Macaroni with Baked Beans

With globalization, more and more Indians are traveling to distant places and people of the Indian subcontinent are getting exposed to global cuisine, with pizzas, burgers and pastas becoming popular by the day. The western foods make a welcome change to Indian palate! Of these, pastas make a sumptuous meal and can be easily prepared. Macaroni is a type of dry pasta, made of wheat and is of Italian origin. This simple recipe uses curved variety, called elbow macaroni and requires no baking.

Ingredients: (Serves two)

Macaroni with baked beans

Elbow macaroni – 2 teacups or 300ml measure

Onion – 1 no, chopped finely

Garlic –3 pods, peeled, chopped finely

Tomato – 2 no, chopped

Cabbage – shredded, ½ teacup

Carrot – 1no, grated

Baked beans in tomato sauce – ¾ teacup*

Oregano – ¼ teaspoon

Red chilli powder – ¾ teaspoon (adjust to taste)

Salt – to taste

Olive oil – 2 tablespoons

Cooking cheese – grated, 3 tablespoons*

Pepper – ⅛ teaspoon 

*Buy any brand of your choice

*Alternatively, you may use two cheese slices instead of grated cheese.

Method: Boil 4 teacups (600ml) of water in a wide mouthed vessel. Add macaroni and required salt to the boiling water. Continue to cook on medium flame till the macaroni is cooked 'al dente', cooked but still firm. Do not cook the macaroni very soft. Drain the hot water and run the macaroni through cold water. Drain, toss with 2 teaspoons of cooking oil and keep aside. 

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a kadai/wok, add cabbage, carrot, required salt and pepper powder. Toss a few times. Switch off the fire and transfer the vegetables to a bowl.

Macaroni with Baked Beans

Again heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the kadai/wok, add the chopped onions and garlic and sauté till the onions become transparent. Add the tomatoes and sauté for a minute. Cover and cook till the tomatoes become pulpy. Add baked beans with sauce, oregano, required salt and red chilli powder. Mix well. Add macaroni and ½ teacup of water, mix well and cook on low flame for 3 minutes. Now, spread the vegetables on the macaroni, sprinkle grated cheese on top (or place the cheese slices on top), cover simmer for a minute. Switch off the stove. Serve hot with vegetable cutlets or buttered bread. 

If you like this post, please share it with your friends, followers or contacts, by just clicking the 'Face book', 'Twitter', ‘Pinterest’ or 'Google +’ icons you see below the post. Feel free to post your comment/ feedback. Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you!