As the Independence day of India is nearing, I’m seeing tricolor pictures of food everywhere on facebook! I started feeling very nostalgic this morning and as I am away from my motherland, my family, friends and dear ones who’re all living there, it’s adding to that feeling. I was recalling my childhood days, when we had to attend school in a uniform without fail on the morning of the Independence day and teachers would distribute sweets or cookies to all the students. We used to come back home so happy with those treats and obviously because we used to disperse early that day. Haha :’) Back at home in Hyderabad, in the community where we were living, we had a morning gathering at our clubhouse lawn for flag hoisting on Independence day, and we, all the residents, would come in white clothes with the combination of saffron and green, that represented the colors of the Indian flag. We would all sing our National anthem and have morning snacks and tea together there. It’s always such a bright and lovely morning, where everyone feels patriotic, with a sense of love and pride for their country. Sigh…how I miss India!
I needed to prepare something for my weekend lunch, and for the last few days, my elder one, Sheetal, has been asking me to prepare pasta for her. So, I thought of preparing this tricolor penne pasta, adding my patriotic love and creativity to it. The penne, tossed in three different sauces with three unique flavors of their own, reminds me of the famous slogan that depicts India, ‘Unity in diversity’. Though we all are from different cultures and traditions, speak different languages, eat different food; we’re all still interconnected and hold true love and respect for each other, don’t we? Okay, I think this patriotic side of me is taking over. Time to change the topic :’)
Who doesn’t love pasta these days? Kids chow down on pastas any time. And of course, for vegetarians, it is the most easily available food choice on the menu card in any restaurant around the world. Being vegetarian, I know that you can survive on pastas when traveling outside India. Today, keeping the base ingredient as penne, I prepared three different sauces in three different colors (without any artificial color), that have exquisite flavors of their own. The first part of the pasta, in a saffron color, achieved using arrabiata sauce was made with tomatoes, garlic and chili flakes; white color- alfredo sauce- made in butter, milk cream and cheese; green color- pesto sauce made with fresh basil leaves and pine nuts. While the arrabiata sauce comprises of a rich, tangy tomato flavor, the alfredo sauce balances it with its smooth, creamy and cheesy goodness, and pesto elevates the dish with it’s aromatic, warm and herby freshness. The three absolutely lip-smacking sauces, all in one platter, is a sheer joy to any pasta lover. And chill people, it’s pretty quick and easy to prepare. A very good option for kids’ birthday parties, get-togethers and when you have a large number of guests coming over. So what are we waiting for? Let’s prepare this absolutely delicious, spicy, cheesy and flavorful penne to relish during this weekend.
Check out my other pasta recipes below:
Penne pasta recipe:
Boil the pasta of your choice in boiling hot water by adding a few drops of olive oil to it. I have used penne for my recipe today. Pasta always tastes better when it is cooked in olive oil, though I sometimes use normal cooking oil when olive oil is not handy. The flavor of pasta gets enhanced when it is prepared in olive oil. When the pasta is cooked al-dente, that means perfectly done to bite (not too soft), turn off the heat. Wash the pasta under the tap with cold water and keep it aside.
I made three portions of the cooked penne to prepare with three different sauces.
Penne Arrabitata:
Wash and cut tomatoes into cubes. Heat olive oil in a pan, add diced tomatoes and a few cloves of garlic to it. Cook till tomatoes are cooked well. Blend it into a smooth paste.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, add the blended tomato purée to it. Add some red chili flakes or red chili powder, oregano and salt to season it. I added them while blending, so that the flavors can get absorbed well into the sauce. Add the cooked penne to it and mix well. Add some grated cheese to it. You can also garnish it with some basil leaves or olives if you want. Penne arrabiata is ready!
Penne in Alfredo sauce:
Melt butter in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Stir in grated parmesan cheese and ground black pepper. Remove it from the heat, when the sauce reaches the desired consistency. If the sauce gets thickened, add some milk to thin it up. The alfredo sauce is ready!
Toss the cooked penne into the sauce and serve it hot with some grated parmesan on top! You can also add some sautéed vegetables like spinach, broccoli, mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes to it, to make it more nutritious!
Penne in Pesto sauce:
Combine the basil leaves, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and blend them into a smooth purée. Add some olive oil and salt to taste, while blending. If you don’t have pine nuts handy, you can also use any nuts of your choice like almonds, cashews or walnuts. But the traditional pesto is made using pine nuts, so today I’ve prepared it with pine nuts.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add the pesto sauce and let it simmer for two minutes. Add in the cooked penne to the pan and gently stir to coat the penne well into the sauce. Add some grated cheese on top if you like. Penne in pesto sauce is ready in minutes!
Now arrange all the three flavors of pasta into the platter as per your desire and decorate it using all your creativity. I formed it in the shape of the national flag of India. The tricolor penne pasta is ready to serve on this weekend to celebrate the 69th Independence day of India! I love my India <3
