Green Pasta with Spinach- Indian Pesto Pasta

When you have limited veggies in hand and also tried of the usual menu, what do you all make! I checked my refrigerator and found limited veggies but not enough for a full fledged Indian lunch. So that lead to a quick search in my pantry and here comes pasta to my rescue. I follow Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and have tried most of his recipes. During one such recipe searches I had found this green pasta which is an Indian twist to the authentic pesto pasta. This recipe uses Spinach and peanuts instead of the typical Basil and pine nuts.

I have changed and added quite a bit from the original recipe. I have added Chicken, brinjals and tomatoes also to this. It turned out to be super tasty and healthy. Lets get straight to the recipe.

Ingredients: 

• Pasta- Of your choice (I used penne)
• Spinach- a bunch- cleaned, washed, about 1 cup paste
• Peanuts- Roasted, 1/2 cup (Optional)
• Garlic- 4 pods
• Onion- 1 chopped
• Chicken Cubes- 1/2 cup (Optional)
• Brinjal - Cubes cut 1/2  cup (Optional)
• Tomatoes- 2 cut in cubes
• Cream cheese- 2 tbsp (optional)
• Pasta Cheese/ mozzarella cheese- 1/2 cup 
• Milk- 1/4 cup
• Cooking cream- To make more creamier (Optional)
• Olive oil- 2 - 3 tbsp
• Salt- as per taste
• Pepper powder - 2 tsp 
• Pasta Seasoning (oregano, Basil, Thyme) - To garnish 

Method: 

1. First blanch the clean and washed spinach in some water. It takes about 3- 4 mins in hot water. Drain and keep aside to cool. 
2. Take peanuts and dry roast them for 1 min and remove the skin and keep aside. Avoid this step if not using peanuts or if you already have toasted and skin removed peanuts. 
3. Take the blanched spinach, peanuts, garlic and grind it to a paste using 1 tbsp water (if needed) and keep aside. 
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta as per instructions on the packet. Usually it is cooked by boiling water in a large pan and adding in the pasta in boiling water along with salt and olive oil and drain off the water once pasta is cooked 
5. Keep aside the cooked pasta. Make sure to retain the pasta water for later use (See NOTES)
6. Now take a kadai or a large pan and add 1/2 tsp olive oil, add in the chicken cubes along with some salt and pepper and cook them, keep aside. Repeat same for brinjal and tomatoes or any veggie you are using separately. You can avoid this step if not using any veggies. 
7. In the same pan, add little more oil and saute' the chopped onions. 
8. Once the onions turn pink, add the spinach-peanut paste. Season with salt and pepper
9. Add in the cream cheese, and stir it for about 1 min till it melts. (Skip this step if not using)
10. Add the cooked pasta, mix well. The spinach paste will mix well and give it a nice green colour. Add the milk at this stage. This is to make it creamier and to give little more volume to the sauce. 
11. Add in half quantity of pasta cheese, season with pasta seasoning and give it a nice stir. 
12. Add in all the veggies and cooked chicken in to the pasta and mix well.  
13. Switch off the flame and check for salt and pepper. Add if needed. 
14. Garnish with remaining pasta cheese and seasoning with a drizzle of olive oil and serve hot. 

Notes: 

• Always retain the cooked pasta water. If you feel the sauce is dry or pasta has become dry you can always add this water to give it the natural flavour. 
• Milk here is used only for adding and making the sauce little more thinner. You can avoid if you want. 
• Add your choice of veggies like carrot, beans or you can totally avoid them.
• If you don't use garlic you can totally avoid them. 
• Make sure the pasta is al dente for best results. Follow instructions on the pack

Do write in for any doubts and comment below if you like the recipe. 

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