One dish to unite all from Italy to India

It’s probably only in India that diners get an option of choosing ‘hand-tossed’ pizza bases among other kinds — authentic pizza makers from Italy probably follow no other way than to pound, toss, flip and twirl the dough.

Here’s a man who thought that if he’s anyway spending his time in a pizzeria making bases by hand, he might as well have some fun with it. After months of practice, Chef Pasqualino Barbasso finally got the hang of pizza-making in the most dramatic manner, filled with acrobatics and tricks. In the city for the first time, he catches up with DTNext about mixing fun into his profession.

Speaking about his introduction to pizza-making, the 45-year-old pizzaiolo says, “I was born into a family that likes pizza more than anything in the world — we run a restaurant called Il Falco Azzuro, in the Sicilian province of Agrigento.” 

Since pizza plays such an important role in his life, to the extent where he says, “I have pizza and flour in my blood,” he decided to learn it formally.

Barbasso began training with his family’s restaurant but underwent formal training only at a later stage, because, as he puts it, “The profession of making high-quality Italian pizza is something that one cannot learn only in an empirical way.”

Towards the end of the ‘90s, he began practising the art of acrobatic pizza-making and it took him not less than a year — after rehearsing every single day — until he was able to spin, swirl and fling pizza dough perfectly without it landing on the floor! This won him Sicily’s Acrobatic Pizza Championship in 1998 and by 2001, he was World Champion. 

“Pizza-making is a form of art so the most important factor for me is not entertaining the audience with my acrobatics, but to make an amazing pizza. Then, I shock them with my show,” smiles the chef.

When asked what he would regard as a ‘well-made pizza’, he replies, “Pizza dough must be fermented for a long time, so before I begin a meal, I always ask the staff how they made it. 

If you were to visit a restaurant, the indicators you should look for are that the dish is well-done but not burned and should contain the best ingredient as the topping. I certainly always check for freshness and quality.”

Finally, one topping he feels that just should not be on a pizza? He sums it all up by saying, “I hate ketchup.”

Kasimedu is known for two things — the harbour and fish market. A roadside stall run by two women is the next most popular sight, where they sell freshly made atlappams. These are fluffy rice cakes made in the ‘dum’ style of cooking and are also known as vattayappam in Kerala or watalappam in Sri Lanka. In the fishermen’s locality in North Chennai, this sweet delicacy is known as ‘Chennai pizza’ because of its round shape and fluffy, soft texture. A dough containing rice flour, rava and sugar is prepared and then poured into deep plates greased with oil. A beaten egg is poured over the dough, which is then topped with dried coconut scrapings, cashewnuts and raisins. A charcoal stove is fired up and an earthen pot is placed over it. The plate with the batter and eggs is lowered inside this earthen pot, on top of which another pot is kept. The atlappam takes about 10 minutes to cook and costs Rs 40 (one egg) or Rs 70 if two eggs are used. The stall is open from 6 am to 6 pm.

The image of a heart-shaped pizza has been making rounds online in celebration of National Pizza Day. Making a spoof of the book and movie The Fault in Our Stars, the picture had two thought bubbles — one black and the other white with ‘Pizza? Pizza.’ written inside. Niveditha Sreenivasan, who is a marketing professional based in the city, posted it on her social media profile making it quite clear that #pizzaisbae. “Our stars may have a fault but pizza doesn’t. I’d accept it as a replacement for a boyfriend any day,” she joked. She added, “I remember even eating a heart-shaped pizza a couple of years ago. It was made by a popular pizza chain and when I asked them if it was for Valentine’s Day, they replied, ‘No, it’s for National Pizza Day’!”

If you were on the go and were suddenly craving pizza, the only option until now to get your hands on one in under 15 minutes was to go to a bakery and eat the tiny excuse of a pizza. However, the residents of Anna Nagar were thrilled when a food truck drove into their locality and put up a sign that suggested that they make fresh and piping hot woodfire pizzas in front of a customer’s eyes! Bon Pizzas, as it is called, is run by Maheshwaran and Sunil Kumar and is open from 6 to 10 pm in ICF Colony. They serve thin crust, woodfire pizzas, which are priced at Rs 120 and upwards.

Maggewala was started to satiate the ‘curly cravings’ Chennaiites had for this favourite childhood snack. They’ve taken it a step further by clubbing two popular dishes — the yummy noodles and pizza! Would you be adventurous enough to try it?

Who knew that zucchini could turn pizza base? Slices of the vegetable topped with pizza sauce, cheese, olives and jalapeno baked to perfection make for a delicious short eat that are served at House #22 in Guindy. It is served with a dip and garlic bread on the side.

Thin crust pizza takes a desi avatar at Tosai, where over 99 different kinds of dosas are served. One of the specialties and fastest moving items is the pizza dosa that is crunchy and loaded with gooey cheese and a topping of sweet corn, peas tomatoes and bell pepper. Did you know, music composer D Imman is a frequent diner here?

Taj Coromandel is taking ‘unconventional’ to a whole new level by introducing a pizza with activated charcoal in the base. A humble eatery in Besant Nagar, Superstar Café, has also presented ‘black’ pizzas that are aptly called Karikaalan as a tribute to Rajinikanth in the movie Kaala.