Arrabiatta ? nah...It's Jeera-abiatta!

I have always been fascinated by Italian, French and Spanish cuisine. The dream combination would be Spanish tapas, Italian main course followed by a French dessert. Slurp! That sounds delicious and is sending my brain into a tizzy. Before I loose myself, Italian food is good if eaten at the right place and right time. For me, that meant one of these chain restaurants here or the specialty restaurants back home that would charge an arm and a leg for a simple dish of pasta. Of late I have stopped relishing the standard pasta fare served at these restaurants. They are loaded with grease and cheese and hardly any thing to address the need of my palate so long used to complicated spices and their flavors. May be it is aging too. As I grow older I realize I cannot be eating the way I used to anymore. Now a days, If I need my stomach to be peaceful, I need to avoid all those grease laden food these chain restaurant serve. So I started making my own sauces to enjoy an Italian inspired-Kannada dinner!! I find Marinara very boring. Alfredo, love it but yes, it can be way too rich. So say Hi to Jeera-abiatta sauce.

Serves 6-8

Extra-Virgin olive oil 1/4 C
Cardamon 1
Bay leaf 2
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Garlic clove 2
Green chillies 2 (Add more if you like it hot)
Italian herb blend   a generous pinch
Tomatoes 14 oz  can  2
Sugar as desired
Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat the oil in a thick bottom sauce pan. Throw in the cardamon, bay leaves and Jeera.
• Once the spices start to sizzle, Throw in the garlic and slit green chillies. Saute till garlic is fragrant about 10 seconds.
• Throw in the herb blend. Once the herbs are fragrant , throw in the tomatoes along with their juice. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes till the sauce kind of thickens a bit.
• Once the sauce is slightly cool, transfer the sauce to a blender and pulse till the tomatoes are slightly chunky but sauce-like.
• Adjust salt and sugar and remove from heat. Toss with desired cooked pasta and serve.