Vegetarian Creamy Pesto Pasta, Indian Style recipe with step by step photos
Frequently Asked Questions -
Q. Is there any alternative for basil in Creamy pesto penne? You can make the recipe using only spinach.
For cooking the fusilli pasta-
For boiling the fusilli pasta perfectly, boil enough water in a large pan. If you use a small pan, the pasta will clump together on boiling.
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Cover the pan with a lid to make the water boil faster.
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Once the water boils vigorously, add around little salt. The salt will season the fusilli pasta as they cook, which will give you flavorful pasta. Also, the water when tasted should taste like sea water.
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Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir once.
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Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally and gently until the pasta is tender. Cooking times may vary with the size and the thickness of the pasta. Very small pasta (like macaroni, fusilli, conchiglie, penne) may cook in 5 to 7 minutes. Larger shapes (like spaghetti, fettuccine, dried lasagne sheets) may require 10 to 12 minutes. Refer the package instructions to understand the exact cooking time.
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After 5 to 7 minutes, remove one pasta out of the water and keep it aside to cool a little. Bite into the pasta or break it with a fork to check if it's still hard in the center or if it's cooked as you like. For perfectly cooked pasta, cook until it's al dente, which means it is a little firm in the center.
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Immediately drain the cooked pasta into a sieve or colander.
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Transfer to a bowl of cold water or refresh under running water to prevent over cooking.
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Drain again and keep aside.
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If the pasta is not to be used immediately, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it and toss it. Though it makes difficult for pasta to absorb/coat the white sauce.
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For the pesto-
Before grinding the pesto, clean and wash basil & spinach leaves.
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Boil enough water in a deep non-stick pan.
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When the water starts bubbling vigorously, add basil.
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Add spinach and mix well. The traditional pesto recipe makes use of only basil leaves but, we are making a spinach pesto using a combination of both.
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Cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes. This is known as blanching and it helps in retaining the bright green colour from the leafy vegetables.
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Drain with a strainer or simply remove the leaves using a slotted spoon.
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Transfer them in a bowl of cold water and refresh it to prevent further cooking.
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Once cooled, transfer them to a mixer jar.
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Add whole walnuts. The authentic recipe of pesto sauce makes use of pine nuts but, akhrot are a great alternative too. Also, you can use almonds or peanuts as substitue.
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Add roughly chopped garlic.
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Add cheese cubes. Processed cheese can be swapped with parmesan cheese if available.
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Pour ½ cup of milk.
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Add roughly chopped green chillies. This is optional. If your child does not eat spicy food, then skip adding it.
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Add salt to taste.
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Combine all the ingredients and blend to a smooth paste. Keep aside. You can use this homemade pesto to make delightful vegetarian pasta recipes like: Pesto Penne Pasta with Vegetables, Pesto Flat Noodles Recipe, Pesto Macaroni.
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How to make creamy pesto pasta-
To make vegetarian creamy pesto pasta | Indian style veg pesto pasta | veg pesto pasta for tiffin | heat the olive oil in a broad non-stick pan.
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Once the oil is hot, add the fusilli. You can use any variety of pasta like penne, farfalle, spaghetti, macaroni, etc.
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Sauté on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes. To perk up the flavour, you can add vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, baby corn, onions, etc.
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Add the prepared pesto. Apart from pasta, you can use the pesto sauce for preparing Pesto and Mozzarella Panini, Pesto Dhokla, Pesto and Roasted Red Capsicum Bruschetta.
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Mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Our vegetarian creamy pesto pasta | Indian style veg pesto pasta | veg pesto pasta for tiffin | is ready!
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To pack this vegetarian pesto pasta for lunch, allow it to cool completely, and pack it with the cheese sprinkled on top in an air-tight tiffin box. If you enjoyed this recipe of pesto pasta then also check out other veg pasta recipes like : Sundried Tomatoes and Basil Pesto, Veg Fettuccine Pasta in Pesto and Coriander Sauce, Bow Pasta with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Sauce.
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