By Tracy Morin
From garam masala to gochujang, chimichurri to za’atar, whatever global flavors you can imagine will taste divine on the right pie. After all, if there’s one food that can accommodate any sauce, spice, ingredient or topping, it’s pizza.
PMQ recently caught up with two pizzeria operators who prove this point. Taking inspiration from very different cultural backgrounds (India and Argentina), they’re making pies to customer and critical acclaim in two very different U.S. cities (Minneapolis and New York)—and breaking the old rules of U.S. pizza making. Learn from their approaches and start experimenting with your own globally inspired pies.
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Good (Pizza) Karma
Rajesh Selvaraj (pictured above), founder and chief pizza officer of Pizza Karma, has masterminded his own standout spin on an Italian classic by tapping into Indian flavors and ingredients. Since opening in 2018, he has grown his business into four brick-and-mortar locations in and around Minneapolis, plus three food trucks.
“At Pizza Karma, we believe pizza is the world’s greatest canvas for flavor,” he says. “Our inspiration was simple: Why limit pizza to one culture when it can tell stories from around the world? Coming from an Indian background, we wanted to bring the bold, aromatic spices of India and blend them with America’s favorite comfort food. The result is a globally inspired menu that makes pizza both familiar and adventurous.”
Because pizza is both endlessly versatile and beloved around the world, Selvaraj recognized its potential for delivering unexpected taste combinations. “Pizza is universal—everyone knows it, loves it and feels comfortable trying it,” he says. “That makes it the perfect ‘passport’ to introduce new flavors. The crust is the canvas, the sauce is the mood and toppings are the accents. With the right balance, you can take guests on a global journey in one bite.”
To begin this journey, Selvaraj created the industry’s first buttermilk-based, yeast-free, tandoor-fired crust. He calls it “light yet sturdy, smoky from the clay oven, and the perfect complement to bold global flavors. It’s a crust that has its own story—clean-label, non-greasy, made from scratch and unlike anything else on the market.”
This unique crust serves as the base for a slew of specialty pies. Selvaraj gives a rundown of some of Pizza Karma’s most popular:
- Tikka Pizza (pictured above): The smoky spice of tikka sauce paired with the house five-cheese blend and peppers feels both exotic and approachable.
- Lamb Meatball Pizza: This crowd favorite layers rich, savory flavors on Pizza Karma’s tomato-fenugreek sauce.
- Hot Honey Pear Pizza: Sweet, spicy, creamy and crunchy, this pie hits every note and surprises guests in the best way.
- Coconut Shrimp Pizza (pictured below): Tropical and savory, this specialty pie offers a true “fusion escape” on a crust.
“These recipes work because they respect balance: heat with creaminess, spice with freshness, and familiar textures with exciting new flavors,” Selvaraj notes. “Guests tell us, ‘This isn’t just pizza—it’s a whole new flavor adventure.’ They love that it’s feel-good pizza—flavorful yet light, made with clean ingredients that don’t leave you feeling bloated. It’s pizza you can truly enjoy and still feel great afterward.”
That positive feedback translates to guests often posting photos, tagging Pizza Karma and bringing friends back to “travel” through the menu. Meanwhile, media outlets and social platforms alike have picked up on the pizzeria’s unique crust story and approach to fusion food, earning the company everything from local press to national recognition.
“Many call us ‘the pizza place that’s not afraid to rewrite the rules,’” Selvaraj says. “When we first rolled out our food truck a few years ago, it became so popular that we had to expand to three trucks to keep up with demand. Today, our trucks have served more than 1,500 public and private events, from major festivals and university gatherings to corporate celebrations and weddings. What we love most is the diversity of our guests—toddlers as young as one to 90-year-olds, all finding something they enjoy on our menu.”
For pizzeria owners who would like to create their own pizza passports, Selvaraj shares the following tips:
- Don’t just throw exotic toppings on a pizza—make sure the flavors belong together.
- Build from the sauce and crust up. Balance is everything.
- Stay true to your roots—fusion should be authentic, not gimmicky.
- Listen to your guests. The best ideas often come from their reactions and curiosity.
“Pizza Karma started with one mission: to bring global flavors to America’s favorite food while staying true to clean, wholesome ingredients,” Selvaraj says. “We’re now developing a frozen pizza line under a working name, Project Za. Through it all, our Karma Promise remains the same: Do good, eat better, share joy.”
Porteño-Style Pizza
Fernando Greco (pictured above), known as @OG_papafern on Instagram, is the self-professed “El Rey de la Fugazzeta” (King of the Fugazzeta) and “King of the Cheese Pull.” He is also a well-known pop-up pizzaiolo in New York City, travels around the U.S. doing collaborations with other chefs—and is a big proponent of Porteño-style pies. “I was born in Argentina, where we have our own versions of pizza that evolved from what Italian immigrants ate in Italy,” he explains. “It became Porteño-style pizza. Porteños is what people from Buenos Aires are called, because it’s the port city where immigrants arrived. I want people to know about our versions of pizzas. It’s part of our culture and cuisine.”
In Greco’s mind, pizza is simply “a vehicle to get food into your mouth using hands instead of utensils.” Its versatility—eaten sitting down or on the go—combines the science of dough and the art of toppings. The latter remain traditional on Greco’s pies, but he ensures they’re arranged “so it looks like a piece of art,” he says.
His dough, too, stands out from most pizzerias in Buenos Aires, because he uses pre-ferments and ferments the dough over multiple days in the fridge. In other ways, he makes “traditional pizzas that are in all pizzerias in Buenos Aires—recipes that sometimes are over 100 years old,” Greco explains. “My take on them is that I use the best ingredients, and I developed my own pre-ferment that I call Masa Padre. The name comes from Masa Madre and Papafern. It’s a mixture of the techniques of Masa Madre and Pate Fêrmentée.”
True to his nickname, the pizza that customers order the most at Greco’s events is the Fugazzeta. “There are several ways of making it, and the definition of the word is not the same in all pizzerias,” he says. “It’s a white pizza topped with onions. But the family secret chimichurri from my father’s pizzeria in Buenos Aires, which I put on the pizza, is what makes the biggest difference.”
Customer reactions have been 100% positive, Greco says. “People from Argentina tell me it’s the best pizza they ever had. Other people usually didn’t know that Argentina has its own styles of pizza before they started following me on social media. At first, I expected a lot of people to not like it, because it is very different from the pizza they are used to, but I have never gotten negative feedback from anyone after they had my pizza. I do get hate once in a while in social media from gatekeepers, but that’s expected.”
When making your own globally inspired pies, Greco stresses one principle: Don’t compromise, especially if you’re doing something that represents your culture. “Keep it authentic and make it at an elevated level,” he advises. “I represent Argentina, just like Messi does. He does it on the pitch, and I do it on a pizza. You have to have the mentality that every pizza could be someone’s first taste of your culture. How do you want that experience to be?”
And, for those who want to try their hand at the Porteño style of pizza, Greco is now teaching people on social media, spreading the message to his followers all over the world. “For the last two summers, I have been doing road trips to do pizza collabs with pizzerias in different cities of the U.S. so that people can have a taste of Argentina for the first time,” he says. “The goal is to have an event in all 50 states, and I am hoping to start doing collabs internationally also. I hope, someday, pizza Porteña becomes something that’s as well known as the New York style.”
Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.
