Penne Pasta in Arabiatta Sauce

I am a big fan of pasta and I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful, handsome and  intelligent husband who is a fantastic cook (by now, you've probably guessed that Vinay is typing this post) and can make pasta so good that it's almost foodgasmic. We've had pasta on so many past dates that we've bonded over this lovely Italian recipe.

So I demand pasta from him almost every other day. And he gladly obliges because it's so easy to cook. 

Penne Pasta in Arabiatta Sauce

Here's a quick guide on how to make pasta for 2 people.

You'll need:

- Penne Pasta - 200 grams. 

- Onion - 1 large. 

- Tomato purée - 3 cups.

- Garlic paste - 2 tbsp.

- Black pepper powder - 1 tbsp.

- Arabiatta Sauce - 1.5 cup.

- Salt - to taste.

- Tabasco - 2 tsp.

- Worcestershire Sauce - 3 tsp.

- Whipped Cream - 1 cup.

- Black and green olives sliced - 15-20 pieces.

- Cheese - 3 cubes.

Now, you can use any pasta you like - macaroni, penne, fusili, even spaghetti. But penne pasta works best because the gravy fills inside the tubular pasta pieces, making it really chunky and tasty. 

1. Boil 2 litres of water and put the penne pasta in this for about 10 minutes. 

2. Drain the water from the pasta out completely. Do not add cool water to make it cool quickly. Let pasta cool naturally else it will become very soggy.

3. In a non-stick pan, put in paste of garlic, onion and put on butter and heat till the onion changes colour. 

4. Pour tomato purée in this pan; add black pepper powder and salt and stir on a low flame for about 10-12 minutes.

5. In the paste, put Tabasco, Arabiatta sauce, Worcestershire sauce and keep on low flame for another 5-7 minutes.

6. Add pasta in this mixture along with the sliced olives and mix well.

7. Grate the cubes of cheese on top as garnish and serve. 

Pasta transports us. It takes us on a trip around the world in a different time. Of places that have those small road side cafes on cobbled streets and the main squares, where little brown wooden tables and chairs rest in the shades of umbrellas opened up. And where broad hats with feathers and waistcoats with pocket-watches in them could well be the fashion of the day.

This recipe is to such places and times. Boun Appetito!

Open Sesame - Ivy Gourd (Tindora) and Potatoes

Nishtha and I are foodies, and have recently found out that we also enjoy cooking just as much as we enjoy eating delectable food items. So based on my sister, Anita's (who herself is an accomplished food blogger) suggestion,  we decided to start a small blog of our own, where we shall share as many things from our kitchen palette as we can - and here we are. 


So to get started, something not too many people would look for in a recipe cookbook, but something that Nishtha and I enjoy - Ivy gourd (Tindora/kundru) and potatoes with sesame seeds. Rather off-beat, yet something that can be cooked quickly and on a regular basis. 


(Please don't mind the quality of the photograph. It is tastier than it looks, and we are also working on buying a new camera with the money collected from all the donations you can make for our blogging interests).

Ivy gourd (Tindora/kundru) and potatoes with sesame seeds

For 2 people, you would need:


- Ivy gourd - 250 gms.
- 2 Large Potatoes.
- Sesame seeds - 1/3 cup
- Garlic paste - 1 Tbsp.
- Mustard seeds - 1 Tbsp.
- Cumin seeds - 1 Tsp.
- Turmeric powder - 1 Tsp.
- Red Chilli powder - 2 Tsp.
- Coriander powder - 1 Tsp.
- Asafoetida - 1 Tsp.
- Refined cooking oil - 5 Tbsp.
- Salt - to taste
- Curry leaves - 4-5 leaves
- Coriander leaves for garnish


1. Cut potatoes and ivy gourd length-wise. 
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida in it. Add the curry leaves and heat for some time. 
3. Add garlic paste, potatoes and ivy gourd in the pan and cook on low flame. 
4. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, salt and sesame seeds to the pan and continue to cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes.
5. Garnish with some more sesame seeds and coriander leaves.


Serve this with Indian breads like Roti and paranthas. Top it off with some cool yoghurt raita.


That's that. Feels good to start off on our blog. We'll try to keep as many recipes coming your way. And some things that we just want to pen down somewhere. In the words of Albus Dumbledore, "I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind... At these times... I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure."


And oh, I always want to say this: Bon Appetit.