My Kind of Pasta!

In my last blog, I mentioned that I cooked my kind of special pasta in my very special day, to treat myself! So, why pasta? Why I didn't cook any other special dish in my birthday? Well, there are quite a few reasons for that. First of all, pasta is one of those easy-to-cook and quick-to-cook menu, in my little bit of culinary knowledge. Secondly, I prepare it quite frequently, so I've developed some skill on cooking pasta, you can say. And thirdly, my kind of pasta, is just made for my taste buds. With so many days of pasta-cooking experience, I've balanced all the spices and ingredients in such a way - that I just don't find any other pasta as delicious as my kind of pasta. Even though we are typically Bengali, in terms of food choices - still pasta has secured a place in my dinning room.

So, when my girls were staying with us - pasta was their favorite dish, as well. Those days, planning and prepping up for the school lunch-box, was a real task. I mean, every night, I used to plan out - what am I going to put in their lunch box the next day? Pasta, being a favorite, was an obvious choice for their school-time lunch. They were very happy too! I used to find the lunch-box completely clean when they were back home - so I was also very happy thinking that my daughters had a proper meal! This was going on nicely until they started questioning every morning - Mom, what you are giving us today for lunch? And if my reply was - pasta, they would be completely shocked - don't give us pasta any more! I asked - why? was it not properly cooked last time? They replied - no Mom, if you give us pasta , we don't get to eat at all - all our friends have it before we even get a single morsel of it!!!

And thus my kind of pasta won the hearts of all the kids, who were in the same class with my daughters. After knowing this, whenever I used to put pasta in the lunch-box, I knew I had to cook in large quantity for all those kids too! When the kids used to come to our home, they were like - Aunty, will you cook pasta for us? 

All these kids grew up in their own way, now most of them are staying in hostels, in some distant city studying in colleges. Last year, when the college admission was going on, one such girl (a friend of my younger daughter) was extremely sad and depressed. Her parents did not give her permission to take admission in a reputed Central-Govt Engineering college, even though she scored really good in JE-Mains - just because they don't want their daughter to go so far from home. So they forced her to take admission in a nearby Private college, which is definitely not so good if compared to the other college. So she cried whole day, didn't eat any thing, and her Mom was also very tensed. My daughter went to her place and brought her to our home to talk and ease out the tension. When she came to our home, she was quite saddened and shocked with her parents attitude. To ease out the situation, I asked her - shall I make pasta for you? And immediately her face lit up with a bright smile, saying - yes Aunty, I am very hungry, please prepare a large quantity!!

So far, that's all - my pasta story! Life is full of surprises and gifts - you don't know, when you are going to receive these gifts - but when you receive it just cherish and feel how blessed you are!!

Coming back to the pasta - here are the secrets of my recipe. Firstly, I always stock up the extra Pizza seasoning sachets, which are served along with the pizza. Particularly, the seasoning sachet of Pizza-hut has this enhanced taste and flavors. Secondly, I keep the pasta little crunchy, it's not that soft or soggy. And finally, most of the time I don't use any white or red sauce - which gives the pasta a fresh-look, even if you eat it out of a lunch-box after 2-3 hrs of cooking.

1. First step, is to marinate the chicken in vinegar (1-2 spoons) adding salt and freshly crushed pepper. Keep it aside.

2. Wash the vegetables and slice it. This time I used fresh mushrooms, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and onions. 

3. Cook the pasta till the point it is crunchy but not soft. Keep it strained after cooking.

4. In a separate pan, sear the chicken breast in both sides, till nicely done. You can shred the chicken breast in pieces.

5. In the wok, add oil (I use white oil, you can replace it with olive oil, if you want). Add freshly crushed garlic (around 5-6 medium size) and 2 sachets of seasonings. I also add the red chili seasonings, to add little hotness.

6. Add the vegetables, add salt to taste - fry the vegetables but don't over cook. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the pasta to it. Sprinkle salt and freshly crushed pepper on top. Toss all items gently. Add the chicken on top and mix well. 

6. Switch off the stove and place 3-4 Amul cheese slices on top, cover the wok with a lid. The cheese will melt down on its own. You may sprinkle more pepper powder on top, if you want, just before serving.

Enjoy my kind of pasta!!!

P.S. - When I shared this pasta image with my elder daughter, she wrote back to my - my saliva glands are paining!! (Probably you also feel that striking sudden pain in your saliva glands, when you suddenly see an image of your favorite food!!)