Food talk
Slice of Italy

The pasta seems to have fallen out of favour with Indians, writes Pushpesh Pant

THIS week’s recipe, to be honest, owes a debt to Ram Gopal Varma — yes, the pretentious loudmouth ‘Film Factory’ owner of Satya fame and the man responsible for the Sholay ‘remake’ fiasco. With everyone wasting breath on that Bollywood classic (itself borrowing heavily from countless ‘spaghetti’ Westerns), we were reminded of the delicious pasta that, for some unfathomable reason, seems to have fallen out of favour with Indians. The stream of consciousness operates in a strange manner. One thing ‘leads’ to another almost irresistibly.

As Big B reduced to a caricature of poor Gabbar and himself blabbered on the small screen, we were reminded of the ‘spaghetti flyover’ at the AIIMS in the capital and drooled thinking of how long ago it was when we last tasted this Italian dish that is now alas only associated with a genre of action-packed films or concrete monstrosities constructed to tame snarling traffic. There was a time when Volga served a flavourful mouth watering plate of this delicacy and then there was Casa Medici at Taj Mansingh.

Eggspectation at the Vasant Continental continues to treat its guests to a very satisfying ‘good enough for two’ portion but its not many places that remain loyal to it.

True, there are specialty ethnic restaurants, Tartoria, Sartoria and other Italian sounding eateries that feature it on their menu. Till the MCD sealed it The Olive off the Qutab was a delightful place to indulge. La Piazza at the Hyatt has long been a favourite for the food loving ex pats and the well healed and even the more accessible to the hoi polloi Slice of Italy chain tries valiantly to plug the pasta, its mostly in vain. It is the pizzas that keep the cash counters ringing. The noodle look alike- according to some, the original that Marco took with him to China on his travels — has for some inexplicable reason failed to win the hearts of the masses in India. The two-minute noodle magicians relying on tastemaker sachets have reduced us all to tasteless junkies.

We have never been able to understand why pasta wholesome, tasty, and with infinite possibilities, has failed to win the hearts of us Hindustani. It can be prepared in a little more than the proverbial two minutes, can be adapted to vegetarian or non-vegetarian plates, served as a main course, fulfilling nutritious snack or as a side dish. It can work wonders at any live-interactive pasta station at a party where you can splurge on cooked to your specs spaghetti. All that is required is a packet of pasta- more than a handful of plump tomatoes, a pinch of herbs and of course a slab of good old cheese. If you have some mince (pre-cooked) to top, its great. Incidentally, the word translates as thread and no awards for telling us why.

Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce Ingredients Spaghetti 1 packet Tomatoes (blanched and skins removed) 1 kg Cheese (grated) 50 gm Bay leaf one Cinnamon 1x1inch piece Peppercorns (to be freshly ground, coarsely) 1 tbs Garlic (crushed) 3-4 cloves Olive oil or any salad oil 3 tbs Salt and sugar to taste A large pinch of mixed herbs Method Boil enough water in a heavy bottomed pan with a little salt. Pour out the contents of the packet following instructions. Ensure that the pasta is not overcooked. Drain and gently place aside. Heat olive or any other refined oil (not coconut or mustard) in a saucepan. Add a bay leaf, cinnamon and the crushed garlic, stir for a minute then add the tomatoes. Mash well, add salt and sugar reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle a large pinch of mixed herbs and serve hot. Just before serving garnish with grated cheese and sprinkle over with freshly ground pepper.

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