pasta

Ignite

I make this about once a month.

If I have to make it for a vegetarian friend I just substitute the chicken for sliced mushrooms.

Let me know if you like it, I have a few more.

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Nitinthegreat

I tried both of the flavors as well as veg and non veg variants of both of them. They are okay okay kind off.
Neither to good nor too bad.

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august

Recently I bought a paket of vermicilli over which its written vermicilli pasta
Is the normal vermicilli available in the market is different from the one which we get to eat in Idd or its the same one with only change in preparation.

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vko

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermicelli
The word Pasta is a very generic term. Check this list of pasta for details of other types.

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vko

august - if you want to make pasta at home, don't buy vermicelli (aka shimui in Bengali) - that's good for payesh only (and few more complex recipes). Go to a super market and search for Bambino's Macaroni. Looking like small bent pipes, It's the most common type of pasta. The texture of Bambino is good and it's easy to make. No other Indian brands are up to the mark. You'll also find some imported brands, and those are good too, but pricier.

Below is a most basic recipe (for 1 person):

1) Boil some water with salt. Put in half-cup of dried macaroni, boil for another 4-5 mins till al-dente (cooked a bit firm, but not sticky). Drain the water, and wash the macaroni with normal (not too cold) water. Set aside (use within 15 mins). This is your pasta, now you need a sauce.

2) Heat some oil in a saucepan/wok. Throw in 2 whole dried red chillies, 2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped), and a small onion (chopped). Saute for half a minute. Put in 2-3 large red tomatoes (chopped) and saute for a few mins, with salt and black pepper per your taste. Too dry? add some water (not too much). Stir in the boiled macaroni, and let it get warm for about a minute. Serve it on a plate, garnish with some cilantro (green coriander), a cube of butter, and enjoy!

3) Now, there are a lot of things that you can do to make it taste better (and/or more authentic):

• Replace oil that you use with Olive oil.
• In the same supermarket you buy the pasta, look for dried basil - if you are lucky you'll find it. Use it in the sauce.
• If you want to go for the imported stuff, you may also be interested something called a pasta sauce (comes in glass bottles similar in shape to jam bottles). Expensive, but worth a try, just read the written instructions on how to make the sauce.
• Sprinkle some grated cheese (any will do, there ain't too many options in Indian supermarkets) over your plate along with butter.
• Read the recipes online, and try to replicate them with stuff that is easily available here. Experiment, you'll be surprised with how the taste can change with a simple variation in the sauce. Then go explore other types of pasta. Remember, even noodles is a type of pasta.

Bon Appétit!

P.S. - Tip about finding what you are looking for: If you can't find it in the supermarket of your choice, go to a bigger supermarket. One good place to find all of the above things is Food Bazar (in Big Bazar). They keep the Italian spices like Basil, Oregano, etc. too.

trooooon

Vermicelli makes a mean upma too . .

I would personally make the pasta myself, its really simple, and beats the off the shelf ones hollow . . . Bambino really sucks in my opinion!

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vko

Yeah, I forgot the vermicelli upma.

Fresh home-made pasta is surely lot better than dried, but simple it is not. The only reason dried pasta exists, is because it is easier (and faster) to make. People generally tend to spend more time and effort on the sauce, and forget that the pasta is equally important.

Well, food is something we all have strong opinions about!

trooooon

That is so true . .
I would still urge you to give it a shot, its like a 1/2 hour of mucking in dough, can be quite fun!! Free range eggs are the key though