Tomato Base Pasta - Spicy Pasta, Indian Style

Appease your pallet with pasta and garlic bread
This is a 12-years old recipe that we still relish. Even my mother-in-law liked it so much  that we made it frequently when she visited us in US. The specialty of the recipe is that I don't use ready-made pasta sauce and we can adjust the spice according to your taste.

Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 15 min
Serving size: 4


Ingredients needed for the pasta sauce
Ingredients
  • White or Wheat Pasta - 1/2 packet (about 250g)
  • Stewed tomato - 1 can (medium size)
  • Olives - 10
  • Capers - 1 tbsp
  • Garlic - 15 cloves
  • Crushed Red Pepper - 1 tsp
  • Parsley - 1/4 bunch
  • Celery  - 2 stalks
  • Squash - 1 (yellow or green or both)
  • Olive oil - 5 tsp (Oil has to be olive oil to get the pasta flavor)
Note:
  • We need Pasta spatula (fork) to mix the string pasta and the sauce.
  • You can use the pasta of your choice, it doesn't have to be string pasta.
    • While pasta is cooked mince garlic and olives
  • If trying pasta for the first time start with white pasta and then switch to whole wheat pasta once you get used to the taste.
Preparation
  1. Cook the pasta in big vessel on medium heat with about 5 - 6 cups of water and little bit of salt. 
  2. Let the pasta cook for 10 minutes. You can follow the instructions in the pasta pack.
  3. While the pasta is being cooked, mince the garlic or grind it coarsely in a blender/mixie.
  4. Grind the olives and capers coarsely(almost half and half).
  5. Grind the stewed tomatoes to puree.
  6. Chop the vegetables to small size and set aside.
  7. If you don't have crushed red pepper, grind the red chilli pepper coarsely.
  8. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Cook on low heat
Cooking
  1. In a vessel big enough to hold the pasta add 5 tsp of olive oil and bring it to warm on low heat. 
  2. Add the minced garlic and saute for 2 - 3 minutes.
  3. Once the garlic is golden brown add the coarsely ground olives and capers and saute for a minute. 
  4. Add the coarsely ground red chilli powder and saute for another minute.
  5. To the sauteed spices add the chopped vegetables and saute for 2 minutes until the spices blend with the vegetables.
  6. To the vegetables add the tomato puree and salt if needed and bring it to a boil.
  7. Once the pasta sauce starts to boil add the cooked and drained pasta and mix with the sauce with the pasta using a pasta spatula(fork). Don't over mix otherwise the string pasta tends to break.
  8. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
    9. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley
  9. Serve the spicy tomato base pasta with  slices of garlic bread and relish an Italian style meal with your kids and family.
Nutritional Facts
Whole wheat pasta has the dietary fiber and carbohydrate that is required for a meal. Olives and capers are rich in anti-oxidants and iron that help the transportation of oxygen throughout the body. The vitamin K in capers helps is blood coagulation. Yellow and green squash are rich in anti-oxidants The beta-carotene in them is good for the eye health.  For the health benefits of garlic refer Essential Spices for Healthy Cooking. The vitamin C in tomato and celery boost the immune system in the body. For health benefits of parsley refer Herbs for Cooking and their Health Benefits.
Serve pasta with garlic bread and enjoy

This pasta recipe has been customized with spices to appease our pallet. Feel free to adjust the spices according to your taste. Give it a try and let me know how you like the recipe with your valuable comments.....

You may also be interested in these recipes:

Minestrone soup

Garbanzo-Spinach Patties

Stuffed Brinjal (Eggplant) Curry

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