Italian Cuisine With An Indian Twist

Want to impress your friends with some mouth watering Italian cooking? Amaze your partner with a virtuoso romantic dinner? Cook for your student friends who think you are a no-hoper in the kitchen? Italian Cuisine with an Indian Twist can help you do all this. My easy to follow photo recipes make it a doddle to cook authentic and delicious Italian food with a twist. Each recipe is fully illustrated, and I have made it easy for you to print out the recipe, take it to the kitchen and start cooking, but before that a little to know about Italy.

Italy is made up of twenty regions with distinct characteristics. Every town, every village, makes the same dish in vastly different ways, and every town and village has its proudest specialty. These cooking traditions define people's identities just as much as their dialects and their traditional costumes. Local cooking preferences and customs are shaped by geographic, historical, and climatic differences: some regions are landlocked and mountainous, others hug the sea and are hilly; some regions have absorbed Arab or Greek influences, others have been marked by the French or Austrians; some regions live under the dazzling Mediterranean sun most of the year, others have cold winters, snow, fog, and harsh winds.

So lets start with couple of my own Italian Recipes with a Twist

1. Shrimps Spaghetti

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
2 lbs Skinner Spaghetti
2 large sliced Onions

1 Lbs Small Shrimps
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 Jar Ragu Garden vegetable Sauce
1 Tsp Red Chillie Powder or hot sauce

1 Tsp Cumin Powder

1 Tsp Coriender Powder

2 Zucchini ( Yellow & Green)

Salt and pepper
Shredded parmesan cheese

Cilantro for garnishing

Preparation
1. In a 4- to 5-quart pan over high heat, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender to bite, about 10 minutes. Drain and spray some cold water on it so the pasta doesnt stick to each other. Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over high heat, stir sliced onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes (with juice), and Ragus Garden Vegetable pasta sauce along withsalt, red chillie powder, cumin and coriender powder and sliced zucchini. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or till the zucchini is half done. Rinse and drain shrimp; add to sauce. Stir often just until opaque but still moist-looking in center of thickest part (cut to test), 5 to 6 minutes. Stir cooked pasta into the sauce.

Serve the pasta on a big platter and garnish it with grated cheese and cilantro.

Ekta's Tip: This Spaghetti if made a day before taste great as it absorbs all the spices. Enjoy this Italian dish with an Indian Twist. If Vegetrians skip the shrimps, this can also be a great vege dish.

2. Ravioli

Ingredients

1 Pk Stuffed Ravioli ( Any Preferred one)

2 large sliced Onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 can (14 1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes

1 Jar Ragu Garden vegetable Sauce (Or any preferred Sauce)

1 Tsp Red Chillie Powder or hot sauce
1 Tsp Cumin Powder
1 Tsp Coriender Powder

1 Tsp Tomato ketchup
Salt and pepper

Shredded parmesan cheese
Cilantro for garnishing

Preparation

In a 4- to 5-quart pan over high heat, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Drain and spray some cold water on it so the pasta doesnt stick to each other. Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over high heat, stir sliced onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes (with juice), and Ragus Garden Vegetable pasta sauce along with salt, red chillie powder, cumin and coriender powder . Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir cooked pasta into the sauce.

Serve the pasta on a big platter and garnish it with grated cheese and cilantro.

Ekta's Tip: Choose any vegetrian stuffed ravioli and make this recipe into a vegetrian dish.

Spaghetti and Ravioli is best when served wih garlic bread and white wine. If made a day before or if given enough time for it to absorb the spices the taste just doubles.