Pasta is a common staple now days for Indians. We find it at restaurants, kiosks, shacks and at home.

My love affair with pasta is quite old and I make a bowl of pasta whenever im happy or sad!

Here is a quick fix recipe for making Spaghetti in my favorite sauce- Marinara or classic tomato and basil!

Ingredients:

• 250 gms of Spaghetti noodles (source it from your nearest super market or a local kirana)
• Water (to boil pasta)
• 10-12 pods of fine chopped garlic
• Olive oil 1 tbsp
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 6 large tomatoes chopped
• Tomato ketchup (1 tbsp)
• 1-2 tsp dried herbs/seasoning
• Salt to taste
• Pepper
• Sugar (1/4 tsp)
• Fresh basil leaves (20 -25 leaves)
• Cherry tomato (1, cut into half for garnish)
• Cheese for garnish

Method:

• Boil the spaghetti noodles in a large pan of water. Add enough salt to help speed up the process. Remove when Al Dente, ie. cooked through but still little firm and chewy. Drain the pasta and let it run under cold water in the sink (to avoid further cooking from the heat and to remove the salt)
• In the pan add olive oil. Add chopped garlic and onions. Cook until onion browns and the garlic imparts a slight burned tinge. Add chopped tomatoes and stir well. Remember you need the tomatoes to go soft and release water. Once, the sauce is beginning to get made, add tomato ketchup and stir. Add salt and pepper and keep stirring. As the sauce begins to thicken, add a little water to thin it up. Add dried herbs to the sauce.
• Trust me, by now it smells like heaven! Add sugar ( to balance the sour tomato sauce.), if needed you can skip this step.
• Add the spaghetti noodles to the pan. Add salt as per pasta addition. top it off with some more ground pepper.
• Stir well until the spaghetti is covered in the tomato marinara sauce
• Cook it for 2 minutes then turn off the heat
• Add chopped basil leaves (remember always add fresh herbs in the end and not when the dish is on the heat)
• Serve it on a plate and add chopped cherry tomatoes, basil and grated cheese as garish

In the end it looks like the picture below

Do try this at home and let me know how you liked it! Trust me it is a soulfood experience! 😉

Got variations to this dish? Share it with me in the comments section!

Find out about the history of Pasta