Stir Fried Lentils and Farfalle Pasta

Farfalle are a type of pasta. Commonly known as “bow-tie pasta”, the name is derived from the Italian  word farfalla which means butterfly. The “e” at the end of the word is the Italian feminine plural ending, making the meaning of the word “butterflies”.

Farfalle date back to the 16th century in Lombardy and Emilia Romagana in Northern Italy.

I have been wanting to try pasta with lentil sauce for long time. Today,  I did use the lentils but not as a base for sauce. Just boiled and stir fried along with the pasta, a variation of aglio olio pasta:) 

My another experiment with pasta and it turned out be light and delicious:)

  

Ingredients

Farfalle pasta- 2 cups

Broccoli – 11/2 cups

Sliced yellow zucchini- 11/2 cups

Boiled lentil ( yellow moong)- 1 cup

Chopped tomatoes- 1 cup

Garlic- 5-6  cloves 

Olive oil- 3 tbsps

Red chilli flakes- 1 tsp

Pepper- 1/2 tsp

Dried basil leaves- 1 tsp

Parmesan cheese powder- 1 tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp

 

 

Method

Boil the pasta in lots of water(  a tsp of salt added) till it’s just cooked.

Drain, rinse in cold water and keep it aside.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the drained water.

Crush and chop the garlic.

Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil in a pan.

Add the garlic first. Sauté for few seconds.

Then add the chopped zucchini and broccoli, little salt and stir fry till it’s tender but crisp.

  

Now add the chopped tomatoes, boiled lentils, red chilli flakes, salt to taste and pepper powder. Sauté till the tomatoes turn soft.

Add the cooked pasta along with the reserved water and basil leaves and mix well. Check for the seasonings. Sauté for mins. 

  

Garnish with Parmesan cheese powder and coriander leaves and drizzle the remaining olive oil on top and serve hot:)

   

 

Penne and Paneer in Makhani Sauce

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:)





Penne Arrabbiata

Arrabbiata  or sugo all’arrabbiata in Italian, is a spicy sauce for pasta made from garlic, tomatoes, and red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. “Arrabbiata” literally means “angry” in Italian, and the name of the sauce is due to the heat of the chili peppers.

Arrabbiata sauce is usually served with penne pasta, and may have chopped fresh parsley sprinkled on top. 



Ingredients

Penne pasta- 450 gms 

Olive oil- 3 tbsps

Tomatoes- 6-7

Red chilli powder- 1 tsp

Garlic- 10-12 cloves 

Onion- 2 medium size

Dried basil powder- 1 tsp

Tomato ketchup- 1 tbsp 

Chopped coriander leaves- 2 tbsps

Parmesan cheese powder- 2 tbsps 

Salt to taste

Method

Boil lots of water in a pan. Add a tsp of salt and add the penne pasta. Cook till it becomes tender. Drain and keep it aside. Reserve 1 cup of drained water too.





Blanch the tomatoes ( add to tomatoes to boiling water and cook till its skin starts peeling). Drain, wash and cool the tomatoes. Peel its skin and grind to a coarse puree.





Crush and chop garlic.

Peel, wash and chop onions finely. 

Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic. Sauté for few seconds and add chopped onions. Sauté till the onions turn golden. 





Add the tomato purée. Add salt to taste, red chilli powder, dried basil and mix well. Cook till oil starts floating. 



Add the cooked pasta, ketchup and the reserved water. Mix well and check the seasonings.



Let it simmer in medium flame for 10 mins.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves or parsley and Parmesan cheese powder and serve hot:)





Fusilli in Mint and Walnut Sauce

Fusilli are long, thick, corkscrew shaped pasta. The word fusilli presumably comes from fuso, as traditionally it is “spun” by pressing and rolling a small rod over the thin strips of pasta to wind them around it in a corkscrew shape, much like a modern Turkish spindle.

Fusilli may be solid or hollow. Hollow fusilli are also called fusilli bucati.

The term fusilli is also used to describe a short, flattened, twisted pasta known as rotini in the United States.

Inspired by the very popular recipe Pasta
in Pesto sauce, I created this recipe, Fusilli in Mint and walnut sauce 🙂

Ingredients

Fusilli- 4 cups

For Mint and Walnut Sauce

Mint leaves- 2 cupp
Coriander leaves- 1/2 cup
Green chillies- 2-3
Garlic- 10 cloves
Walnuts- 1/2 cup
Olive oil- 2 tbsp
Parmesan cheese powder-1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp
Parmesan cheese powder- 1 tbsp
Walnuts- few

Method

Heat lot of water in a pan. When it starts boiling, add a tsp of salt. Add the fusilli and cook till its done. Ensure that its not over cooked. Drain and keep it aside. Reserve some drained water too.

Wash the mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chillies. Grind it along with walnuts, Parmesan cheese, olive oil and salt to taste to a smooth puree.

Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add the mint puree and cook on a medium flame.

When it starts boiling, add the cooked fusilli, pepper powder and 1/2 cup of the drained water. Mix well and check the seasonings. Let it cook for few mins.

Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves, Parmesan cheese and some walnuts:)