Sylvie, one of my best friends, asked me to share the pasta recipe with her. Looks like she loves pasta as much as I do! Now I cook my pasta in many different ways. But the recipe I'm posting here, is my all time favourite. It's diff from the regular tomato flavoured pasta served at most outlets here. And it's got a good health quotient to it. If you can get your hands on some non-refined-flour pasta, this will become even healthier.
Ingredients:
Pasta: A cup (Even though spaghetti is just fine, try something else like farfalle etc)
Carrots: 2 big ones, chopped into thick 1-inch long pieces.
Bell Peppers: 1 of each color, chopped into 1.5 inch pieces.
French Beans: A fistful, or more. Chop them into 2 inch long pieces.
Mushrooms: 8-10, chopped into 2-4 pieces, depending on size.
Broccoli: 1/2 cup full of chopped pieces.
Cauliflower: 1/2 cup full of chopped pieces.
Garlic and Ginger, chopped finely: At least a tablespoon of each, or as per your taste.
Tomatoes: 2, chopped into 8 pieces each.
Onions: 2 big ones, chopped into long slices.
Whole Spices: Black Peppers(5-6), Cinnamon(1/2 inch) and Cloves(2)
Oil: A tablespoon.
Method:
* Boil some water in a pan and add a tsp of oil and a little salt to it.
* Once the water starts boiling, add the pasta to it and cook till almost done.
* Strain, add some cold water to the pasta and keep aside.
* Now boil some water in another pan and add salt to it.
* Blanch the carrots, beans, broccoli and cauliflower one by one. Keep aside.
* Heat oil in a pan. Add the whole spices to it and let them fry for a minute.
* Add the chopped ginger and garlic. Fry for a minute or two. Now add the onions and keep frying.
* When the onions start turning brown, add all the vegetables one by one. Start with carrots.
* Now add the beans. Next come cauliflower and broccoli. Then the peppers and mushrooms in the end.
* Add salt, pepper and any other spices you may like.
* Now add the cooked pasta to this and stir.
* Add a dash of vinegar for taste and turn off the gas. Now add the tomatoes and stir.
* The vegetables should not be cooked for more than 2-3 minutes in all, so have everything ready when you start.
* The idea is to have a dish loaded with fresh colorful vegetables. The vegetables have to be at least 2 times the pasta, only then can this be anywhere near healthy. To keep the flavours and the nutrients intact, we keep the vegetables rather under-cooked. The vegetables should be crunchy and not tender when you finally gorge on them.
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