5 pasta recipes for the kitchen novice

Pasta can be a great option for a comforting meal after a busy day. It can also be upgraded with different sauces for a dinner date or a house party. These five easy pasta recipes can be followed to the T or tweaked to your preference:

Desi-style arrabbiata pasta

This recipe brings the pasta home with ingredients like garlic, red chilli powder and ketchup. YouTuber Kanak Khathuria shows how to make this dish with spaghetti which will be a hit at any dinner table.

Creamy garlic pasta

If you want something rich and cheesy, look no further than this recipe for creamy garlic pasta sauce. Chef Jack Ovens shows how to perfectly grate garlic cloves and parmesan cheese, and makes recommendations for replacing certain ingredients too. He uses conchiglie or shells which can be substituted for penne or fusilli.

Pesto pasta

The basic recipe for pesto has basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and parmesan cheese. Different variations to the sauce can be made by swapping basil leaves with spinach, or replacing pine nuts with almonds or walnut. In this recipe, chef Sanjyot Keer uses walnuts to make a pesto sauce, as they are easily available in India compared to pine nuts. It tastes just as delicious.

Bolognese pasta

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Bolognese is a rich meat sauce that can be made with chicken or mutton mince and tomatoes. In this video, chef Varun Inamdar, from the YouTube channel Get Curried, shows how to perfect the recipe by paying attention to the three components— the sauce, the pasta, and assembling the dish.

Aglio e olio

With just six ingredients, pasta in aglio e olio is a dish that can be made quickly and with almost zero pre-prep. Traditionally, spaghetti is used, but any kind of pasta goes well in this recipe. The dish can be made quickly after a busy day and is a staple comfort food for many. YouTuber Laura Vitale shows how to cook it Italian style and shares anecdotes from her family as well.