Indian Pizza

While visiting San Francisco last month I had a few slices of Indian Pizza. It was amazing.

I am a first time poster, hoping LTH can help me find me some Indian Pizza in Chicago...


Here is some history from SFWeekly:

This delicacy was born right here in San Francisco when an old neighborhood pizzeria was purchased by Indians, who started selling Indian food in the place while still offering pizzas. Continued suggestions by the clientele to combine the two resulted in the creation of Indian pizza -- a classic crisp, thin crust layered with spinach as well as sauce, mozzarella, and the toppings of your choice, such as tandoori chicken, lamb, cauliflower, eggplant, and prawns. Sold by the slice and the whole pie, the offerings usually include a vegetarian version spiced with hot pepper, green onions, cilantro, and garlic, a delicious and invigorating combination. One of the cheapest and best snacks ever.

its a great idea and one ive had myself. im suprised there isnt more of these places around... sad to say i cant think of one here; there maybe one on devon tucked away somewhere

Sounds a bit like Larsa's, except that Larsa's is Assyirian, not Indian. But started as a pizzeria.

California Pizza Kitchen always has this one available, "Grilled Tandoori chicken, mango, mild onions, red peppers and Mozzarella cheese on a SPICY golden curry sauce. Topped with fresh cilantro and a sweet mango-chili sauce." Unfortunately, can't think of anything else in the way of Indian pizza around here.

I have been watching the "Pleasantly Surprised in Lombard" thread develop by seebee over the last year and thought that this last weekends post was finally going to be when the pizza was sampled at Desi Grill and Pizza!!

Alas, it was a Viceroy outing

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=17196

In the words of Barney Stinson...

"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED"

Sometimes I just need a good nudge. Next time, I swear I'm gonna do it.

This delicacy was born right here in San Francisco when an old neighborhood pizzeria was purchased by Indians, who started selling Indian food in the place while still offering pizzas.

I doubt it was born in SF. I ate Indian style pizza in Toronto (Mississauga actually) in a joint that catered to the local Indian community 15 years ago. And I was in Amritsar last month & ate this type of veggie pizza

the offerings usually include a vegetarian version spiced with hot pepper, green onions, cilantro, and garlic, a delicious and invigorating combination.

Actually I also ordered it with mushrooms & no cilantro, & they had a bunch of other local veg they would add as requested at a restaurant there. My cousin ordered a version made with spicy chicken sausage (much more flavorful with chilis & cilantro in it & less greasy that the Italian sausage used here). Both were better than a lot of the pizza I've eaten in the US, & made with very good quality mozzarella. We saw similar offerings in Delhi & Chandigarh, its pretty widespread (as is, unfortunately, Domino's, pretty awful pan-style individual pizzas that had been delivered & we were offered one day). Indians have co-opted Italian food as they did Chinese years ago (gobi manchurian, anyone?).

Athena wrote:

This delicacy was born right here in San Francisco when an old neighborhood pizzeria was purchased by Indians, who started selling Indian food in the place while still offering pizzas.

I doubt it was born in SF. I ate Indian style pizza in Toronto (Mississauga actually) in a joint that catered to the local Indian community 15 years ago. And I was in Amritsar last month & ate this type of veggie pizza
.....
cousin ordered a version made with spicy chicken sausage (much more flavorful with chilis & cilantro in it & less greasy that the Italian sausage used here). Both were better than a lot of the pizza I've eaten in the US, & made with very good quality mozzarella. We saw similar offerings in Delhi & Chandigarh, its pretty widespread (as is, unfortunately, Domino's, pretty awful pan-style individual pizzas that had been delivered & we were offered one day). Indians have co-opted Italian food as they did Chinese years ago (gobi manchurian, anyone?).

I agree, definitely not created in SF - Indian pizza has been around in India for a long time, and toppings like "tandoori chicken" or "chicken tikka" have been around for ages (I remember having them a good 15-odd years ago as well).

OTOH, I'll disagree with you about how good it is.. thats a matter of taste I suppose I dont care for too many veggies on my pizza at the best of times, so the Indian-veggie-pizzas (which are probably the most popular versions) have always left me cold.

Usually the quality of the crust and the cheese was also lacking, IMHO, though that is changing now - I havent been recently, but I'll readily believe your statement that the mozz quality is pretty good now (it was terrible 15 years ago, had improved significantly even 10 years ago). The basics of pizza have improved greatly now (as have the basics of Italian food in general) in India - its pretty decent now (but still, IMHO, not nearly comparable to Italian food in places like Chicago). The history of Indian-Chinese is much longer than Indian-Italian... and IMHO at least good Indian-Chinese is really very very good (though, unfortunately, I dont think there is any really good Indian-Chinese available in Chicago... Toronto, OTOH, has a few quite excellent ones).

I havent had the "chicken sausage" pizza you mention above - maybe that would work. I have however tried the chicken-tikka and tandoori-chicken pizzas many many times... I like chicken-tikka and tandoori-chicken a lot by themselves, but IMHO in an oven chicken just gets too dried out, Ive never really had a chicken pizza Ive liked even in the US (but, as I said, I havent tried chicken-sausage pizza). Italian sausage may be greasier, but IMHO it makes for a much better pizza simply because it doesnt dry out quite as easy (maybe this would be the case with goat too... I love goat, one of my favourite meats, but it signally fails to work on a grill in the form of goat-burgers, to me - its meant for things like kadai-gosh's and birria's IMHO).

BTW, Ive always heard that the *most popular* pizza in most Indian metros is actually Domino's! Far from the best, of course, but there it is.

As for finding Indian-pizza in Chicago... Ive never really looked But I can suggest a few places that would be likely to carry it...Devon has an "Italian Express" that has halal-meat, on the Pakistani side of Devon, south-side of the street (somewhere between Tahoora and Usmaniya-Chinese IIRC). That would be halal-Italian, more Pakistani-Italian maybe, but Id guess you might find some tandoori-chicken-style toppings on a pizza there. I dont have an exact address, but it should be pretty easy to find if you walk down that section of the street (ie east of Western, going further east)... you'll pass Tahoora, the Halal-Fried-Chicken-from-Brown's, this Halal-Italian-Express, and if you hit the Halal-Usmaniya-Chinese youve gone too far

Another option might well be Chowpatty in Arlington Heights - a purely vegetarian primarily-Indian restaurant with a massive menu, including Indian chaat, varied snacks, and some Mexican and Italian offerings. I know they offer pizza, and are probably likely to offer Indian-vegetarian-toppings on pizzas. (Their chaat is decent to good, but significantly overpriced - what I like best on their menu is actually their kulfi).

Note, however, that while both these above spots will have Indian/Pakistani style pizza, I havent actually eaten it at either place and offer no guarantee (money-back or otherwise) as to the quality of their pizza (or lack thereof). As a true-blue-native-born-Indian and Indian-food-lover, my pizza of choice remains Lou Malnati's

c8w

Never tried it but was curious enough to walk in to see what was on the menu


Calcutta/Kolkata (Dec '07) all pics clickable for larger images

Athena wrote:Indians have co-opted Italian food as they did Chinese years ago (gobi manchurian, anyone?).

Indian pizzas along with other interesing bakery items (both savory and sweet) are available at Hot Breads 1065 Golf road Hoffman Estates. This a franchise operation with outposts in VA and Texas and is evidently based on a chain out of Chennai. In addition to pizzas (chicken tikka and paneer seem to be the most popular but several other types may be available) they offer a selection of curry buns similar to those offered in Chinese bakeries. Filled with both veg and non vegetarian dosa like fillings, many also available as flaky turnovers. They also offer a pretty good selection of chaat (though I mostly prefer the versions at Milan Chat in the neighboring mall). While the buns can be pretty good if you get them fresh from the oven, I find the bread to "stuff" ratio in some of these offerings to be too high for an all out endorsement.

My favorite item here is the Chicken Tikka wrap which is outstanding.When I first had this, I actually ordered the chicken tikka panini but after taking my order one of the gentleman behind the counter( recognizing me from prior visits I think), came around and asked "excuse me sir, but perhaps you would prefer to go with the chicken tikka wrap? It is superior." I figured he should know, so I changed my order, and man, am I happy I did. The wrap is a kind of chicken tikka burrito, bulging with boneless dayglo red medium spicy chicken and purple cabbage and has become a favorite of mine. Keema puffs and curry chicken croisants are also pretty good.

They have a good selection of "indianized" western cakes and pasteries (including elaborately decorated cakes for special occasions) which are quite nice, being on the whole lighter and a bit less sweet than traditional versions.

They also sell western style bread and rolls which in fact may be hot if your timing is right. They do a brisk business at night with much of the food being eaten in house at small tables with hot tea. Kind of an Indian Lutz's in overall feeling. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area (lots of other good places to try very close by). Really no other place like it in the area. Another example of why I think the northwest suburbs are fast surpassing Devon as the best option for Indian food in Chicagoland.

Hot Breads
1065 Golf Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60169
847-882-8883

We used to get tandoori pizza from a place on Devon, called Indian...Indian...Indian something. Then they closed up and moved to some suburb. Might have been Hoffman Estates, or Skokie, or Aurora. I can't remember.

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I lived in India for 3 years, about 10 years ago. I used to eat at domino's about once a week, the pizza was different - not really good, frankly, but different. the big thing was no pork or beef, so it was lamb and chicken and veggies. also, the norm was pretty spicy.

there was pretty good pizza available in mumbai, but that was italian style, cooked by italians.



unrelated - indian style chinese is what I really like, that is special food, spicy, with very different tastes from indian or chinese.

It seems that there's been some growth in the Indian Pizza market, at least out there in the NW suburbs. There were 5 places reasonably close by, at last count:

IB La Pizza (Palatine)
Grubhub: Pizza Ready (Rolling Meadows)
Facebook: Sam's Grill and Pizza (Bartlett)
Yelp: Mama Maria Pizza and More (Schaumburg)
Grubhub: New York Famous Pizza & Falafel Grill

So far, I've had the Chicken Tandoori pizza at IB La Pizza and New York Famous Pizza & Falafel Grill (or "NYFP&FG"). While both pizzas were tasty, not particularly anything I'd rush back for. Both times I was looking for more distinct flavor in every bite, instead of pockets of spice here and there. Of course, that's just my uninformed take based on 2 tries.

It is exciting to see the other menu items, though, and how Indian food continues to merge with other things. This picture kinda says it all:
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sams-grill-and-pizza-bartlett?select=IiVaN8qdzWyGqhZ-G2RAxA

seebee wrote:In the words of Barney Stinson...

"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED"

Sometimes I just need a good nudge. Next time, I swear I'm gonna do it.

haha, you said it!