To make the white sauce
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of butter
Put that on low heat
let that melt
I'll add in
2 tbsp of maida (all purpose flour)
and cook it
on low heat
till the raw smell of the flour goes away
I'm making 2 cups of white sauce
so, I'll add in
2 cups of milk
but, a little at a time
break up the lumps
take it of the heat if you have to
and then
add in the rest of the milk
and ... mix it
Don't stop whisking
till everything is smooth
and combined
Season with salt
and pepper
Cook it on low heat
till it thickens slightly
So, the sauce has thickened
I see bubbles appearing on it
I'll turn it off
and let it cool down
These are the ingredients for the vegetable layer
I'll tell you all about them as we go along
2 tbsp of oil heating up
I'll add in the onion
that's one medium onion finely chopped
once that's got a light colour on it
capsicum
again a medium capsicum chopped finely
Let's add in the mushroom
that's about 200 g of (button) mushroom
chopped roughly
Toss this for half a minute
once it starts to release water
add in the carrots
one large carrot (chopped)
boiled
half a cup of boiled peas
a tsp of grated garlic
season with salt
a tsp of coriander powder
black pepper powder to taste
a tsp of Channa Masala powder
Yes, you heard right :)
Give it all a mix
and
cook it for a minute
You could use any other
pre mixed
masala (spice mix)
Add in a tbsp of flour
all purpose flour
So, this is going to help
thicken the sauce
that we'll add to it
as soon as the raw smell goes away
Add in a cup of fresh tomato paste
and some chili sauce
according to taste
Mix it up
and cook it for
2 minutes
I reserved some water from boiling pasta
and I'll add in
about 1/2 cup of it
Bring that to a boil
That looks nice!
Love the sizzle :)
Taste it and adjust the seasoning
Turn off the heat
and let it cool down completely
This is
two heaped cups of boiled pasta
you could use any pasta ... doesn't matter
To this...
I'll add in about a cup
of the white sauce
and a cup of grated Mozzarella cheese
Toss it up
so that everything is mixed well
Just remember...
that the white sauce should be at room temperature
otherwise, the cheese will melt
So, just mix it up
and keep it to a side
The vegetable filling
has cooled down completely
so, I'll add in some chopped coriander leaves
mix it well
I'm using a 1.5 liter rectangular dish to bake
the pasta
a drizzle of olive oil
right at the base
spread that out
and the base layer will be the vegetable layer
add it in
all of it goes in
spread it out evenly
Top it up with the pasta
that
I had mixed
with cheese and the white sauce
spread it out
to cover the vegetables
TO the remaining white sauce
I'll add in 1/2 a cup of processed cheese
that I grated
and mix it in
Pour it over the pasta
to cover it
all over the surface
More processed cheese on top
some bread crumbs
Put it in the fridge for 15 to 20 mins
till the oven is heating up
Drizzle some olive oil on top
right before you put it in the oven
Bake at 180 degrees C for 20 mins
So, our pasta bake is out of the oven
and
There's a nice colour to it
the vegetable filling has oozed out perfectly
Smells yummy!
and look at that
Serve it hot
with bread rolls
or garlic bread
and
enjoy!
