Masala Fusion Spaghetti Bolognese

I love fusion dishes and this one is a spaghetti bolognese with a Bollywood attitude!  I started with lean ground beef that I had wanted to make a regular Italian Spaghetti Bolognese.  Then as I started to brown the beef and season it I saw my bottle of garam masala in my spice cabinet.  You can say some inspiration struck and I decided to turn this Italian dish into an Indian dish. 

I experiment a lot when I cook, so I was not exactly sure if my husband and children would enjoy this Masala version of their favorite Italian Spaghetti Bolognese.   At dinner time, I watched all of them taste the dish and held my breath a little in anticipation.  The first thing I saw was their eyes all got a little wider.  Then they all individually uttered how good it was and I let out a big sigh of relief.   Whew!  They not only liked it... they even fought over who was going to get the leftovers for the next meal.

My son kept saying that the dish reminded him of the flavors of the Chicken Biryani that I made a few weeks ago and he loved that so why wouldn't he love these Masala noodles.   I can't argue with that logic.  

So if you want to jazz up some pasta tonight.. don't think Italian again... think Indian! 

 Masala Fusion Spaghetti Bolognese
Recipe by Ramona from Kitchen Simmer

Ingredients:
16 oz box of spaghetti style pasta cooked
1 1/2 pounds of lean ground meat (beef, chicken, pork, lamb) of choice browned
1 large onion finely chopped
2-3 carrots finely chopped
1 large bell pepper finely chopped
1 Tbs grated fresh garlic
2 Tbs grated fresh ginger
1 Tbs garam masala powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
red chili powder or red chili flakes to taste
1 tsp paprika
1-2 tsp chicken bullion powder (to taste)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley or 2 Tbs fresh minced
1 can (15oz) diced tomato
1 cup pasta water (reserved from cooking pasta)
1 heaping Tbs butter or margarine

Garnishes
Cucumber/onion salad
lime wedges

Tip:  If you are not as handy with the knife to finely dice your veggies for this bolognese, just use a food processor like I did.  Always remember to pulse the processor so not to turn your veggies into mush.  Pulsing allows you got get a fine mince/dice on your veggies and they just melt into the pasta dish. 


Directions:
Step 1:  Boil water with salt and add pasta.  Boil pasta 2 minutes shy of fully cooked.  Remove 1 cup of pasta water before draining pasta in a colander and reserve until later. 

Step 2: Brown lean ground meat of choice well with a little salt and black pepper.   Then add carrots, onions and peppers to the ground meat and cook for 3-4 minutes. 

Next add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the garam masala, turmeric powder, cumin powder, red chili powder or flakes, bullion powder, onion powder. dried basil, dried oregano and parsley.

 

Then add the diced tomato can and the reserved pasta water and cook for 3-5 minutes.

 

Then add the cooked pasta and butter or margarine to the pan.  Toss all together and cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium low heat to finish cooking the pasta and allow it to absorb all the flavors of the sauce.  Serve hot with salad.  Enjoy.

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