Margherita Pizza (on Toast)

Today, my cousin was coming into town. He was arriving by train so after a longg 12 hour ride, I wanted to make him something good, like pav bhaji. Unfortunately, he had a little too much of that so he left it up to me to make something simple "ek vastu". I racked my brain to think of something to make. Finally, I just made some fresh homemade tomato pizza sauce from scratch and left it up to him whether he wanted to eat spaghetti or bread pizza. I should have known it would be the bread pizza because Indians aren't really too keen on Italian food, atleast not in my family. Here is the recipe for the pizza sauce.

2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped finely
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped finely
4 garlic cloves, ground into paste
2" piece ginger, ground into paste
1 tsp corn starch (Mix with 3 tbsp water to make thin paste)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Pinch of rEd crushed pepper flakes
1 tbs red chili powder
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Salt per taste

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add the ginger-garlic paste along with the onions and sautee for few minutes.
2. Then add in the bell peppers, close lid and cook for a few minutes to soften the bell peppers.
3. Finally add in the tomatoes with a little bit of water. Close lid and let cook so that the tomatoes will reduce.
4. Add the seasoning next, like the Italian seasoning, salt, sugar, black pepper, and red chili powder. Also add in the corn starch paste. Mix well, reduce heat to medium-low and close lid again.
5. Finally garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot over toast topped with shredded cheese.

It tasted just like a margherita pizza. It's also totally filling so it will tide you over for a few hours and you will not feel hungry. The other advantage is that this basic tomato sauce can also be used for pasta or pizza. I like it because it's fresh and you know what ingredients are put in it. It also does not take that long to make. I couldn't tell if my cousin liked it so I will have to make it again for Bhavnesh and then I'll let you know how he rates it.