Go ahead and add extra cheese or your favorite combo of veggies and treat your family & friends at the next afternoon tea party with these ragi pizza bites. It’s a simple and easy appetizer to prepare that will delight all pizza lovers. You can prepare these right on the stove without needing to use an oven.

MAKES: 16 pizza bites

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PIZZA BASE

• 110gm or 3/4th cup Ragi flour

• 40gm or 1/4th cup whole wheat flour

• 250ml or 1 cup water

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp brown sugar

• 1/8 tsp chilli flakes

• 1/8 tsp oregano

• 1/4 tsp of baking powder

• 3 tsp olive oil

FOR THE PIZZA SAUCE

• 3-4 tomatoes

• 1 onion

• 1/2 red bell pepper

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp brown sugar

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 tsp olive oil

• 1/4 tsp chili flakes

• pinch of black pepper powder

FOR THE TOPPINGS

• 2 tbsp finely chopped tricolour bell peppers

• 2 tbsp finely chopped onion

• 2 tbsp finely chopped pickled jalapenos

• 2 tbsp sliced olives

• 2 tsp oregano or Italian herbs

• pinch of chilli flakes

• 3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Method

FOR THE BASE

1. Sieve ragi flour, wheat flour, sugar, salt, oregano, chilli flakes and baking powder together (with a thick sieve).

2. Boil 250 ml or 1 cup water. Add the flour mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon. Then add 3 tsp olive oil and mix till it is like a soft dough. Take the hot dough mixture onto a plate and leave for 5 minutes. Use oiled hands to make the dough smooth.

3. Divide into 16 balls and roll each into mini circles with a rolling pin. Alternately, you can roll the dough into a big thick tortilla and cut the bites with a round cutter. Prick each round bite with a fork.

4. Heat a flat griddle or a non-stick pan. Cook all the bite-sized pizza base on both sides on low flame just like we cook a tortilla. It gets cooked faster by flipping it multiple times. Remove once it is a little crisp.

5. Let it cool for sometime.

FOR THE PIZZA SAUCE

1. In boiling water, add tomatoes. Blanch them till you see the skin of the tomatoes cracking. Remove from water and let it cool off. Next, peel off the skin and chop finely.

2. In a pan, heat oil and add finely chopped onions and bell peppers. Cook for a minute and add in peeled and chopped tomatoes. Cook till the sauce begins to thicken.

3. Add salt, sugar, black pepper powder, oregano and chili flakes.

4. Let it cool.

TO PREPARE THE PIZZZA BITES

1. On each pre-cooked pizza base, spread some pizza sauce and sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese. On top of the cheese, sprinkle your finely chopped toppings one by one on each pizza bite and then sprinkle some more mozzarella cheese on top. Finally, sprinkle oregano herbs and chili flakes on top.

2. On a flat griddle, put 4-6 of these assembled pizza bites and cook it covered with a glass lid to create steam on a low flame.

3. Cook till the cheese melts and the veggies become softer. Repeat with the other bites.

4. Serve hot as an appetizer or an afternoon snack.

Helpful Tips

• You might need a little more water to make the dough depending on the coarseness of your flour.

• By sprinkling some cheese before you add the veggies to your pizza, your pizza base will remain crisp as the cheese will create a protective layer - otherwise the moisture from the veggies will make your pizza base soft.