MBP @ Coffee's with Finger Food!

I bet you all, there are going to be a lot of entries for MBP a culinary event started by our very own Rooma! The theme for this month was Finger Food, which instantly made me think of ALL the street food in India.... The chaat stalls where one stands by the roadside and eats Pani Puri , bhel, a bhutta (corn on the cob, Mumbai ishtyle!!!), Wada Pav.... God, I need a break here.... I'm drooling all over this keyboard! 'scuse me.....

I'm back... one thing that we Indians really enjoy is eating our food with our fingers, not that we do not use spoons and forks, oh yes! we do, when we go to fancy restaurants! but there is something so very satisfying about eating the way we do, with our fingers! In fact eating with your fingers is a cultural experience (for those visiting India). And those who frown upon this practice for hygine.. well, this is one chance you get to wash your hands thoroughlybefore you eat! so there!
Now, moving on to my entry for MBP... yes, I wanted to make the 'Alu Samosa' that we eat so often... But I had to kinda delay that a bit, this weekend we are entertaining a small group of friends and I want to make samosas then, and having these deep fried goodies twice in the same week would have been a bit too much!
So hunting across blogs got me to here...and my search ended! I was waiting to try out puff pastry for a while and here was this chance of doing just that!


The only variation I made was I skipped the Peas.... I am not a fan of peas... un-hunh! I served these with Maggi Hot and Sweet sauce! Yummy and perfect for an evening snack!!

Thank you Rooma for hosting this wonderful event & Priya, for the recipe!!

MBP @ Coffee's !

Rooma here's my entry for the MBP... sorry I am a bit late... I had made this dish when I first saw the event on your blog.... but I guess that's just me.... I make dishes, click snaps... then make drafts with the snaps and .... then.... well, they stay that way.......
So any way..... I checked out a few blogs, bookmarked a lot of recipes but finally settled on Pasta, and the recipe was from Priya
The only addition I made was adding onion to the dish (but in a small quantity)
So without further ado, here is my contribution :

• Penne Pasta - 1/2 pound
• Ripe Roma Tomatoes - 1 cup, finely chopped ( Or 10 oz crushed tomatoes - canned )
• Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
• Garlic - 2 cloves, medium size, finely chopped
• Red chili flakes - 1/2 to 1 tsp
• Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp
• Fresh Parsley - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
  
• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Method

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta al dente according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a deep skillet or pot. Add chopped garlic and saute` until fragrant.
Next add red chili flakes, dried oregano and chili flakes, saute` for 5 to 10 seconds and then add onion, crushed/chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, salt to taste and mix well.
Simmer over low-medium heat for about 5 to 8 minutes or until the tomato sauce has reduced a little bit.
Add cooked pasta, chopped parsley and toss until mixed well.
Serve hot with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Lesson Learnt : I did not have Roma Tomatoes, so I substituted with the normal onesand therefore used less than the prescribed amount .... Will use more tomatoes next time..... and get Roma ones.

VERDICT: This pasta tastes wonderful! The chili flakes give it a zing and Indians who like pasta (with a 'bit' of extra spice) will love it! A wonderful one dish meal... and you may be sure that this will make it's appearance frequently at the dinner table!!!!