Spiced Sloppy Joe Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust/ Indian Style Keema (Ground Meat) Pizza

This last weekend we had some unusually awesome weather here at Cleveland. The sunlight and warm temperatures was mood-lifting and I wanted to make something special to celebrate. While I was busy in the kitchen, Dada and Mia were busy washing the cars and having fun running around with the hose, splashing water all over. It was supposed to be one of the final few warm weekends this year so we all really made use of this delightful weather.

I had been craving for a good homemade pizza for some time and thought of making a 'fusion' pizza, merging Italian and Indian ingredients to create a deliciously spiced homemade meat sauce. The meat sauce along with some green peppers, onions and a generous amount of gooey melty cheese was enough to uplift the weekend mood for the 3 of us :) 

There is no such thing as the perfect type of pizza in my dictionary as I like Pizza in any form – Be it Chicago style or New York style, deep dish or pan, Thick or Thin crust, whole wheat or white flour, veggie or meat…I love it all!! 
  
2 Clean cars, chilled beer and some great Pizza made the day a perfect one :)

Yeilds - 1 Extra Large Pizza

Ingredients
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust Ingredients 
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tsp - Salt
1 Tsp sugar
2 tablespoons oil (I used canola)
3 cups - Whole wheat flour

Meat sauce Ingredients 
1 1/4 lb – Ground Beef (You can substitute it with any meat)
2 – Tomato, diced
1/2 Cup – Tomato Ketchup
1 Tsp – Ground Black Pepper
1 Tsp - Wostershire sauce
1/2 Tsp – Garam Masala
1/2 Tsp – Corriander powder
1/4 Tsp – Cumin powder
Salt

Toppings 
2 Cups – Gren bell pepper, sliced
1 Cup – Onions, sliced
3 Cups –Cheese, grated (I used Mozzarella and Cheddar)
1 Tsp – Dry Oregano (optional)

Directions for Whole wheat pizza dough

• Dissolve the yeast in 1 1/4 cups of warm water (105- 110 F). Add sugar and set it aside for 5 minutes or until slightly frothy
• Take a large bowl and add the salt, oil, and flour and give it a stir.
• Add yeast-water mixture and the flour and knead and form a dough. If you have a food processor or stand mixer with dough hook, use it to knead the dough. It is much faster and less messy.  The dough should be slightly sticky.
• Place the dough for proofing in an oiled bowl. Smear some oil on the dough before proofing and cover the bowl with a wet towel to prevent the dough from drying out
• Keep it in a warm place and let it rise to double its size.
• Punch down the dough, roll/ stretch it into a circle and set it on a pizza pan

Directions for the meat sauce

• Take a heavy bottomed non-stick sauté pan and add the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and garlic and sauté until the meat is browned.
• Add the diced tomatoes into a blender and puree the tomatoes
• Add the fresh tomato puree, tomato ketchup, garam masala, coriander, cumin and salt to the meat and cook for 5 minutes
• Take dish off the heat 

Assembling the pizza

• Preheat the oven at 400F
• Take the pizza pan with the dough and slather the meat sauce on it.
• Add the green bell peppers and onions
• Sprinkle cheese and bake for 20 minute at 400F
• Sprinkle the oregano on top and serve warm 

Notes and Tips

• Before touching the dough with your hands make sure to oil them. It is so much easier to work with the dough when your hands are oiled
• Make sure the proofing bowl is big enough to hold the dough which might double in size.If you use a small bowl for proofing the dough might rise and overflow or stick to the wet towel which is very messy