Tadka Pasta

The term tadka can be shamelessly forthright if taken in an onomatopoetic sense. Indian cooking has always been defined distinctively by its tadka, or seasoning. Enter an Indian home with an active kitchen and you’ll invariably get a whiff of this consummate tadka, primarily comprising melted butter or ghee in which mustard and cumin crackle with a tat and a tad, and a variety of other spices leech their smoky, woodsy, bittersweet essences, giving the butter an elevated, opulent status as it tops various savory dishes.

The Green Chutney Pesto is not your run-of-the-mill sauce to mix with any pasta, with an overdose of olive oil. It’s a far more flavorful, verdant, tangy, crisp creation that will add a pop to your regular Penne, for instance. While you have your pot of coddling water ready for the Penne to swim in, grind the following to a glassy smoothness in your blender:

•  1/2 Raw mango, sliced up thin and long
• A bunch of mint leaves
• A handful of cilantro sprigs
• 12-15 Almonds
• 2-3 Green chilies
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup light olive oil
• A splash of ice-cold water

 

 

In the Tadka kitchens, we have often trumped this up a notch by throwing in a few blades of green onions, freshly grated lemon zest and a spritz of lemon juice, so don’t be a wuss when it comes to fashioning additional avenues for flavor. Your Penne should be ready by this time, al dente or softer if you prefer, bathed in cold water and strained in a colander. Toss the Penne with this uber-luscious Green Chutney Pesto and oven-roasted vegetables or meat of your choice, put it out in your favorite casserole, add a quick tadka topping — of cumin powder and bread crumbs rolled in warm butter, top it up and bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes and voila, you have your Tadka Pasta ready to dig into.

We’re sending our Tadka Pasta off to –

tADKA pASTA

TADKA PASTA

TADKA PASTA