Chicken tikka

In South Asia this is not a novelty, it is the default order, and the chains built entire menus around it. It works because tandoori marinade is yoghurt and acid and spice, which is exactly the treatment a cheap chicken breast needs before it meets a hot oven, and because the char on tandoori chicken is the same char you are chasing on the crust.

The build

1. Marinate diced chicken thigh overnight in yoghurt, lemon, ginger, garlic, chilli, cumin, coriander and a pinch of turmeric.
2. Cook it hard under a grill or in a very hot pan until the edges blacken. Do not cook it through gently; you want the char.
3. Spiced tomato base, cheese, chicken, then onion and green chilli.

After the oven Fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon. A drizzle of mint yoghurt if you like.

The bake

On top

Sauce

A cooked tomato base with ginger, garlic and garam masala, reduced until it is thick. A plain pizza sauce is a waste of the toppings.

Cheese

Mozzarella, and a little more than usual, because it is the only cooling thing on the pie.

You got it right when Black edges on the chicken and an orange stain in the cheese where the marinade ran.