Pasta in White Cream Sauce

Serves two.

Quick to put together and delicious to taste, it isn't exactly the healthiest of foods. I don't have a picture, but I've borrowed one from image search.

You need -

2 tbsp butter

1 cup milk

2 tbsp flour/maida

1/2tsp salt and pepper

2 cups of boiled macaroni or pasta

1 tsp oregano

What you need to do -

- In a pan, heat the butter and add the milk, salt and pepper

- Once heated, add the flour and stir briskly to avoid any lumps (add more milk if you'd like the cream to be thinner)

- Add the boiled macaroni/pasta and mix until adequately cooked

- Garnish with oregano seasoning

Serve hot with garlic bread!

Cilantro & Mint Risotto

When I was in Rome in June '08, I had the best spinach pasta ever! So, I decided to try it out at home, but with a few variations. I made a cilantro-mint version of it, with easily available ingredients, and I must say, it came out better than I expected.

You need -

1 cup rice (I used regular white rice, but you could use brown rice or the original arborio rice)

1 cup of mint leaves

1 cup of coriander/cilantro leaves

1/2 an onion

2 tsps olive oil

Some garlic salt

1 cheese cube/slice or 1 small cup of Parmesan cheese

5 tbs of white wine

What you have to do -

- Mince the onions and sautee in the olive oil until it turns translucent

- Add some garlic salt and regular salt to taste

- Grind the mint and cilantro into a rough paste and add to the mix on the flame

- After a minute, add the raw rice

- Allow rice to cook and after it's half done, add the white wine

- When the rice is almost done, add the cheese and wait for it to fully cook

- Garnish with freshly chopped mint/cilantro

Serve hot!

Spaghetti

Serves two.

This turned out to be surprisingly easy to make and is quite fulfilling as a dinner.

You need -

Good quality wheat spaghetti

2 tomatoes

1 onion

1 bell pepper/capsicum

Some oregano/basil seasoning, salt to taste

Some olive oil

Chili flakes, cheese (optional, be recommended)

What you have to do -

- Boil a portion of the spaghetti in hot water until it turns soft - be careful not to break the strands

- Make a paste of the onions in a blender

- In a kadai, let the paste turn golden brown by heating in a small tsp of olive oil

- Similarly, make a paste of the tomatoes and add to the mix

- Once it's cooked adequately, add the capsicum (chopped lengthwise)

- Add salt and the oregano

- Add the soft spaghetti and let it cook together for 4-5 minutes

- Add chili flakes (if you want it spice) and Parmesan cheese (use regular cheese slices if you want it to melt fast)

Serve hot!

Serve with -

Garlic bread & salads

Indianized Pasta & Garlic Bread

Serves two.

I don't have an oven or a toaster, but still find this to be a very easy-to-make dinner - using just the stove, a kadai and a pan. It takes me about 15 minutes.

(Taken using my phone one evening - please excuse the quality of the picture!)

Pasta:

You need -

2 cups of macaroni

1/2 pack of tomato puree

1 onion

2 tomatoes

Garlic salt, oregano, salt, pepper

Cheese slices (optional, but recommended)

Coriander (optional)

What you have to do -

- Boil the mac until it's soft - add some salt and a drop of oil in the water to keep it from sticking to one another

- In a kadai, sautee chopped up the onion and tomatoes, and add half a pack of puree and wait for it to bubble

- Add salt, pepper and the garlic salt and mix

- Then, add the boiled mac and mix well

- Put in the cheese slices and watch it boil into the mix

- After letting the mac absorb the 'gravy,' add some oregano, garlic salt, chopped up coriander, and then take it off the flame

Garlic Bread:

You need -

4 slices of bread (brown/multi-grain if you want to make it healthy)

Garlic Salt

Butter

Grated cheese (optional)

Chopped green chillies

What you have to do -

- Apply butter on both sides of the slices of bread and sprinkle with garlic salt

- Heat on the tawa on a low flame and wait for both sides to turn golden brown (to make it crispy, turn the flame off and leave the slices on the hot tawa for a short while)

- Sprinkle the grated cheese and green chillies on top and wait for it to form a crust (with the heat of the toast)