Loosely inspired from Pasta Primavera

The saga of my invention test with penne pasta. This desi version was derived from Pioneer Woman's Pasta Primavera.

Mom and I were doing Diwali shopping at the supermarket when I found a shelf of pasta. My last search for any pasta in this place had proved unfruitful so spotting a packet of penne pasta, one of my favourite kind, led to a quick grab.
Then began the search for oregano and some chilli flakes, didn't get any, but found some onion flakes that looked interesting. Maybe we should stock up on those, for the next time when onion prices shoot up. The only broth cubes were by Maggi, decided to give them a wide berth. So I came home with a packet of penne pasta and a box of soyabean granules and started looking for ways to use them.

Recipe search on Google yielded some Italian and some Indo-Italian options. Masterchef recipes require ingredients beyond my reach, and Pioneer Woman's recipes are beyond rich. Ree Drummond a.k.a Pioneer Woman is an American country-dweller and loves her cream, whipped or not. But the beautiful step-by-step photos that she puts up always lure me to her blog. I read the Pasta Primavera and decided to build from there. It's a basic recipe with lots of vegetables, chicken broth and wine reduction.

Here is how the innovation went. Broccoli of course got substituted by cauliflower. Didn't have much else at hand, so soaked up some of those soyabean granules. Next step, chopping the cauliflower and onion and mincing the garlic.

Since there was no chicken broth and wine involved, the sauce base was tomato. Four long green chillies and some ginger was blended with the tomatoes. While I was prepping the vegetables, the pasta was cooking. I tried for al dente, but it might have been a tad undercooked. What does the pic tell you?

Since this was a going to be an Indian version, I decided to add a little tadka to the pasta as well. Mom and I debated the merit of adding cumin seeds vs. mustard seeds. Mom said cumin would go better so in went a teaspoon of those in the oil. After the crackling was over, the veggies and soyabean cooked for a while and then as Pioneer Woman insisted, were taken off the heat.

The sauce was tomato purée mixed with the veggies and some water drained from pasta and soyabean. Unlike PW's version, mine has no cream or half and half. Coriander took the place of basil. Since I like spicy food, a liberal teaspoon of black pepper was added. 

The pasta went in, cooked a little more on slow flame, and my completely vegetarian, desi pasta primavera was ready. It was too hot due to those green chillies and black pepper and I had been heavy handed with the ginger as well. But besides those flaws, it did taste good. Seal of approval by grandma...