Tandoori sabzi, makhani and chutney in pasta? Follow these recipes to make the Italian dish uniquely

The Italians gave us pasta, and nothing has ever been the same as most people have fallen in love with the delicious dish over the years. It is hard to ignore the perfectly cooked pasta with its delicious variants of sauce that make it irresistible. It is not only that but also the fact that there are so many different varieties of pasta and their preparations that the possibilities to create a new dish are endless. These endless possibilities are also probably what entices Gen-Z to experiment with the dish which they consider among their favourite comfort foods.

In the second instalment of the series on some of the many dishes that Gen-Z Mumbaikars like, mid-day.com explores pasta dishes but not in its popular preparations of white and red sauce made with penne or otherwise, but different innovations. With the generation wanting to innovate with everything around them, especially when they are at home, and don the chef's hat, there is more to the Italian dish that people know. While all of Gen-Z may not get to cooking just yet, Indian chefs say their parents can easily make these innovative versions for them and the family at home.

Keeping this in mind, these chefs share unique preparations that not only include lasagna but also stuffed variations of ravioli and tortellini with flavours that will surprise you. Imagine adding tandoori sabzi and creamy makhani with a mint chutney to make an Indian variation; think of another that includes fresh produce from the Himalayas near Palampur to include not only millets but also wakame and winter squash. They not only delve further to explore Angolotti, a lesser-known Italian pasta and make it with pumpkin, but also combine Italian flavours with Asian ingredients such as lemongrass, ginger and coconut curry sauce to make an aromatic and flavourful dish.

Tandoori Sabzi Lasagna with Creamy Makhani and Mint Chutney Drizzle
Purists can move over classic pasta because Gen Z loves to innovate with their food and Suresh Babu N, executive chef at Clarks Exotica Convention Resort and Spa, says you can definitely do more. Babu wants you combine your love for Indian and Italian food to make Tandoori Sabzi Lasagna with Creamy Makhani and Mint Chutney Drizzle. He explains, "This dish brings together the rich and smoky flavours of tandoori-spiced vegetables, creamy and luxurious makhani sauce, and the fresh zing of mint chutney. By merging traditional Indian and Italian cuisines, this dish showcases a creative fusion of flavours, celebrating the diversity of culinary traditions." The Bengaluru-based chef highlights how the vibrant colours from the tandoori sabzi, creamy makhani sauce, and green mint chutney also end up creating an enticing and visually appealing dish.

Ingredients:

For Tandoori Sabzi:
Mixed vegetables (Bell peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, squash, and baby corn) chopped
Tandoori masala (Kashmiri chili powder, dhania powder, kasoori methi, jeera powder, black salt) Yogurt
Ginger-garlic paste
Salt & pepper to taste
Mustard oil

For creamy makhani sauce:
Butter
Fresh tomato paste
Cream
Cashew paste
Garam masala
Fenugreek leaves (Kasoori Methi)
Salt and honey to taste

For Mint chutney drizzle:
Fresh mint leaves
Coriander leaves
Green chilies
Garlic
Yogurt
Salt and cumin powder to taste

Other Ingredients:
Lasagna sheets (Homemade lasagna sheets with flour, egg, and olive oil)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

Tandoori sabzi:
1. In a bowl, mix diced vegetables with tandoori masala, yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, salt, and pepper.
2. Marinate the vegetables for at least for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the tandoor pot, add marinated vegetables to the tandoor skewer and cook it and set aside.

Creamy makhani sauce:
1. In a saucepan, melt butter and add tomato puree. Cook for a few minutes.
2. Add cream, cashew paste, garam masala, fenugreek leaves, salt, and sugar. Simmer until the sauce thickens.

Mint chutney drizzle:
1. Blend mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies, garlic, yogurt, salt, and cumin powder to make a smooth chutney.

Assembling the lasagna:
1. Pre-cook lasagna sheets according to the package instructions.
2. In a baking dish, layer lasagna sheets, followed by a layer of tandoori sabzi, a layer of creamy makhani sauce, and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.
3. Repeat the layers until you fill the baking dish, finishing with a layer of lasagna sheets on top.
4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Baking:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
2. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly.

Serving:
1. Once baked, allow the lasagna to rest for a few minutes before slicing.
2. Drizzle mint chutney over the slices before serving.

Kodo Millet and Wakame Tortellini, Winter Squash and Olive Oil Emulsion
Playing around with the abundance of millet available in the Himalayan region of Palampur, Arun Kumar, executive chef at Araiya Palampur wants you to innovate with the classic tortellini by making Kodo Millet and Wakame Tortellini, Winter Squash and Olive Oil Emulsion. He explains, "The sauce chosen for pairing these tortellini which are filled with Himalayan garlic-scented wakame is a winter squash and olive emulsion, which tastes amazing together with umami sea flavours of wakame. Winter squash is an interesting local ingredient found in the fields during kharif and local farmers store these squashes for their later use in the snowy winters. It turns creamy when emulsified with olive oil and soy lecithin."

Ingredients:
Kodo millet flour 50 gm
Gluten-free flour 20 gm
Blanched and puree beetroot 40 gm
Soaked Wakame 5 gm
Garlic-infused olive oil 20 ml
Winter squash 100 gm
Himalayan salt 2 gm
White pepper 2 gm
water 40 ml
Soy lecithin 2 gm

Method:
For dough to make tortellini pasta:
1. Mix Kodo Millet flour with gluten free flour, add Himalayan salt and white pepper to preference and sift together.
2. Mix puree of beetroot with flour to make a stiff but soft dough. Rest it and cover for 15 minutes.

For pasta filling:
1. Season soaked wakame with olive oil and some seasonings. Fill square shapes of rolled dough with this wakame mixture and seal the edges with water and press them to ensure they do not rupture while further blanching for andante.
For sauce:
1. Add blanched and pureed winter squash to heated garlic-infused olive oil. Achieve a nappe texture of pumpkin and olive oil by blending soy lecithin to it. Keep the sauce at a warm temperature above 50 degrees Celsius.
2. Toss the tortellini in olive oil and pour the sauce in a pasta bowl at the bottom. Toss pasta shapes on top for eye appeal. Garnish with microgreens.

Illusione
If you like eating ravioli, then Chef Alessandro Piso, the Italian expert at Romano's in JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar in Andheri says you should try making 'Illusione', his take on the classic butter sage ravioli. He explains, "At first glance, it may appear to be your conventional butter sage ravioli, but delve deeper, and you will discover a delightful deception of flavours. Instead of the usual, this ravioli surprises you with a burst of flavours. a light pasta filled with the taste of tomato sauce, but with an unexpected crunch from pistachios. The aroma brings you back home, but with a modern twist that makes it feel fresh and exciting."

Ingredients:
Ricotta 30 gm
Pistachio 5 gm
Homemade sundried tomato 5 gm
Tomato water 20 ml
Candy tomato 5 gm
Butter 15 gm
Raisin tomato 5 gm
Fresh cherry tomato 5 gm
Basil oil 3 gm
Fried basil 3 gm
Tomato powder 3 gm

Method:
1. Combine ricotta cheese, crushed pistachios, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes in a mixing bowl. (To make homemade sun-dried tomatoes, marinate the tomatoes to your liking with a good amount of oil and a bit of icing sugar, then let them dry in the oven or under the sun; this step is optional). Mix the ingredients with salt, pepper, and chopped basil.
2. Roll out the pasta dough and pipe the filling onto it. Be careful not to overfill the ravioli, as they may open during cooking.
3. Cut the tomatoes into large wedges, blend them with cold water and basil leaves in a blender, then
strain the resulting tomato water into a pot. The colour should be light red.
4. Boil the pot of liquid and skim off the red foam. Strain the liquid through a cheesecloth. Repeat this process 6 to 7 times until the liquid becomes clear.
5. For the raisin tomatoes, poke cherry tomatoes with a toothpick and soak them in brine water for 1 hour (flavour the brine water to your liking). Vacuum the tomatoes with oil and let them sit overnight. The next day, remove them from the bag and dehydrate them for 5 hours.
6. For the basil oil, blanch basil leaves and immediately transfer them to ice water to maintain their bright colour. Blend the basil leaves with oil and strain the mixture through a cheesecloth to obtain clean, consistent basil oil.
7. For the tomato powder, simply keep the tomato skins in the oven at 50 degrees Celsius for 4 hours, then blend them into a powder.
8. To assemble the dish, cook the pasta, then heat a pan and add the tomato water and a bit of butter to create an emulsion. Cook the pasta in the pan for a bit longer, add sliced basil, and plate the dish, garnishing with the remaining ingredients.

Agnolotti a la Yellow House
Playing around with the conventional flavours of the lesser-known Agnolotti pasta dish from the Piedmont region in Italy, chef Tushar Malkani from The Yellow House in Anjuna in Goa, wants you to make Agnolotti a la Yellow House. With a mix of pumpkin, nuts, ricotta and more, he says you make a deliciously creamy dish, which gets elevated with the help of a sauce made from cream, parmesan cheese, chilli and unsalted butter.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin 250 gm
Pine nut, roasted and crushed 15 gm
Fresh thyme 5 gm
Ricotta cream 50 gm
Shallot, chopped 1 no
Nutmeg one pinch
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Garlic, chopped 2 cloves
Olive oil 5 ml
For the sauce:
Cooking cream 200 ml
Parmesan cheese 40 gm
Salt to taste
Chilli flakes 5 gm
Unsalted butter 10 gm

Method:

To make the sauce:
1. Heat a pan on medium flame, add cream.
2. Once the cream boils, add cheese, butter, chilli flakes and mix well.
3. Add salt to taste.

To make the pasta:
1. Roast the pumpkin with oil drizzled, thyme, salt and chopped garlic.
2. Remove from the oven and smash it well, leaving no lumps.
3. In a pan, saute the shallots garlic and thyme. Once the aroma spreads, add the mashed pumpkin.
4. Simmer it on fire till excess water evaporates.
5. Remove from the flame and cool in the refrigerator.
6. Add ricotta cream and add pine nuts.
7. Take a pasta dough sheet with spinach puree or beetroot puree using all-purpose flour.
8. Roll out the pasta dough in an elongated shape of about 2 mm thickness and of length of about 30 cms by 5 cms.
9. Start adding the pumpkin filling in a 3 cms gap, one teaspoon each filling.
10. Fold it over to cover the filling and ensure that the corners are sealed. Till it takes the shape of a flat cylinder.
11. Using your fingers, pinch between the filling to seal the same and to create pockets.
12. Once sealed, cut each individual pocket like a pillow-pack toffee.
13. Blanch these pockets in salted water for approximately 2 minutes.

Lemongrass and Ginger-Infused Chicken Tortellini with Coconut Curry Sauce
If you don't want to combine Indian and Italian flavours, then Ashik Ali Saha, executive chef at Two Moons in Bengaluru, tells you that you can also combine it with Asian flavours very simply. Saha suggests making an aromantic and flavourful Lemongrass and Ginger-Infused Chicken Tortellini with Coconut Curry Sauce. He shares, "This dish takes the classic Italian tortellini and infuses it with the vibrant and aromatic flavours of lemongrass, ginger and coconut curry. Itis a fusion of Asian and Italian cuisines, creating a dish that is both comforting and adventurous, appealing to the senses and pushing the boundaries of traditional pasta dishes."

Ingredients:
For the tortellini filling:
Cooked chicken breast, finely chopped 1 cup
Lemongrass, finely minced 2 stalks
Fresh ginger, grated 1 tbsp
Garlic, minced 2 cloves
Soy sauce 1 tbsp
Fish sauce 1 tbsp
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh tortellini wrappers 1 package

For the Coconut Curry Sauce:
Vegetable oil 1 tbsp
Onion, small, finely chopped 1 no
Garlic, minced 2 cloves
Fresh lemongrass, finely minced 1 tbsp
Fresh ginger, grated 1 tbsp
Yellow curry paste 2 tbsp
Coconut milk 1 can (approximately 400 ml)
Soy sauce 1 tbsp
Fish sauce 1 tbsp
Brown sugar 1 tbsp
Fresh micro greens, for garnish

Method:
For the tortellini filling:
1. In a bowl, mix the finely chopped cooked chicken breast, minced lemongrass, grated ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt and black pepper. This creates the flavourful filling for the tortellini.
2. Put a small amount on the spoon for the filling onto each tortellini wrapper. Fold and seal to create the classic tortellini shape.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to package instructions until they float to the surface.

For the coconut curry sauce:
1. In a saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add finely chopped onion and sauté until translucent.
2. Add minced garlic, minced lemongrass, and grated ginger. Cook for another minute until fragrant.
3. Stir in yellow curry paste and cook for another minute.
4. Pour in coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Let the sauce simmer for about 5-7 minutes until slightly thickened.

Assembling:
1. Gently toss the cooked tortellini in the coconut curry sauce until well-coated.
2. Serve the tortellini hot, garnished with fresh microgreens for a burst of freshness.