Spicy Macaroni

Hello guys.... I have been asked by so many people that I have not been very active blogging. Yes, I have been very busy with some other stuff & hence got lazy. However my kitchen is always busy & I have been cooking all the time. The parties at my place are always on & I have been having friends come over for dinners at least once a month. I love inviting friends for dinner as much as I love cooking.

The weather here is Austin is bad now & it goes to - degrees most often.  This weather also makes me hungry all the time. You already know that I love other cusines apart from Indian & one of my favorites is (Italian) Pastas. I make them at least once a week. Mostly these are Indianised to suit our taste buds at home, But trust me... these are better than the restaurant bland ones. I mostly use the same sauce & just alter here & there to get a different taste. This is how I made these.

Making time: 30 mins
Preparation time: 20 mins
Serves: 3- 4 people

Ingredients:

• 3 cups macaroni or any pasta you like
• 1 cup Tomato puree
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tspn coriander powder
• 1 tspn cumin powder
• 1 tspn Red Chili powder (Skip it if you don't want it spicy)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 250 gms beef minced. (Alternate with chicken or any meat of your choice)
• 3 tbspn extra virgin olive oil
• water for boiling the pastas
• salt as per taste

Method:

1. Boil Pasta in a pot full of hot water for about 10 mins or until its cooked. Once they are cooked, drain them & set it aside
2. In the mean time, add oil to a big pot & fry the garlic until fragrant. Now add in the onions & fry them until they are pink.
3. Once the onions turn pink which will take about 4 to 5 mins, add in the minced meat to uit & give it a good mix.
4. Brown the meat for about 5 to 6 minutes in the pan. Now its time to add the Tomato puree & give it a good mix.
5. turn the flame to medium heat & add in the spices into the pan along with salt. Now add a cup of chicken stock, cover the lid of the pan & cook this for about 10 mins stirring in between. You need to be careful at this stage as the tomato sauce splutters all over. So make sure you are using a big deep sauce pan.
6. Generally in 10 - 12 mins the sauce is ready. Just taste the sauce and add in salt if required. The sauce will reduce in quantity & it get thicker. Incase the sauce is very thick add some water to get it to the right consistency.
7. Finally add in the cooked macaroni & give it a good mix.
8. Garnish the dish with Parmesan cheese before serving.
9. You would also add in basil leaves or even coriander for garnish