Tag Archives: quick and easy

Pasta Grande

Pasta Grande is my own invention and believe me it is one of the bests. I love the sweet chilli sauce taste in chicken pasta and the champignons and the bell pepper adds a very fine taste to it plus it is covered with cheese. You and your family or whoever you will feed this will love it.

Ideal for lunch, snack, hi tea parties, birthday parties, kids parties, camping trips, picnics, etc.

 

Ayesha’s Kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

  • 500 gms chicken mince
  • 100 ml tomato paste
  • 200 ml pasta sauce (1 kg tomatoes, cut into chunks, sprayed with olive oil, salt, thyme, oregano and rosemary, broiled for 35 mins of 200 degrees Celsius or until crusty, mashed and passed through sieve)
  • 4 tbspns sweet chilli sauce
  • 2 small cans/ 2 cups of champignons (button mushrooms) ( I used champignons because they taste better in this recipe?
  • 1 bell pepper/ capsicum (chopped into small dices)
  • 1 tbspn red chilli flakes
  • 1 tspn cracked black pepper
  • 1 packet of spaghetti (I use 1 packet of San Remo)
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbspns of minced garlic

FOR WHITE SAUCE

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 tbspns flour
  • 100 gms butter
  • 2 tbspns sharp parmesan cheese (optional)
  • Salt and pepper (be careful with salt as we have added salt in the pasta as well plus the cheeses are a bit salty too)

FOR TOPPING

  • Mix of shredded Mozzarella (1cup), Cheddar( ½ cup) and (4 tbspns) Parmesan.
  • Some Italian herb mix
  • A bell pepper sliced
  • 4 tbspns oil

Method:

  1. Heat oil in a pan and fry chicken mince. Break it into pieces when sautéing. Add garlic when the chicken changes its color and cook until the water from the chicken dries.
  2. Now add all the sauces (pasta sauce and sweet chilli sauce) and tomato paste and mix. Add champignons and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat with the lid on.
  3. Add salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Stir and remove from heat.
  4. Boil some water in a big pot and add a generous pinch of salt. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente’.
  5. Drain the water and keep the boiled spaghetti in the colander under running cold water and separate them with your hands. When the spaghetti is all separated and the starch is drained turn off the water and keep the spaghetti aside in the colander for 2 minutes. Now add the spaghetti in the tomato and chicken mixture.
  6. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius on broil mode.
  7. For white sauce, melt some butter in a sauce pan, add some Italian herb mix and flour. Saute until the flour starts turning light brown. Add milk with constant whisking and cook until the sauce thickens. Add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and turn off the flame.
  8. Put the pasta in the baking dish, pour over the white sauce and then cover with a layer of mix cheeses, capsicum slices and herb mix and broil for good 20 minutes until the cheese looks bubbly and golden from the top.
  9. Take out the dish from the oven very carefully and let it rest for good 10 minutes. It will allow it to settle down a bit which will make it easier for you to cut the portions. Serve hot.

 

 

 

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Tawa Keema/ Tawa Qeema

This recipe is my very own version of tawa keema. It is a very chat pata, masaledaar dish which can be made in minutes and loved by all. A very easy and rich recipe for you one dish girls party or just a casual dinner when you dont feel like cooking a time consuming dish.

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 4 tbspns oil
  • 500 gms chicken/ lamb/ beef keema
  • A generous pinch of meat tenderizer (only if using beef or mutton)
  • 2 tbspns fried onions (crushed)
  • 1 tbspn ginger and garlic paste (fresh)
  • 2 tomatoes blanched, peeled and chopped fine
  • 3 tbspns green chillies (chopped fine)
  • Salt to taste
  • A generous pinch of chicken salt
  • 1 tspn Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 1 tspn red chilli flakes
  • ½ tspn turmeric
  • 1 tspn cracked coriander seeds
  • 1 tspn crushed roasted cumin seeds
  • 1 tspn pan roasted anardana (crushed)
  • A pinch of cracked black pepper
  • A generous knob of butter
  • A pinch of methi leaves
  • 2 tbspns lemon juice

Method:

  1. Add a generous pinch of meat tenderizer to the mincemeat and mix. Keep aside for 30 minutes. If you are using chicken mince, eliminate this step.
  2. Heat oil on a tawa and fry ginger garlic paste and green chillies. Add the mince and stir fry. Break it into pieces while stir frying on medium heat. Add tomatoes and all the ingredients accept lemon juice, methi leaves, black pepper and butter and cook until the tomatoes are mushy.
  3. Add butter and stir fry until the food looks cooked and the oil starts separating. Add rest of the ingredients and give a quick last stir.
  4. Serve hot with roti.