heenie's food blog

                                                               In Pakistan pasta is usually made in Chinese style, like chow mein. My mom makes the best spaghetti. I have watched her making her signature dish so many times but could never get that level of oomph she effortlessly brings to it. So what to do when you try your best and you don’t succeed? Take a U turn. I switched to Italian style. Tangy marinara sauce is just wonderful… It makes any pasta look good even without meatballs.

This particular recipe is a modified version of Chef Cat Cora’s recipe. I once saw it on Oprah Winfrey Show and found it pretty easy yet very very tasty. It requires very simple ingredients and very little preparation. Combine ingredients in one pot, boil pasta in another one and you are done. Simple and quick meal bursting with flavours is ready to be served. Please please please do not use ketchup.

ingredients: (4-5 servings)

300 gm boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced

3/4 tsp cinnamon powder

3/4 – 1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper powder

3/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 big onion roughly chopped

1 cup tomato puree

1/2 cup chicken stock or water

1 medium capsicum, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp parsley

500 gm spaghetti or any other pasta

method:

Pat dry chicken with kitchen towel. Put chicken in a medium bowl and add cinnamon, salt, black pepper powder and red chilli powder. Mix well with a fork. Combine olive oil and chopped garlic in a wok and saute for 30-40 seconds over medium flame. Add chopped onions to the wok and fry for a minute. Bring the flame to high and quickly add seasoned chicken strips. Continue cooking and stirring until all the liquid dries up and the chicken gets light golden, about 2-3 minutes. Add tomato puree and chicken stock/water and mix well. After a boil reduce the heat to low, cover the wok and let it cook until the sauce thickens, 5-7 minutes. Add capsicum, thyme, oregano and parsley, stir well; cover and let simmer for a minute. Turn off the flame and leave the wok covered for 2-3 minutes. Spoon over the bed of boiled pasta and serve warm.