South Indian Style Noodles

Pin It Now!

I love this time of the year. I love everything about it. The weather-slightly cold but not  bone-chilling. The fondly decorated homes, the dazzling lights, the stores, all decked up with wreaths, bows welcoming the enthusiastic shoppers.

This year we put up a Christmas tree in the living room. We decorated it with cute little ornaments and even got some artificial snow to throw on it. It enlivens the holiday spirit. Now all we need is the holidays to arrive as fast they can !!

These little things in life make me so excited and happy. And then there's something else that makes all three of us really happy. Its this bowl of these spicy noodles. I tried  something similar at an Indian restaurant here and attempted it at home.

South Indian Style Noodles

What's needed :

1/2 a packet of Spagetti ( I use Barilla brand)

1C of julienned vegetables red,yellow,orange peppers, onions, cabbage (use any combination of these in any proportions)

4-5 tbsp tomato puree ( substitute with pizza sauce or see note at end to make quick tomato puree)

3-4 curry leaves

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp of sambhar masala

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

salt as per taste

water as needed to boil pasta

olive oil as needed

How to :

• Boil the pasta in salted water for 10 min or as per package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• Over medium heat combine the 4-5 tbsp olive oil, add curry leaves and cumin. Saute till sizzling for 1 min.
• Add the sliced onions, ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute or two.
• Then add the rest of vegetables and cook till tender  wilted but still crisp.
• Add the tomato puree/pizza sauce and sambhar powder. Saute till the mixture leaves oil on the sides. Cook till mixture is lumpy.Add salt.
• Add the noodles and give a good mix to blend in with the sauce.Taste and add more salt or red chilli flakes (to make it more spicy).
• Top with more olive oil and serve.

Tip - To make a quick tomato puree, microwave 2 tomatoes in a bowl of water for 3 min or more until the skin peels off. Cool, remove the skin and give it a quick chop.

We all love such off-beat dinners. We had this with some tomato soup on the side.

And the leftovers were enjoyed from the lunchbox the next day.