Today is the last working day for my daughter for this academic year. Her final exams are starting from friday. So, they are having a pot luck at school. She wanted me to make pasta as her class friends wanted me make pasta for them. I have made many varieties of pasta and it has always been a hit with her friends.
And today I wanted to try something new. As I was thinking, I got this idea of using makhani sauce since its a tomato based sauce. Just had to make few changes in the basic makhani sauce recipe to bring an Italian flavour.
Adding paneer to the pasta makes it ideal for school tiffin as it has good complex carbohydrates and rich protein:)
The colour, flavour and rich makhani sauce was certainly a delight to eyes and the taste buds. My family loved it. Hope you all would like it too:)
Ingredients
Penne Pasta – 4 cups
Paneer- 200 gms ( 1 readymade packet)
Onion- 1
Capsicum-1
Garlic- 4-5 cloves
Ginger- 1 inch
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Fresh Cream- 2 tbsps
Olive oil- 2 tbsps
Butter- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Tomato ketchup- 1 tbsp
Dry basil- 1 tsp
Parmesan cheese powder- 2 tbsps
Tomatoes- 6
Cloves- 4
Cashew nuts- 2 tsps
Method
Cook the pasta in lots of water ( add I tsp of salt to the water) until it’s just cooked. Drain and wash the pasta to stop further cooking.
Reserve 1 cup of the drained water.
Blanch the tomatoes ( cook the tomatoes in boiling water for few mins until the skin starts breaking).
Drain the tomatoes. Cool and peel the skin.
Grind the tomatoes along with cloves and cashew nuts to a puree.
Wash, peel and chop onions, garlic and ginger finely.
Wash and chop capsicum finely.
Cut paneer into cubes.
Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil in a pan.
When the oil becomes hot, add chopped garlic and ginger. Sauté till it turns slightly golden and then add chopped onions.
Sauté till the onions turn pink. Now add the chopped capsicum. Sauté till the capsicums are just cooked.
Now add the tomato purée, 1 cup of reserved water, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, tomato ketchup, butter, dry basil leaves and salt to taste. Mix well and let it simmer.
When it starts simmering, add the paneer cubes and let it cook in medium flame for 10 mins.
Add the cooked pasta, parmesan cheese powder and cream and mix well.
Let it cook on a low flame for 5 mins.
Serve hot garnished with little parmesan cheese powder, basil leaves and a dash of garam masala:)
anubala's kitchen 