Pasta fiesta

This al dente dish has the world wrapped around its different shapes and none complaining about savouring it in its entirety, writes Anu Abraham

Spaghetti, Penne, Ravioli, Linguine, Rigatoni, Farfalle, Fusilli, Cannelloni, Conchiglie belong to the ingenious pasta family that’s been tantalising our taste buds with its versatility as it can be had as an appetiser, for a meal, salad or even a dessert.

Many influencers have also shared their obsession with this versatile ingredient that can be made from scratch at home with some basic ingredients found in one’s kitchen. Shape it, colour it, stuff it, bake it or add your favourite sauce to it and it never fails to delight the person who indulges in it.

Pasta is made from one of the most basic food groups — the grain — and is a source of carbohydrates that provide us with glucose, the fuel our brain and muscles need to function. The flexibility it gives a chef is unmatched as you can pair it with vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry or even fish. If made with whole grain it gives you a good amount of fibre and energy.

(The writer is the author of the cookbook Manna: Your Guide to Indian & Continental Cooking which is a result of her culinary journey during which she documented some of the most sought-after heritage recipes of India and elsewhere.)

Seashells anyone?

When my mom was strolling through Brigade Road in Namma Bengaluru about half a century ago, she stepped into this well-known supermarket. There, she chanced upon a small section of pastas. The shell-shaped Conchiglie pasta fascinated her. It was expensive. Did she need it? Not really! Yet she bought it. She used it as an outline for her colourful rangolis during Navaratri and carefully collected them back. Then one day after she made the traditional salted version of Kozhakattai, some of the filling was leftover. She cast a conniving look at her Conchiglie pasta - her signature dish and the pride of our family was born!

Ingredients
Conchiglie pasta: 250 gms
Urad dal: 250 gms
Chana dal: 100 gms
Grated coconut: 100 gms
Lime juice: 2 tablespoons
Red chillies: 6
Green chillies: 4
Ginger paste: 1 spoon
Mustard: 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida: 1/2 teaspoon
Cooking oil: 100 gms
Curry leaves: 3 sprigs

Method
Soak the dal for two hours and grind them to a fine thick paste along with red chillies, green chillies, ginger paste and salt. Steam the ground ingredients in a pressure cooker separately till it cooks well. Cook the Conchiglie pasta in boiling water after adding half a spoon of salt and then drain the excess water. Heat oil in a large pan and add the mustard and asafoetida till they splutter. Add the cooked dal to the pan, reduce the flame and allow the mass of dal to disintegrate completely. Then add grated coconut, the cooked pasta and curry leaves and stir well. Add lime juice.

(Recipe courtesy S Radha Prathi.)

One ingredient, one recipe

This column celebrates food and explores the possibility of forming an invisible chain that will bind us together as a family. Readers can share their heritage recipe and story in 300 words with “Food Family: Love” mentioned in the subject line to [e-mail] by Sep 12.