Easy recipe: Saucy fusilli with mince meat

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)

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