A couple of random facts before I begin with the recipe:
- I modified the traditional version with locally available ingredients (read my kitchen) and also because the original can have very strong flavours that doesn’t suit some pallettes
- This is pasta with no cheese for me, though when you do a google you’re sure to find some recipes that serve this with parmesan cheese. I believe that the recipe is best eaten without cheese.
Here’s the recipe:
Prepation time: a few minutes, Cooking time: 10 minutes, Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
- 1/2 a pound of pasta (usually spaghetti or linguine is used in original, approx 200-250 grams)
- 1 clove garlic (the traditional uses 1 clove per person approx)
- 2 tsp chilli peppers
- 6 twigs of Fresh Coriander Leaves (original always uses flat leave parsley)
- 1/4 cup of olive oil (extra virgin)
- 1 tsp sea salt
Preparation
1. Mince the garlic into tiny cubes. Do not crush using a mortar. The garlic flakes add to the taste.
2. Wash the fresh coriander leaves and roughly chop.
3. If you dont have red chilli peppers, fry two red chillies into little oil and crush to get flakes.
Method
1. Boil water with sea salt. Add the pasta when it reaches boiling point and cook until “al dente“. My check for “al dente” is to cut a small piece of pasta and see if the inside still has a white line.
2 . Drain in a colander.
3. In a large frying pan, saute the garlic on a medium flame with the olive oil. When it turns golden add the chilli pepper. After a few seconds when the garlic starts to brown, add the coriander. The garlic needs to brown but not burn, what you need to get is biscuit like flakes. Also be careful when you put in the coriander leaves, because the heat of the oil by this time will cause it to crackle.
4. Turn off the heat in a couple of seconds.
5. Add the cooked pasta to this sauce and transfer to serving bowl.
I served this pasta with this recipe of Radish Leaves mixed with Curd.
Some tips:
1. Make the garlic and oil sauce while the water is boiling or pasta is cooking. Tranferring the “al dente” pasta immediately to the sauce is always a good idea.
2. Reserve about 1/4 th of a cup of water while draining the pasta. You can add this in if you find the pasta too dry for your taste.
Looks like a very interesting dish.
Pasta with a Indian twist, not bad!:)
#Raaga
Its quite tasty too
#Asha
I prefer using fresh herbs – fresh coriander was more accessible than flat leave parsley 🙂
hmm.. pasta sounds good!
Nice pasta recipe. I love garlic in pasta 🙂
Then perhaps you should try this with 2 or 3 cloves of garlic – I reduced the amount because Satish (my husband) doesnt like garlic.
What a perfect pasta recipe! My friend Dorothy, who adores Italy and spends many weeks every year in Rome, says that traditional Italian cooks don’t put cheese on pasta. Lemon-cream sauces and marinaras, olives and peppers and herbs, but no cheese. I’m afraid Americans started the Parmesan-on-pasta habit.
Yes Emily. I have been discovering that too!!! Pasta is more often served without cheese, I am learning that the Italians preferred to savour the taste of herbs, veggies and the sauces. I also figured that its probably an American thing (and now Indian) to have pasta as the main course, most recipes seem to consider pasta a dish on the side
Very interesting lakshmi. Like your tailored version.
Hmmm the coriander and pasta, an interesting combo. Will definitely try it.
Do let me know how it turns out Cynthia.
Corriander in pasta!!! That sounds interesting! 🙂
Coriander definitely is “the parsley of India” :). Pasta is lovely with any fresh herb, Coffee.
I too prefer the pasta without cheese and coriander adds a more interesting flavour than parsley.
It does? :). I have somehow always used fresh coriander beacuse its more readily available. Good to know it adds a more interesting flavour.