I never loved cooking until I got married. To me, cooking felt like a waste of time. As you prepare a meal for two or three hours and finish it within half an hour. Cooking takes too much time, dedication, and energy. Also, my mom was always in charge of cooking at home. When she was in the kitchen, we weren’t allowed to interrupt her. Her style of cooking was to prepare meals entirely on her own. This is one of the reasons I never really had to cook.
My mom usually cooked the main dishes, and I sometimes helped her with snacks. Although I didn’t like cooking back then, I was a foodie. I loved fusion-style food. Since I was mostly allowed to make snacks, I became quite good at homemade snacks like noodles, pasta, desserts, and so on.
After getting married, I moved into a new home with new people. In Asian culture, we spend a lot of time cooking, and we also prefer homemade food over restaurant meals. So I started cooking in my own way. And finally, I got my freedom in the kitchen, haha! At first, I had no clue how to prepare main course like chicken or fish. With the help of YouTube and hours of video calls with mom, I figured out the basics of cooking. Within one month, I discovered that I actually love cooking! Almost three years have passed, and my love for preparing food is still growing. To me, cooking is another way of showing love to my family. When I make their favourite dishes and see the way they enjoy and appreciate them, all the tiredness of cooking fades away.
Although I can cook many different things now, my love for pasta remains the same. Since I love experimenting, I’ve tried different ingredients and styles while making pasta, and most of them turn out really mouth-watering. Whenever I feel low or out of track, I make this dish, and my happy mode instantly turns on. Let me share the recipe.
Ingredients
- Pasta
- Noodles (optional)
- Chicken
- Button mushrooms
- Onion
- Garlic
- Capsicum
- Carrot
- Cabbage
- Spinach
- Milk
- Cheese
- Tomato paste
- Tomato sauce
- Egg
- Yogurt
- Black pepper
- Lemon juice
- Ginger paste
- Garlic paste
Method
First, I boil the pasta and noodles with a little oil and salt. Then I cut the chicken into small pieces and marinate it with yogurt, sauce, black pepper, salt, lemon juice, ginger paste, and garlic paste. After mixing everything well, I keep it in an airtight container for half an hour.
Next, I slice the vegetables and mushrooms and chop the garlic and onion. When the pasta is almost cooked, I rinse it with cold water.
Then I heat a little oil in a pan and add the garlic. Once the garlic is lightly cooked, I add the marinated chicken. I sauté the chicken until it turns slightly brown, then add the onion and sauté again. After one or two minutes, I add the carrots first, followed by capsicum and cabbage. Then add a little salt and black pepper to the vegetables.
In another pan, I make scrambled eggs and sauté the mushrooms in a little oil. Then add them to the vegetable mixture. After mixing it well, spinach is added. When everything is well combined, I pour down the tomato paste and milk. After cooking for two to three minutes, I finally put the boiled pasta, followed by tomato sauce. Before turning off the heat, I grate mozzarella cheese on top. The cheese gives the pasta its ultimate perfection.
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I think the secret ingredient that makes this pasta exceptional is black pepper. It has a wonderful aroma that enhances the flavour of the dish.
My stomach is already growling while writing this! I think I need to make this pasta again very soon!