Best Pizza Sauce
Description
A rich, slightly spicy homemade pizza sauce made with fresh tomatoes, dried red chilies, and carom seeds. Cooking the tomatoes down concentrates their flavor, while the spices give the sauce a warm, savory depth that works especially well on homemade pizza.
Ingredients
- 8 medium ripe tomatoes, quartered
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ajmo/carom seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Directions
- Place the quartered tomatoes and dried red chilies in a wide pan.
- Cover and cook over medium heat for about 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are completely soft and have released their juices.
- Let the tomato mixture cool slightly.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour the tomato purée back into the pan.
- Add the ajmo, red chili powder, salt, and black pepper and mix well.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle boil over medium heat.
- Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens but is still slightly runny and easy to spread.
- After about 3–4 minutes of boiling, the sauce may begin to splatter. Partially cover the pan if needed while continuing to cook.
- If using fresh basil, oregano, or dried basil, add them when the sauce is almost finished cooking.
- Once the sauce reaches the desired consistency, add the olive oil and jaggery powder or sugar.
- Mix well and turn off the heat.
- Let the sauce cool before using it on pizza.