The Italian’s have a saying: ‘Fritto é buono tutto, anche l’aria’. It roughly translates to ‘Everything is good when it’s fried, even the air.” So, it’s no wonder that every post-war, blue-collar eatery in Naples has one dish that never vanishes from the menu: pizza fritte or deep-fried pizza.
However, Olive Downtown’s executive chef Shyju N C didn’t discover this dish in Europe, he found inspiration while cooking in Africa! “I was working at an eco-friendly resort in Gabon when I first came across curry buns. A decade later, I applied the same principles while experimenting with pizza—taking two dough discs with filling in between and frying it. That’s when I stumbled upon my version of the pizza fritte,” claims Shyju, who has worked everywhere from Portugal to Kumarakom during his 19-year-long career.
Ingredients:
Pizza dough - 2 pieces (each 60 gm) | Butter - 10 gm | Chicken - 100 gm | Bell pepper - 50 gm | Onion - 1 no | Garlic - 20 gm | BBQ sauce - 2 tbs | Tomato sauce - 2 tbs | Mozzarella cheese - 100 gm | Salt - to taste
Method:
• Sauté garlic, onion, and bell pepper in butter. Then add chicken into the pan.
• Once the chicken is fully cooked, add BBQ sauce and salt to taste.
• Sheet both pizza doughs bases into round shapes and spread tomato sauce atop one of them.
• Spread the chicken mixture on the aforementioned sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly.
• Cover the topside with other pizza dough sheet and deep fry.
• Serve garnished with crushed chilly flakes and chopped parsley.
Tip:
Slicing through the crust in the right manner is a task though. But no matter how you slice it, this pizza fritte is outstanding.
anoop.p@newindianexpress.com
@godsonlymistake