Mushroom Paneer Pesto Pasta

A quick pasta with paneer and a green pesto sauce made with cilantro as the main ingredient. I love to bring indian flavors into western dishes and try to create fusion recipes. This is one such recipe which turned out super delicious and is a keeper for our traditional taste buds :)

Ingredients

Serves - 2-3
Spice Level - Moderate
Prep Time - 20 min
Cook time - 15 min

Spaghetti - 200 gm
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Garlic cloves  - 7-8 chopped finely
Mushroom - 6 chopped into medium size pieces
Paneer - 150 gm, cubed
salt - as required
Freshly ground pepper - as required

For the green pesto sauce

Blend all the below together with 2tbsp water and keep aside

Cilantro - 2 cups
Green chilli - 3
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Oilve oil - 2 tbsp
Garlic clove - 2
Salt - as required

How do you do it

1. Cook the spaghetti as per packet instruction in salted water with a couple of drops of oil, drain and wash under cold water and keep aside.

2. Blend all the ingredients for the cilantro sauce and keep aside.

3. Take a tawa and coat with a layer of oil. Toast the paneer pieces and keep aside.

4. Heat oil in a wok, add chopped garlic and saute till they brown slightly, add chopped mushroom and saute well. Cook mushroom until it gives a shiny gleam and all the water the mushroom let out dries. Add little salt and pepper.

5. Lower the flame and add the cooked sphagetti now amd saute for a couple of minutes until it absorbs all the flavour. Toss well.

6. Add 2 tbsp of the cilantro sauce and mix well. Remove pan from flame and check to see if more salt or pepper is needed. Add if required.

7. Add the toasted paneer finally and mix well. Paneer mushroom pasta is ready :)