Spaghetti – Like you have never seen it before

Earlier this year, I had the chance to judge a cooking show. It was my first ever stint as a judge and I was nervous! But the amazing contents on the show, The Amul Food Food Maha Challenge hosted by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, made me feel welcome and so comfortable. All the food that I tasted.. and I think I tasted about 40 dishes for the show, were fantastic!

I wanted to showcase one of the dishes here for you all to try at home.  The KEY TO REMEMBER HERE — the contestants had to work with what they had so this dish was created with what he had on hand at the time.

This dish was created by the uber talented Chef Saransh Goila (pictured above). He not only won on the episode I judged, but went on to win the entire series and the title, “India’s First Super Chef”. He is a smart, talented and very creative young chef and I know that he will go far. He kindly shared this with me and I hope you will enjoy it. Saransh is getting ready to host his own talk show in India! So much talent!!

Photo of the dish taken for a Life of Spice by the super talented Soma Rathore at eCurry.com

Spaghetti Moily

Spaghetti tossed in mildly spiced South Indian Curry

Ginger paste and garlic paste are available at Indian and Asian grocers.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

10 fresh curry leaves, plus more for garnish

2 medium onions, chopped

2 teaspoons ginger paste

2 teaspoons garlic paste

3 small green chiles, stemmed and slit lengthwise

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

Salt

1/2 medium tomato, seeded and cut into small cubes

1/2 cup heavy cream

9 ounces spaghetti

Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

1.            Place a large pot of water over high heat to come to a boil.

2.            Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the curry leaves and sauté for a few seconds.

3.            Lower the heat, add the onions, and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.

4.            Stir in the ginger and garlic pastes, chiles, and turmeric. Raise the heat to high and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.

5.            Stir in the lemon juice and coconut milk. Add salt to taste. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the sauce does not stick.

6.            Stir in the tomato and cream, cover again, and keep warm over very low heat until the spaghetti is ready.

7.            When the water boils, add salt and the spaghetti. Cook about 9 minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally so the spaghetti doesn’t stick together.

8.            Drain the spaghetti well. Add to the sauce and stir to coat.

9.            Divide the spaghetti and sauce onto serving plates. Garnish with cilantro and curry leaves.