Indian Style Masala Pasta, a delicious  and spicy pasta with loaded vegetables and full of Indian flavor. It's one of our family favorites and I often make it for lunch/dinner. It's such an easy one pot recipe that can be prepared in 15 mins.

If you like pasta and wanna it make with Indian flavor then i would highly recommend you to give this a try ! I'm sure that you will love this ! 

Pasta

Any type of pasta can be used for this recipe. So try it with your favorite pasta shape. Macaroni, Fusilli, Penne  and Gemelli Pasta are my favorites to make this dish. 

Today, i have used Gemelli pasta. Just make sure to cut the vegetables according to the shapes of the pasta so that it all blends well. Like if you're using macaroni pasta, then try to cut the vegetables into small cubes instead of thin stripes like i did it here. 

Vegetables

For today's recipe, i have used carrot, capsicum, peas and mushroom. But you can make this pasta with whatever you have in this list , still it would be delicious. Personally i feel that mushrooms and capsicum really go with the pasta flavor. So for me, that's a must to make this recipe.

Additionally, you can also add cauliflower, corn too. 

 

Spices

Ginger garlic pasta, coriander powder and garam masala powder are the key spices to give that strong Indian flavor. So don't skip any one of those. Also, finish off with a lot of coriander leaves, it truly enhances the flavor to the next level.

Finally it's great for lunch boxes too so i often pack this for ST's lunch box. Now let's check out on how to make this delicious pasta.

Indian Style Masala Pasta | Spicy Gemelli Pasta

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Pasta | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Indian Style Masala Pasta, Spicy Gemelli Pasta, Spicy Pasta Indian Style Masala Pasta, a delicious and spicy pasta with loaded vegetables and full of Indian flavor.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Pasta - 1 cup 

Onion - 1/2 

Vegetables - 1 cup(i used carrot, mushroom, peas, capsicum)

Paneer ( cubed )- 1/4 cup

Tomato paste - 1 tbsp*

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Mozzarella cheese (grated)- 1/4 cup

Coriander leaves(chopped) - a handul

Oil - 1 tbsp

* Instead of tomato paste, you can use two pureed tomatoes.

Procedure

First cook the pasta as per the package instructions and keep it aside. Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta cooked water. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan, then add the finely chopped onions and saute till they are transparent.

Add the chopped carrots and peas, saute and cook till they are half-done.  Next add the capsicum and mushroom. Saute till the mushrooms shrink.

Next add the ginger garlic paste, give a quick mix and then add the tomato paste(Instead of tomato paste, you can use two pureed tomatoes.). 

Then add all the spices(turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder) and give a good mix. To avoid the burning of the spices, add that reserved pasta cooked water(it has salt that's enough for the veggies, so didn't add any additional salt here) and cook the spices till the raw smell is gone.

Next add the cooked pasta and give a good mix. (i have added salt while cooking the pasta so didn't add any extra salt here but do give a taste test and adjust the seasoning)

Finally add the paneer and the grated cheese on top of the pasta. Cover the pasta with a lid and let it cook till all the cheese melts. Open the lid and finish off with a lot of coriander leaves.

Mix gently and serve immediately. Tasty Indian style pasta is ready. 

Related : How to make Pizza dough at home 

Notes:

• Cook pasta al dente so that it became perfectly soft once done without breaking.
• Adjust the seasoning as per your liking. The above mentioned quantity of spices has mild spice level.
• Don't reduce the amount of cheese, it will affect the taste.

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White Sauce Vegetable Pasta | Easy Pasta Recipe

White Sauce Vegetable Pasta, an easy to make delicious pasta with a lot of vegetables. White sauce is also known as  bechamel sauce made from butter, flour and milk. It's one of the five mother sauces in western cuisines and the word bechamel is from French which means thick white sauce. 

In our home, both me and ST like coriander pesto pasta and tomato sauce pasta, white sauce pasta is not our favourite but occasionally it's OK. But now, since the kid likes the white sauce pasta and having a little bit without any fuss compared to other foods. So change of scenery in my kitchen, that's why now i'm making white sauce pasta at home ! 

While travelling from India to here, my LO ate only the white sauce pasta that the airline provided out of all the food that i had packed. Ever since, i have been making this white sauce pasta  for him and after eating all the leftovers, i have to admit that indeed it's delicious and i too started to like it. 

Related: More Pasta, Pizza and Sauce Recipes

In today's recipe, i haven't prepared the sauce ahead. Just sprinkled the flour on the cooked veggies and sauteed. By this method, the chances of forming lumps in the sauce is so minimal, so the sauce would be lump free and absolutely smooth. Additionally, the recipe just needs one vessel to cook and clean later :-) 

However this method is not the traditional way of making white sauce pasta but i can assure you that it's super easy to make and finger licking delicious.

Now let's check out on how to make this creamy white sauce pasta. 

White Sauce Vegetable Pasta

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
White sauce pasta, White sauce vegetable pasts, Bechamel sauce pasta White Sauce Vegetable Pasta, an easy to make delicious pasta with a lot of vegetables.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Fusilli Pasta - 1 cup

Onion -1/2

Carrot - 1 

Capsicum - 1 (small)

Mushroom - 1/2 cup(chopped)

Frozen Peas - 1/4 cup

Milk - 2 cups

Olive oil / Butter - 3 tbsp

All purpose flour - 3 tbsp

Cheddar cheese - 1/4 cup

Garlic - 2 cloves

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Procedure

First cook the pasta as per the package instructions and keep it aside. Cut all the vegetables and keep it ready. Heat a large pan with olive oil.

Next add the crushed garlic. Give a quick stir and when it's aromatic, add the vegetables along with salt(enough for the vegetables) and pepper powder. 

Cook the veggies till they are soft and then add the flour, give a good mix with the vegetables and roast the flour for a min or two in a low flame.

Next add the milk & salt and mix it well. Now increase the heat & stir it continuously, the sauce would be thicken in a couple of mins.

The sauce should coat the back of the ladle well and if you should be able to draw a line with your fingers. That's the perfect consistency of the sauce. Now add the cheese and the cooked pasta.

Give a good mix and let it in the flame for a couple of mins. 

That's it, Delicious veggie loaded white sauce pasta is ready.

Related : How to make Coriander Pesto Sauce

Notes: 

• Serve hot for gooey and creamy pasta. Once it cooled, the sauce thickens. 
• You can use any varieties of pasta for this recipe.
• Red chili flakes can be added for more spiciness.

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Marinara Sauce | Pizza Sauce from fresh tomato

Marinara Sauce is a simple tomato sauce usually made with tomatoes, oil and herbs. There are so many variations in this sauce depends on what herbs are used or what type of tomatoes are used and so on. The recipe that i'm sharing today is the very basic tomato sauce recipe that i had learned from one of Martha Stewart's cook book. 

Many of the recipe available online are using the canned tomatoes, since i'm hardly buying any canned food items other than condensed milk, i'm looking for recipe using fresh tomatoes for long time and finally found it in her cook book . 

It's such a simple recipe and the flavors are really amazing.Here in the recipe, i have used both roma & beefsteak tomatoes just like the original recipe, but i have tried with only roma tomatoes before, that too taste good. 

So don't worry if you can't source any particular tomato variety, try it with whatever tomatoes you have but make sure it's ripen well and in bright color.  Also read that the tomatoes on the vine tastes best for any type of sauce since it's allowed to ripen on the vine, it's juicy and has most flavor. So if possible try to use the tomatoes on the vine. 

Marinara sauce is delicious on pasta and pizza or it can be simple served as dip for your chips. It's such a versatile sauce and can used as many way as possible.  For the given quantity of ingredients list, it yields little more than 1 cup of sauce, it's enough for making one medium size pizza and pasta for two. 

It stays well for a week in refrigerator and i'm not sure how long it last since mostly it would be finished off within a week. If you haven't tried making marinara sauce before, do give this recipe a try, i'm sure that you will love it. Now let's check out this amazing and simple marinara sauce recipe. 

Related : Homemade Pizza dough from scratch

Marinara Sauce | Pizza Sauce from fresh tomatoes

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Sauce | Recipe Cuisine: Italian
Marinara Sauce,Pizza Sauce,Pasta Sauce,Tomato Sauce, How to make Pizza sauce Marinara Sauce is a simple tomato sauce usually made with fresh tomatoes, oil and herbs.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Roma Tomato - 2 
Beefsteak Tomato - 1 
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 3 cloves
Red chili flakes - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste

Procedure

In a sauce pan, add water and bring into boil. Make a criss cross on the top and bottom of the tomatoes with knife.Add the tomatoes into the boiling water and let it boil for 3 mins. Remove from the flame, discard the hot water and run it under tap water to let it cool.Remove the skin of the tomatoes and roughly chop into small chunks. Remove the thick center part of the tomato and finely chopped the garlic. Heat the sauce pan with olive oil.Add the garlic, saute till they are aromatic and then add the tomatoes.Next add the salt, sugar,chili flakes & pepper powder.

Related : How to make Corinaer Pesto Sauce

Give a good stir, cover the pot with lid and let it simmer for about 20 mins or until the tomatoes are mushy.Let it cool and then transfer into blender jar and grind into smooth puree. 

Tasty & Versatile Marinara Sauce is ready.

Related : How to make Veggie Pizza with tomato Sauce

Notes:

• Use well ripen and bright colored tomatoes for vibrant sauce.
• Added sugar to balance out the tartness from the tomatoes, but that's totally optional, you can skip it.
• Adjust the seasoning as per your liking.
  

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Coriander Pesto Sauce | Cilantro Pesto Sauce | Pesto Sauce

Coriander/Cilantro Pesto Sauce, a delicious sauce made from the coriander leaves. It can be used in pasta, pizza or as spread in sandwiches or even you can serve this as dipping sauce. If you have been following me here in blog or in any social media, you might be knew by now, how much i like coriander pesto sauce. 

Pesto is a sauce originated from Italy and it's usually made with basil leaves.To me, the basil flavor is quite strong and can't really enjoy the basil pesto sauce much, for occasionally it's ok, so i have been making the pesto sauce with coriander/cilantro leaves for a long time now. 

   

More than marinara sauce, i prefer to have the coriander pesto sauce on my pizza. So whenever i make pizza at home, it would be cilantro pesto pizza. When i had shared the coriander pesto pizza in my instagram page a month ago, few asked about the sauce. At that time, i redirected them to the coriander pesto pasta post for the recipe.

Related: Coriander Pesto Pasta

In recent times, again few have asked the recipe for cilantro pesto sauce, thought better to have a separate post for the recipe. So here it is!!! If you like coriander flavor so much, then definitely give this pesto sauce a try!! 

Coriander Pesto Sauce | Cilantro Pesto Sauce

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Sauce | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coriander Pesto Sauce,Cilantro Pesto Sauce ,Pesto Sauce,Coriander leaves,Cilantro leaves, Pasta sauce, Pizza sauce,dipping sauce Coriander/Cilantro Pesto Sauce, a delicious sauce made from the coriander leaves. It can be used in pasta, pizza or as spread in sandwiches or even you can serve this as dipping sauce.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch
Walnut - 3 tbsp
Garlic - 3 cloves
Green chili - 2 
Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 & 1/2  tbsp
Salt - to taste

Related: Marinara Pizza Sauce

Procedure

In a mixie/blender jar, add the nuts,garlic & green chili and grind into coarse mixture.Next add the coriander leaves, cheese & salt.Finally add salt & olive oil and grind into smooth paste. Delicious coriander pesto sauce is ready to use!! 

Related: Cilantro Pesto Vegetable Pizza

Related : Coriander Pesto Sandwich 

Notes:

• Coriander pesto stays well in refrigerator for 3 days.
• Instead of walnuts, you can use cashew nuts or combination of walnuts and cashew nuts.
• I personally like to make fresh pesto.
• You can used this pesto as sauce for your pizza or sandwich.
  

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Coriander/ Cilantro Pesto Pasta , a delicious pasta made from coriander leaves pesto. Pesto is a sauce originated from Italy and it's usually made with basil leaves. In today's recipe, i have used the same concept but instead of basil leaves, i used my favorite coriander/cilantro leaves. 

If you have followed by blog or in Instagram for a while, you might knew by now that how much i like coriander leaves. At least once in a week, i make coriander chutney as side dish for my idli or dosa or whenever i make pizza at home, it would be mostly coriander pesto pizza, so why not pasta with coriander pesto? I must say it's so delicious, if you like me who are crazy about coriander/cilantro flavor, you must try this recipe.

When i had shared coriander pesto pizza on instagram, got few dms about the recipe. Though i make coriander pesto frequently, it would be for dinner mostly, so i didn't take any pictures to share the recipe here instantly, so send the recipe as private dms to those who asked. Last week when ST went to team lunch with his office mates, i prepared this coriander pesto pasta as lunch for myself. Luckily it was sunny, so took the step by step pictures too.

Here in today's recipe, i have added some broccoli along with the pasta to make a complete meal, but you can make this without any veggies too. That's it for this year, friends. Over all, it's been a very low year for blogging, compared to last five years, this year has only half the number of posts.But i'm glad that i can post atleast this much regardless of how hard it was!!! And i would like to finish off this year post with my favorite quotes

"You might have lost some major battles, but you survived and you're still here "

"Fight for your dreams and your dreams will fight for you"

 by Paulo Coelho. 
Now let's check out the recipe and will see you all with new post on New Year !!!

Coriander Pesto Pasta | Cilantro Pesto Pasta

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 1 
Recipe Category: Pasta | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coriander pesto, Cilantro Pesto, Pesto Pasta, Coriander/ Cilantro Pesto Pasta , a delicious pasta made from coriander leaves pesto. Pesto is a sauce originated from Italy and it's usually made with basil leaves.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Pasta - 1/2 cup
Olive oil - 1 tsp
Broccoli - 1/2 cup
For Pesto
Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch
Cashew nuts - 1 tsp
Walnut - 1 tsp
Garlic - 1 cloves
Green chili - 1 
Parmesan - 2 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Procedure

First let's prepare pesto, clean the coriander leaves and keep it ready. In a mixie/blender jar, add the nuts,garlic & green chili and grind into coarse mixture.

Next add the coriander leaves, cheese & salt.

Finally add the olive oil and grind into smooth paste. That's it, coriander pesto is ready.Now for the pasta, bring the pot of water into boil.

Add the pasta & salt and cook as per the packet instructions and drain it.

In a kadai, add a tsp of olive oil, add the broccoli & saute until it's tender and develop slight color.

Keep the flame in low, then add the cooked pasta & pesto. Mix it all well together.

Remove from the flame and if needed add more cheese on top. Cilantro/Coriander Pesto Pasta is ready to serve. 

How to make Coriander Pesto Pizza 

Notes:

• You can make this pesto ahead of time and use as whenever needed.
• Ideal to pack for lunch boxes. 
• Coriander pesto stays well in refrigerator for 3 days.
• I personally like to make fresh pesto.
• You can used this pesto as sauce for your pizza, my another favorite way of using coriander pesto.
  

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