Creamy Tomato Pasta - Home style

Pasta is a favorite amongst my kids. They have grown up eating plain cooked and salted pasta (various shapes and colors) since childhood as it was a nutritious alternate to Rice and could be eaten on their own without me feeding it to them.

Back in India, I found couple of stores (some are chains) that provide Pasta at premium prices, directly imported from Italy or US. In comparison to Indian snack or meal options, Pasta is quite costly (4x).  For example: Poha or Suji (Rava) is  30 Rs. per Kg, Pasta is 110-125 Rs per 0.5 kg. However, I spoil my kids sometimes by giving them Pasta dish. When ever they hear that's for dinner,  they shout a Yay! and the good part is I send left overs as lunch option as their school allows it where as Pizza is completely prohibited.

Since I started writing the blog, I have been interested in turning my meals into masterpieces (well, atleast I try) - all homemade. So, this time instead of using a Pasta sauce from outside, I decided to make my own. Also, since kids love cheese, I added cheese into the sauce and made it creamy. It was a very quick fix meal and everyone including the adult in my family loved it..

Creamy tomato Pasta
 
Ingredients
500 g Pasta (any type)
1-2 of Onion
4-5 cloves garlic
1 Kg Tomatoes
1 Tbsp - Italian herb mix
1 tsp - Black Pepper
4-5 Slices of Processed cheese
1/4 cup milk 
4 Tbsp Extra Virgin oil
1 Tbsp Red chilli flakes (optional for heat)
salt to taste

Directions

Cook pasta in hot water with salt for 10-20 min (as directed in pack) and strain it in cold water - Keep it aside. In another pan, heat oil, and garlic, onion and green pepper. Once sauteed, add chopped tomatoes, spices and salt and cook until the tomatoes are very soft. Squash them into a fine paste. Add Cheese and let it melt in the sauce to a nice cream. If the sauce is too thick, you can add milk instead of water. Let the mix get cooked well in low heat for 10 min. Add the pasta and mix it well with Creamy tomato sauce. Serve hot with Garlic bread (Bread with sprinkled garlic and toasted on flat pan with butter or in oven).

Enjoy!

Creamy Pasta - Vegan style

There is a huge section on Pasta in "The Little Big Vegetarian Book" that I follow and there was this one recipe that struck me very unique. It was very heart healthy and vegan in all respects (non dairy). Coming from the specialized Non Dairy creamer industry, I was surprised that I could make this dish with another cream substitute commonly found in any retail super market.

I created my own recipe based on this base recipe to improve on the taste and flavor and voila, created a perfect substitute for creamy white sauce..that too completely Vegan with no milk solids, best for people who follow strict no milk diet. Everyone at work thought it was made with real dairy cream. It was a feather in my cap coming from folks who specialize in developing Non Dairy Creamers. 

Well guess what, Tofu is the magic ingredient.  I have always used it as Paneer or Cheese substitute in Indian and Chinese cooking, but never as a cream in Italian cooking. I recommend this dish to all you folks who love Pasta, especially creamy Pasta... it gives you the premium taste of cream in a more healthier manner.. No Cholesterol!

Creamy Tofu Pasta - Vegan Style
Author: Vidya Sridhar
Reference: Penne with Tofu
The little Big Vegetarian Book - Page 344

150 g of Tofu (1 packet)
1 tbsp Basil flakes
1tsp Italian spices
1 tbsp Red pepper flakes
Black pepper and salt to taste
1/3 cup blanched almonds
6 tbsp olive oil (any oil is fine)
5 cloves of garlic (2 for sauce and 3 for saute)
1 onion finely chopped 
500 g of Pasta (any kind)
1 Bell pepper chopped
2 big tomatoes, chopped

Boil the Pasta with 1 tsp oil and salt and set it aside in strainer. Boil the Tofu for 4 min and blend it with blanched almonds (with skin), basil, oil, garlic until it makes a smooth paste.
In a large pan, saute garlic, onion until golden brown, add tomatoes, bell pepper, spices and salt and let it cook for 5 min. Add the tofu/almond paste into this, mix well and let it cook for another 5 min in low heat with constant mixing.
Once the raw smell of tofu/soy is removed, shut the heat, toss the cooked pasta and serve hot!

The Tofu paste when raw has the raw flavor of soy that not many relish, but what I found is that it looses this flavor once it cooks well with the spicy vegetables. The almond paste adds the body of real cream giving it the premium taste.

Vegans and all Creamy Pasta lovers.. Bon Apetite...