Let’s get some pizza in Bangalore!

It might not look like much, but the pizza does come with an interesting heritage and no, it wasn’t created to be junk food to feed hungry teenagers. There is no record of how the pizza came to be but it’s been reported that around 997, the term had been used in Medieval Latin.

Plus, it was something sold on the streets, to feed the poor people.

The ancient Greeks were known to add oil, herbs and cheese onto their bread to make it interesting and it was later that the Romans developed the thin sheet of flour, then known as the placenta and around 1887, they added cheese onto it for the first time.
Travelling far and wide, the pizza changed its forms and ingredients. Meats were added, herbs were altered, different kinds of cheese came into play and even the dough changed sizes — from being thin as a leaf it went on to become thicker, mostly in the US versions.

Somewhere down the line, the pizza became fast food. Even in India, pizzerias and pizza chains sprouted all over and became one of the most preferred quick meals by the youth.

Pizza shops are available to a dime a dozen — with each eatery having its own version, literally. Indians have also managed to create pizzas with tandoori topping!

However, among the entire hullabaloo that was going on — a quiet revolution was on. It started with a handful Indian five star hotels restructuring their European dining outlets and giving pizza a more elegant reputation.

The crust went back to being thin and the ingredients were as exotic as they come. The meats were imported, the tomatoes and basil used was fresh (and not dry and near-granulated served in tiny packs) and the cheese was cooked to perfection — not too gooey but melt-in-the-mouth anyway. The change drew in a different kind of a crowd — the sort that turned its nose up on the name of a pizza.

In Bangalore, some of the best places to catch a traditional pizza aren’t too many. However, the ones that do tend to keep it as original as possible offer quite an experience.

Some of the hotels with Italian or European restaurants in the city — Incanto at Zuri Whitefield, Graze at Vivanta by Taj, Le Jardin at The Oberoi Hotel, Lido at Ista, Myt at Taj West End and Italia at The Park — actually have a fine taste for pizza, serving variations of the original style without much digression from the authentic recipes.

Among the stand alone restaurants — Olive Beach, Toscano, Fireflies Sunny’s, Herbs and Spice and and even Papa John — has ensured that pizzas retain an original flavour, sticking to thin crust pizzas, with simple but exotic ingredients that lend a wholesome taste to the whole dish.
One of the more recent entrants into the market, Pizzeria Romano, which is actually one of the few stand alones of the category serving mostly pizzas, has created quite a buzz in the city lately. Their pizzas come in different styles and shapes and topping, steering clear of the fast food category. Their pizzas are all wood-fired, which contributes to the smoky aroma of the pizzas. Plus the ambience adds to the whole experience of making it a nice and cosy place to eat at.

How gourmet has pizza really gotten in India? The mind block, of paying a lot of money, remains but people are open to trying out new ingredients on them. Anchovies and mortadella to name a few have been around as topping for a while — but the larger population of pizza lovers in the country are gradually opening up to trying something new on their pizza, besides the usual mozzarella and pepperoni or chicken bits.

What helps the restaurants to retain authenticity is also access to better ingredients. Fast food chains need to be price sensitive, often resorting to local ingredients that frankly, don’t make the pizza as good as should be.

However, like Chef Jean Michel Jasserand of Toscano puts it, sourcing is the key. He does import but relies quite largely on local produce for his dishes, helping him to keep the price factor in control. After all, how many people will be willing to pay more than Rs600 for a pizza for two? We can’t think of too many!