I made this dish because I wanted something quite differnt then the other pasta dishes that I would make. First it was Italian then African and now I am doing an Indopak fusion from pasta. Pasta really is Chinese. Marco Polo was an Italian and he went to China to visit and bring back the recipe on how to make pasta back to Italy. The Greeks too eats lots of pasta.
I also do a lot of fusion cooking which is all of the rage. You can tell by looking at this blog. Mr. Riaz was on the phone last night talking to one of my sister in laws while he was eating dinner. He told her about this dish that I have made up and she said her kids loves pasta. So here I am going to post this simple recipe.
This recicpe is very versitle. Any types of pasta, vegetables and chilies can be used. The protein choices are beef, lamb, goat, chicken, fish, any shell fish including shrimp, mince and offals if you wish. However I boil 1 gallon or 4 liters of water on the stove and bring to a rapid boil on high heat. Open the box or bag of pasta and empty it in to the boiling water and cook it according to package directions. When the pasta is al dente, drain in to a colander to remove the water. Rinse and put back in to the empty pot then set aside.
There are many different types of pasta so use which one that you feel like eating. For the sauce, I added in another pot 1/4 cup of olive oil. I added 1 pinch of black cumin seeds and waited for them to sputter. I added 1 onion or shallot cut in to half moon slices and cooked them until they are brown.
I added 1 bullion cube, 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma, 1 pinch of red chili powder and curry powder. I added 2 cloves of garlic and stirred and cooked it until the rawness went away.
I had some beef I had cut in to tiny pieces and cooked it with the masala mixture for 20 minutes or until it is tender. You can do this with the choices of protein that I had mentioned here. I added frozen corn kernals but you can add the type of vegetables you like in here, I added 1 banana pepper and one aji amarillo which is a Peruvian chili. They sell this frozen at Cermac Market here in Chicago. You can buy this in a spanish store.
As I said before any type of chili can be used. Just be sure to remove the seeds. However if you do not want all of that heat then you can add 1 bell pepper or pablano chili which is very mild. I like mine with a kick as you can tell.
I used 2 tbs of cider vinegar but you can use lemon or lime juice if you do not want to use vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is great too or you can use white vinegar too. It depends on your locality. I also added 2 tbs of tomato paste to form a sauce. Let the sauce thicken and turn off the burner.
Take the cooked pasta and mix with the sauce a little at a time until it is all mixed up. Mr. Riaz loves this very much and he was more pleased when it is my own creation. Also I have even found out that a lot of my family members are also reading my blog. 😀 Thank you very much.
P.S. Instant pot version goes like this; water in inner lining select pressure cook for 15 minutes. Press quick release button. Add box or bag of pasta. Again select pressure cook for 15 minutes, again press quick release button, drain. Press cancel, for the sauce select sauté and cook the sauce then add pasta back to Instant pot and the like and stir to combine. Press cancel to turn off and let sit for a few minutes. For tougher meats like beef, lamb, goat and veal, be sure to add 2 cups of water to the instant pot and pressure on high for 20 minutes. Chicken will need 10 minutes. Press quick release button add pasta and stir. For offals like liver and kidneys be sure to remove cortex and membrains, cleanse with saltwater and then vinegar. Fry before using.
benazir's blog 