A pizza for all occasions

Pizzas have morphed over the years, but the pepperoni continues to rule.

Whenever I have a pepperoni pizza, I am reminded of author R.K. Narayan. There is a wonderful little anecdote about Narayan in Rukmini Srinivas’s engaging book Tiffin. Narayan, who often visited Rukmini and her husband, the sociologist M.N. Srinivas, in the U.S., told her once that he’d eaten some pork pizza, thinking the topping consisted of sliced cherry tomatoes. A vegetarian, he later asked her to give him a bowl of curd rice as a “cleansing” food, Srinivas writes.

I, on the other hand, am so fond of pepperoni pizzas that I am unlikely to ask for curd — or anything else — to counter the taste of the pork. While taking a bite out of a juicy pepperoni pizza a few days ago, I recalled the legendary writer, but also wondered what made this pizza so special. I concluded that it was perhaps the somewhat tart bite and juicy texture of pepperoni.

Pizzas have morphed over the years, but the pepperoni continues to rule. A new pizza delivery outfit called Slyce offers delicious pepperoni pizza, prepared with imported pork and a San Marzano (a plum tomato variety) sauce. For those who like their pizzas hot, there is even a spicy version with jalapenos and green chillies.

It’s difficult to imagine that there was a time when a pizza in Delhi usually meant a topping of sausages, capsicum and onions. We were introduced to this by Nirulas, and our generation simply loved it. The varieties started changing with time: paneer became the must-have for vegetarians, and later chefs began experimenting with corn and pineapple, or even butter chicken, as toppings.

Now, chefs have pushed the envelope further. Diggin, the popular restaurant chain, has pizzas with truffle oil and mushrooms or country sausages. At the Nomad pizza — Traveller Series, you can have pizzas with eggplant or pesto potatoes.

Slyce, which has outlets across Delhi NCR, has upped the ante further. It has, for instance, a pizza called Italian Mob, which comprises Spanish chorizo, bacon, sausages and pork pepperoni. Art pizza has a topping of artichokes, onion, sautéed spinach, baby tomatoes, olives, roasted garlic and feta cheese. The Quattro Pollo pizza has four kinds of chicken preparations — barbecued chicken, peri peri chicken, chicken chorizo and butter-poached chicken. I, however, found this a bit too chewy.

The one I enjoyed the most was its Avocado Green Out pizza, topped with pieces of avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, jalapenos, olives and Parmesan. The avocado was soft and sweet, the tomatoes deliciously tart, and the jalapenos and olives gave it the twist it needed.