Paneer Makhani…Penne Vodka…SPICY PENNE MAKHANI! WHY NOT?!
I merged two of my favorite dishes from two of my favorite cuisines to make this luscious, creamy, spicy pasta dish that will tingle all your senses! I promise you it’s so good, you might just eat it right out of the pan!
Indian flavors have so much depth, especially when using whole spices to create a dish. The use of the whole spices in this dish is SO important and it’s imperative to give it the time it needs to release its flavors into the dish. It’s not going to be as strong as it would be in a regular Paneer Makhani, because I do remove the whole spices before adding in the sauce, but it will be just enough to give you that same taste you’re looking for in a makhani sauce. It’s such a versatile sauce because to the naked eye, it looks like your common vodka sauce, but the minute you taste it, you get an explosion of all these deep flavors that you wouldn’t expect! I hope you guys give this a try and really enjoy it!
A few tips to making this dish just right:
- Take your time with cooking down the onions, tomatoes, and cashews and let it cool properly so you can get a nice color and easy blend for the sauce
- Cook your pasta about 2 minutes less than what the box says as you will continue to cook it in the sauce and the pasta will absorb the moisture from the sauce
- The longer you let the whole spices cook in the butter, the deeper the flavors will be, so if you have some extra time, feel free to keep the flame going for longer than 5-7 minutes
Don’t forget to add in your cheese and let it melt so you can get that slight cheese pull that we all know and love!
Spicy Penne Makhani
Ingredients
- 4 cups pasta boiled
- 1 tbsp ghee clarified butter
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 onion chopped
- 12-15 cashews
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomato drained
- 1 dried red chilli whole
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4-5 cloves
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp kasoori methi crushed
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add 1 tbsp ghee to a pan over medium heat until hot. Add in 1 tsp cumin seeds and let splutter for about 30 seconds followed by onions. Let onions cook down for 3-5 minutes.
- Add in cashews and cook for another 1-2 minutes, followed by drained diced tomatoes, dried red chilli and 1 tsp chilli flakes, and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add in 1/4 cup water. Cook down for 8-10 minutes and turn off heat. Set aside to cool.
- Boil pasta for 2 minutes less than package instructions.
- In another heavy bottom pan, melt 1.5 tbsp butter and add in 1 bay leaf, 2 cardamom, 1 cinnamon stick, and 4-5 cloves and cook on very low heat until butter becomes aromatic, around 5-7 minutes.
- While whole spices are cooking, add cool tomato, onion, cashew mixture to blender and blend until you get a smooth sauce.
- Remove whole spices from butter and add in minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add in sauce mixture, red chilli powder, garam masala, and heavy cream and let sauce simmer for 4-5 minutes until all the flavors are combined.
- Add crushed kasoori methi and boiled pasta, mix until pasta is evenly coated. Garnish with as much or as little shredded Italian cheese as you would like and serve hot!
Notes
- Serve this with a side of garlic bread for a complete meal
- You can adjust the spice based on your preferences because this is very spicy
- Fresh cilantro garnish would be great on this as well if you don’t have kasoori methi
