Spaghetti with Cottage Cheese (Paneer) Balls

From past couple of weeks, I have been little busy and lazy preventing me from posting recipes on regular basis. So, I decided to cook and write about something unusual yet delicious food dish. I was always curious and wanted to try Spaghetti with meatballs in restaurants but I don’t eat meatballs so thought of creating my own (vegetarian) version of it. In this recipe, I replaced meatballs with Cottage Cheese (popularly known as Paneer in India) balls cooked in tomato sauce tossed over perfectly cooked Spaghetti. Me & my hubby love pasta which encourages me to try different types of pasta inspired dishes. My hubby, especially, prefers pasta cooked by me instead of Italian restaurants :). Pasta does not always have to be full of cheese and fat. It can be extremely healthy and balanced to nourish your body and at the same time tasty and delicious to satisfy your taste buds. So enjoy this healthy and exquisite meal on any evening and make your day worth it.

Ingredients :-

For the cheese balls :-

Paneer/Cottage Cheese	1 cup/ 250 gm
Bread Crumbs	1/4 cup
Salt	to taste
Dried Parsley Leaves	1/2 teaspoon
Dried Oregano Leaves	a generous pinch
Red Chilli Powder	1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Cilantro, Finely Chopped	2 tablespoon
Olive Oil	2 tablespoon

For the tomato sauce :-

Tomatoes, Roughly Chopped	3-4
Onion, Chopped	1/2 cup
Salt	to taste
Olive Oil	1 tablespoon
Dried Parsley Leaves	1 teaspoon
Dried Oregano Leaves	1/2 teaspoon
Garlic, Finely Chopped	1-2 tablespoon
Tomato Sauce	2 cup
Chilli Powder	to taste
Bay Leaf	2

Method :-

For the cheese balls :-

• Preheat the oven at 350 degree Celsius.
• Mash the paneer/cottage cheese with the help of fork and add everything mentioned except olive oil.
• Mix it well and divide the dough into 12 equal parts.
• Roll the divided dough into medium sized balls.
• Spray these balls with olive oil spray and place them in a baking dish.
• Bake the balls for 15-20 minutes or until balls become nice golden  in color.
• Keep them aside.

For the tomato sauce :-

• Heat a pan and add olive oil to it.
• Add bay leaf and garlic. Saute it for 1 minute.
• Add onion to it and saute it for 2-3 minutes.
• When the raw smell of onion disappear add the chopped fresh tomatoes and salt and chilli powder. Let the tomatoes cook down,
• Then add the tomato sauce, dried parsley leaves and oregano leaves and let them cook for a good 30-40 minutes.

Arrangement :-

• Boil the spaghetti as per instruction in box and keep it aside
• Pour the sauce in serving dish and drop the cheese/paneer balls into it.
• To assemble spoon out a serving of spaghetti on a serving plate and add a generous serving of tomato sauce along with one or
  two Cheese/paneer balls. Enjoy it hot.

Note :-

• The sauce tastes best the next day. So, you could make the tomato sauce the previous day and use it for the dish the next day.
• You can even make sauce in bulk and can store it in freeze for 1 week.
• You can even saute the spaghetti with some olive oil and Italian herbs as I do it.
• You can sprinkle some more cheese on top of it while serving. I like it without cheese.
  
• You can even add spinach or any other chopped vegetables to your paneer/cheese mixture.

Veggie Layered Pasta

I love Italian food whenever the cravings for something cheesy sets in. Italian cuisine is one of the oldest in the world, which can be traced back to the 4th century BC. Italian cooking is wholesome and flavorful. The most essential part of Italian cooking is Olive oil. So never try to replace it with any other oil as the dish will loose its authenticity. For me Italian food never completes without flavor of garlic. Garlic works magic with this cuisine and its characteristic flavor adds dimension to just about any dish. Here is my own version of Italian style layered Pasta. This oregano-flavored, tangy, crunchy macaroni pasta uses minimum of cheese and tastes delightful. But cheese lovers can increase the amount of cheese as required.

Ingredients :-

Green Peas	2 cup
Mushrooms	20-25
Potatoes, cut into Roundels	2 large
Macaroni	1 cup
Butter	6 tablespoon
Ginger, Chopped	1 inch piece
Onion, Cut into Rings	1 medium
Sugar	To taste
Garlic, Finely chopped	10-12
Tomato Puree	3-4 tablespoon
Black Pepper Powder	To taste
Dried Parsley leaves	1 teaspoon
Dried Oregano	1 teaspoon
Olive Oil	1 tablespoon
Salt	To taste
Parmesan Cheese	1/4 cup
Lime Juice	1 teaspoon

Method :-

• Parboil the potatoes in plenty of salted water.
• In other pan boil the macaroni as instructed till its al dente (firm but not hard).
• Drain and set aside both potatoes and macaroni.
  
• Blanch the green peas for three-four minutes. Separate the caps and stalks of mushrooms.
  
• Heat two tablespoons butter in a pan, add ginger and onions rings and saute for two-three minutes.
• Add peas, sugar, salt, a pinch of oregano and parsley leaves and cook for another two minutes.
  
• Heat two tablespoons of butter in another pan and saute garlic for a minute.
  
• Add mushroom caps and toss on a high heat for two minutes.
• Add tomato puree, salt, pepper powder and continue to cook for two-three minutes more.
• Heat the remaining butter in a third pan. Add a pinch of oregano and parsley leaves to it. Saute the parboiled potato slices along with salt for three-four minutes or until golden brown.
• In the same pan add olive oil and add rest of the oregano and parsley leaves. Add the boiled macaroni and give it a good mix. Turn off the heat.
• In a serving plate, pile up the peas, arrange macaroni and then mushrooms on top of it. Arrange the potato slices around the peas.
• On top drizzle the lime juice and sprinkle Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

Note :-

• If you are in mood of more creamy texture you can increase the amount of cheese.
  
• Instead of  butter you can use olive oil.
• You can use any kind of pasta you like.
• You can add any type of cheese like Romano, Mozzarella etc.
• If available use fresh Parsley leaves instead of dried one. Nothing can beat fresh produce.