I have been wanting to buy an OTG since cooking and baking became an everyday affair for me. We have an Air Fryer at home but it is too small and not everything can be cooked in it. I expressed my demand to my parents many times but they kept giving me reasons for why we should not buy it. Mother’s concern was the size of the OTG and how would we fit a huge metal box structure in our compact kitchen. Father felt we wouldn’t use an OTG enough. Just when I thought my OTG cooking and baking dreams were shattered, one morning, Papa came to my room, sat beside me and asked, “What do you want for your birthday?” I could not believe my ears because it’s been years since he asked me that. Anyway, I love such surprises and my first thought was an OTG! And that’s what I blurted out. I was taken by surprise when he said, “Okay, then you tell me which one you want and we will order it.” I felt thoroughly elated.
When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)
Well, I want to believe that this is what really happened with my desire to own an OTG too!
As soon as I got a green signal from Papa, I started my research on OTGs. If I have to be very honest, I didn't even know the full form of OTG, how it functions and the differences between an OTG and a microwave oven. I dedicated an entire day on understanding everything about an OTG - read articles, read reviews, watched unboxing videos. I am least of a tech-savvy person and generally do not spend time on researching appliances before buying them. I simply ask other tech-savvy people for recommendations. So, I can say this is probably the first time I spent so much time understanding about the product before investing in it.
Which OTG did I buy?
I am no expert but through my limited research and understanding, I have come to the conclusion that an OTG (Oven Toaster Grill) with the convection function is the best buy. A normal OTG has two metal rods on the top and two on the bottom which heat up to cook the food. However, an OTG with convection has an additional function - a fan and exhaust system that allows the heat to evenly circulate in the oven, resulting in uniform and faster cooking.
Keeping all of this in mind, the model that seemed best was the Borosil Prima 25L Oven Toaster Griller with Convection. It was of the perfect size for our compact kitchen which rendered mother happy. We finalised it and placed an order via Amazon.
22nd September, 2020 - Unboxing our Borosil Prima 25L OTG with Convection
Our Borosil OTG arrived on 22nd September, 2020. I was too excited to unbox it but mummy wanted to first clean the kitchen platform, make space for the oven, shuffle the existing appliances and what not! I cannot really argue because the kitchen is mother’s domain and so I complied with her in order to speed up the process. In the evening, during tea and snacks time, my mother, father, brother and I gathered in the hall to unbox the oven. I did the entire process while my brother recorded it using his phone camera. It was so lightweight and pretty looking!
We got the OTG with a cooking tray, grill rack, handle for cooking tray and grill rack, rotisserie, rotisserie handle, removable crumb tray, a cookbook and of course the product manual. We placed the OTG on our sparkling clean platform and took pictures. Papa also observed that it went well with the aesthetic of our kitchen which has a colour scheme of whites, greys and blacks.
Everyone was really happy with the purchase! I have no patience once I get what I want. So, I had to make something that I had not tried before! We didn’t have refined flour or maida at home that day, so I decided to make something using wheat. I googled wheat cookies and found an interesting recipe that used just very few ingredients to make whole wheat jaggery cookies. It was an absolute delight to make these bite sized healthy cookies.
It was Papa’s demand to make pizzas. Since we had an oven now, I wanted to make it from scratch. Yes, from the dough to the sauce, everything at home! Pizzas, an Italian cuisine are basically a flat bread with tomato sauce, some toppings and cheese! Of course it tastes a certain way due to its ingredients but there are many Indian foods that resemble a pizza. For example, paratha. It’s a stuffed flatbread. Or Uttapam which is again a flat crepe with some toppings. As I write this, I am reminded of a Tamil film called ‘Kakka Muttai’ in which two underprivileged kids wish to eat a pizza from the newly opened pizza store in their locality. Once, they express this wish to their grandmother who uses her creativity to make a pizza on her stove. She uses dosa for the pizza base and adds vegetable toppings. However, the children are not impressed by the looks and after the first bite, they understand that their grandmother does not know how to make a pizza!
How did I make the Pizzas?
The Dough, the Sauce and the Toppings. (8 pizzas)
The Dough
I made the dough one night before making the pizzas. Kneading the dough and watching it rise makes me feel like a kid again!
Ingredients
Refined Flour (maida) - 4 1/2 cups
Lukewarm water - 1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Yeast - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tbsp
Olive oil (or any other oil) - 3 tbsp
Recipe
Take lukewarm water in a bowl, add the sugar to it and completely dissolve it.
After that, add the yeast to the water, give it a good mix and cover it. Allow it to rest for 15-20 mins.
Take the flour in a big bowl and add salt to it. Then, add olive oil (or any other oil) and the yeast slurry that you prepared earlier.
Mix everything with a spoon and once it starts to come together, take it out on a dusted platform.
Knead the dough with your hand for a good 10 mins. Keep dusting some flour to avoid stickiness.
Form a round smooth ball of dough and keep it in a clean bowl greased with some oil.
Apply some oil on the dough too.
Cover the bowl with a plate or cling film or a cloth and let it rest for some time.
How long should you allow the dough to rise?
If you are making pizzas instantly: Let it rise for 1-1.5 hours.
If you are going to make it the next day: Let it rise for sometime under room temperature and then place it in the fridge overnight.
If you have a lot of time: Let it rise for 24 hours.
In my case, I allowed it to rise for 14 hours.
The Sauce
Sauce is extremely simple to make and trust me, it produces a better flavour than the store bought ones.
Ingredients
Tomatoes - 12 (small)
Oil - 3-4 tbsp
Garlic - 18-20 cloves (small)
Onion - 1
Oregano - 1 tsp
Red Chili Flakes - 2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Tomato Ketchup - 5-6 tbsp
Recipe
Cut tomatoes in halves, roughly chop the onions.
Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic cloves and chopped onion.
Add the dried herbs - oregano, chilli flakes and anything else you have. Sauté it until the onions are slightly cooked.
Then, add the cut tomatoes, salt and toss them properly. Cover the lid and allow the tomatoes to cook for 15-20 minutes.
Once the tomatoes are soft and mushy, press them with a wooden spoon or a vegetable masher.
Add red chilli powder and mix everything well.
Put the tomato ketchup and mix.
Take the pan off the heat and allow it to cool down.
Lastly, blend the mixture for a few seconds to get a coarse tomato pizza sauce!
The Toppings
Honestly, here you can be extremely creative. I would suggest using anything that you can get hold of. So we made two combinations.
1st combo
Spinach, Garlic, Mushroom, Cheese
2nd combo
Red Capsicum, Yellow Capsicum, Green Capsicum, Onions, Corn, Cheese
I have to admit. It is a LOT of work. I miscalculated the time in my head, started the preparation late and everything was a mess. So people, if you are planning to make pizzas and have a small OTG like me in which you can make only one medium size pizza at a time, start preparing at least 4 hours before lunch time! Have a side dish to go along with it so that people are not sitting hungry when you are making the pizzas. Even though I did not mind eating and cooking for hours, not everyone likes that. My dad was unhappy with my planning but oh well, I’ll be careful next time, okay?
Let's make the Pizzas now, shall we?
Preparing the dough
Firstly, if you have kept the dough in the fridge, take it out and let it come to the room temperature before you start working with it.
Once that is done, take the dough out on a dusted platform and knead it again to smoothen the texture.
Then cut it into 8 pieces (if you are planning to make medium size pizzas) and roll them into balls.
Cover them with a piece of cloth and let them rise for another 45 mins to 1 hour.
Rolling the dough
You can roll it using the traditional method of stretching and flattening it with your fingers like I did or you can use a rolling pin. Both methods work well.
Assembling the pizza
Preheat the oven on max temperature for 5-10 mins.
Sprinkle some semolina on an upside down cooking tray. (Upside down helps in easy transfer and removal.)
Place your flattened base on the tray. Stretch it a little more if you want to.
Spread some tomato sauce on the base.
Add your toppings evenly and grate cheese all over it. You can even spread small pieces of the cheese instead of grating it.
Place it in the middle rack of the oven at 180°C for 30 mins. (Lower + Upper Heating with Convection mode.)
Spinach, mushroom, garlic cheese pizza.
When I saw my first ever pizza, it got me so excited! I couldn’t believe I had made a pizza from scratch! All the varieties were lip smacking tasty.
Left: Red, yellow, green capsicum, corn, mushroom, onion, cheese pizza. Right: Plain cheese pizza.
How much did it cost to make 8 medium sized pizzas from scratch?
The Dough
Refined flour (maida) - ₹45
Yeast - ₹5
The Sauce
Tomatoes - ₹60
Condiments - ₹20
The Toppings
Onions - ₹10
Yellow and Red Capsicum - ₹80
Green Capsicum - ₹15
Mushroom - ₹50
Corn - ₹5
Spinach - ₹5
Garlic - ₹5
Electricity
4.5 hours
Total - ₹600 for 8 medium sized pizzas (except electricity's cost, shall find that out when we get the bill)
600 Rupees is extremely cheap compared to the fast food chains and restaurant prices. The only extras required are time, patience and passion. I wish everyone tries making pizzas at home, it's a lovely and fulfilling experience.
Vaibhavi
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