cool at least 5 minutes before eating. YUM!