Here is a super simple and delicious pasta dish. We will use fusilli pasta, readily available in local supermarkets. Fusilli are a type of pasta formed into a corkscrew shape. The word fusilli comes from fuso, as traditionally it is ‘spun’ by pressing and rolling a small rod over the thin strips of pasta to wind them around into a corkscrew shape.
What you will need:
- 350g fusilli pasta (boiled)
- 500g minced meat
- 2 whole tomatoes
- 2 green capsicum
- 2 onions (1 chopped 1 roughly cut)
- 120g tomato paste
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup tamarind paste (ukwaju)
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 1 teaspoon black
- pepper
- 2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Salt to taste
- Coriander for garnish
What to do:
- Cut tomatoes into quarters. Cut sweet peppers into two, remove the seeds from the inside then roughly chop them up.
- Put tomatoes, sweet pepper and one roughly cut onion. Blend.
- Add the vinegar, whole garlic cloves and tamarind paste into the blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
- In a pan over medium heat, add the oil and chopped onion. Sauté until golden brown.
- Add the spices, turmeric, paprika and black pepper. Mix well until fragrant and then add the minced meat. Continue to cook until the minced meat is browned.
- Add the lime juice and continue to cook until the minced meat is almost dry.
- Add the blended mixture, tomato paste and salt to taste. Bring to a boil until the mixture is nice and thick (about 10 minutes).
- Add the boiled fusilli pasta. Ensure you mix it well so that the sauce coats the pasta. Cook it for 2-3 minutes.
- Garnish with some coriander leaves and enjoy the meal.
(Images: Chef Ali Mandhry)
