Veg Pasta in Red Sauce

When it comes to making Pasta. The usual reaction we get it OMG.......

Well, cooking pasta is really not that tedious if you have the right ingredients and if you make the right preparations.

Pasta is generally a simple dish, but comes in large varieties because it is a versatile food item.Traditionally fresh pasta was produced by hand, sometimes with the aid of simple machines, but today many varieties of fresh pasta are also commercially available in supermarkets.

Common forms of pasta include long shapes, short shapes, tubes, flat shapes and sheets, miniature soup shapes, filled or stuffed, and specialty or decorative shapes.

Today I have used penne pasta which is long and tube shaped. I have also used a lot of veggies. So its healthy and filling.

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta                             3 cups

Tomatoes                                   2

Baby Corns                                4 to 5

French Beans                            7 to 8

Cauliflower / Broccoli               10 to 15 florets

Carrots                                       1

Red / Yellow Bell Peppers        1/2 each

Olives                                          8 to 10

Garlic                                           8 to 10 cloves

Olive Oil                                      2 tsp

Namak Shamak                        1/2 tsp

Butter                                          1tsp

Maida                                          2 tsp

Cold Milk                                    1 1/2 cup

Tomato ketchup                         1/2 cup

Mixed Herbs                               2 tsp

Chilli flakes                                 2 tsp

Cheese                                       1 cup

Method:

Boil the veggies except the Bell Peppers in salt water till half cooked. Drain and keep aside. In the same water boil the pasta till done (don't overcook it, take one and just try to break it with a spoon if it cuts easily its done). Drain it in a sieve and hold the sieve under cold water. Now add the olive oil to the drained pasta and keep it aside (the olive oil is used so that the pasta does not stick).

Chop the garlic and the tomatoes. 

In a Non stick pan add butter and put in the garlic. Saute till it turns a little golden. Now add the maida and keep in roasting it in the butter till it becomes a little brown. Pour in the cold milk and keep on stirring till it becomes smooth sauce. There should not be any lumps.

As soon as the sauce begins to boil add the chopped tomatoes. Cover in cook for 2 mins. Now add the tomato ketchup, the chilli flakes, the herbs and the salt. You can add a little sugar for the little sweet and sour taste.

Add the boiled veggies first and then the Bell Peppers and the Olives. Let the sauce simmer for sometime and then put in the pasta.

Mix very nicely so that the sauce is incorporated the penne pasta.

Grease a oven proof container and pour in the pasta. Layer grated cheese on the top, place the container on a high stand and grill till the cheese turns brown.

You can add a little cheese to the sauce also to make it a little more cheesy, but for those who are calorie conscious skip the cheese totally. Believe me it tastes as good.

You can decorate it with more Olives and Bell Peppers.

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