Pasta

Pasta...an everyday dish in India today....comes in all kinds of sizes and shapes.My favourite is the Elbow Macaroni as seen above,the only one available for the longest time till Penne,Rigatoni,Fusilli and others from abroad made an appearance into our Indian markets.

We now see various colors such as red(chilli),green(spinach) and black(squid ink),not just offwhite.

The 100% Durum Wheat are the original ones but now Whole Wheat are available which have high fibre.

Cooking pasta is an art....to the point of firmness...a term called al dente.If you over cook it,it will turn soggy.Pasta pans are available abroad wherein a pan with holes is inserted into another one and once the cooking is over,the inner pan is removed and held over cold water.

I cook mine in a vessel and then transfer into a sieve and then hold it under tap water(this stops the pasta from cooking any further).The time taken to cook it varies from 7 to 10 mins.Always put the pasta in water after the water has boiled and then count the time.I add salt and oil to it.Salt to enhance the taste and oil to keep the pasta separate.

Pasta is made of complex carbohydrates and when combined with vegetables and made in olive oil, makes a healthy and satisfying snack,especially when made with whole wheat pasta and a tomato sauce base.

Penne is like macaroni except that its ends are diagonally cut.Rigatoni are larger tubes which look like the huge water pipes that supplies cities.They are capable of holding heavy sauces.

Farfelle look like bows but actually mean butterflies.These go well with white creamy sauces.Fusilli look like corkscrews.Tagliatelle are ribbon like and Linguine is thin and long.The pasta has to be matched to the added contents.eg linguine which is delicate goes well with seafood and light sauces whereas rigatoni which is large goes well with heavier sauces and meat.

Here's a simple Macaroni recipe

100 gm macaroni

1 onion
1/2 capsicum

3 tomatoes made into a puree

2 low fat cheese cubes

1 cup milk with 1 tsp cornflour

Olive Oil

Celery (wee bit)

First make macaroni with salt and oil.Drain and cool.

Then saute onions in olive oil till soft.Then add capsicum and saute.Then add the tomato puree and cook for five minutes.Add bits of chopped celery.Then add milk(with cornflour),low fat cheese cubes,salt and freshly ground pepper.