Recipe: Creamy Garlic Pasta

Homemade pasta is a delight, and when it comes to creamy pasta, I can never resist the urge. After spending plenty of money at restaurants, I finally decided to give this one a try at home. Although most of my cooking experiments fail first, this one turned to be quite successful; so, sharing my experience with you all here.

Here is what it looks like.

I guess I was always afraid of buying cream/heavy cream because it's pretty expensive for you if you eat pasta on a daily basis. But then I came across a recipe that had corn flour in it, and then I thought, wow I can use that in the pasta. And that's how this recipe was born.

You can still use heavy cream if you like. I'll mention special notes in the end on what to do if you do so.

And sorry for the poor-quality photos!

Ingredients:

• Macaroni: 1 cup
• Milk: 1 cup
• Garlic: 1 clove
• Green chili: 1
• Salt 1/4th tsp
• Tasting salt: 1/4th tsp
• Paprika: 1/4th tsp or less (use only if you want spicy pasta)
• Corn flour: 3/4th tsp
• Butter: 1/2 tsp (you can also use oil but it's better to use butter)

Steps:

Step 1: Finely chop garlic and green chili.

Step 2: Boil macaroni for at least fifteen minutes and drain water.

Step 3: Take a cup of milk and add the corn flour, salt and paprika in it.

After mixing, this is what it should look like:

Small quiz: Is the cup blue or white? Let me know in the comments below ;)

Step 4: Heat butter in a pan and saute garlic till it starts turning golden. Add the green chili.

Step 5: Pour the milk mixture immediately. Keep stirring.

The mixture should start to boil and thicken up in a while. Keep stirring all the time.

Step 6: Turn off the heat and add the macaroni into the mixture.

Step 7: Mix well and enjoy!

Note:

• You can increase or decrease the amount of cream. Just add more milk or reduce it.
• You can skip paprika if you have problems with spicy food.
• If you use heavy cream, skip corn flour. Add salt and paprika only.
• If you are using powdered milk, add 2 tsp+ powdered milk into one cup of warm water depending upon the consistency you are looking for.
• I have used only one clove of garlic. If you want a stronger taste of garlic, add two cloves or more (it's better to experiment before adding, say, five cloves at once. Garlic can give a pretty bad smell if added too much). You can also try garlic paste/powder, but I cannot help you in determining the quantity. I only use fresh garlic.
• DO NOT FORGET THE SALT.