Indian Style Desi Masala Pasta is a delicious, one-pot pasta loaded with veggies and seasoned with Indian spices. Easily can be prepared in the instant pot pressure cooker in under 20 minutes!
The best part of cooking this pasta is, you dont need to have either marinara (tomato-based) sauce, herbs (Italian seasoning), or cheese. I am sure your kids will love this twist.
I have also shared how to make this desi pasta on a stovetop pan below.
Also Check my Kids Lunch Box Series Posts
Masala Pasta + Rice Krispies + Apple
Ingredients for Masala Pasta
- Farfalle pasta or any pasta variety
- tomatoes
- sweet onion, finely chopped
- minced ginger garlic
- cumin (jeera) seeds
- mixed vegetables(carrot, bell pepper, green peas)
- turmeric powder
- red chilli powder
- garam masala powder
- tomato ketchup
- water
- salt to taste
- oil
- coriander leaves (cilantro)
- shredded cheese(optional)
How to make Masala Pasta in Instant Pot
In a pot, boil water add the whole tomato to blanch. Take out tomato after 5 mins. Once the tomato has cooled, peel of the skin and puree in a blender without adding water. Keep aside.*You can also use 1.5 cups or 12 oz of crushed canned tomato.
Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add olive oil and once it’s hot add cumin(jeera) seeds, let them crackle. Then add chopped onions and minced ginger garlic and saute till the onions are soft and translucent.
Then add water or veggie broth, salt, and de-glaze the pot. Make sure there are no brown bits stuck at the bottom.
Then add dry pasta, mixed vegetables, garam masala, red chili powder, turmeric powder, tomato ketchup, salt to the instant pot.
Spread tomato puree on top. Gently push all pasta under the liquid. Do not mix it. Most of the pasta should be covered in sauce and water. If it is not, add some more water.
Close the lid on the pot, and turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 4 minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally for 3 minutes, and then quick release the pressure.
Using Farfalle Pasta in this recipe which has 10 minutes for cooking on the stovetop. So to cook on Instant Pot – Divide the cooking time by half and minus one for al dente pasta. So it's 4 minutes. For softer pasta, do 5 minutes.
BURN ALERT? If your instant pot has shown BURN in the past, add ½ cup of extra water while making this pasta. Tomato-based sauces easily stick to the bottom of the pot during sautéing. So that's why we are just spreading sauce on top of the pasta.
Then quickly stir the pasta and garnish with cilantro (coriander leaves). You can also add some cheese on top.
Indian Style Masala Pasta is ready to be served.
Stovetop Pot Method
- Firstly, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add some salt to the water and cook the pasta, according to the package instructions. I used Farfalle, but you can use your favorite pasta. Other good pasta options are penne, spaghetti, or even tortellini. Reserve some pasta water for later use.
- While the pasta is cooking, Blanch the tomato and make the tomato puree.
- Add olive oil and once it’s hot add cumin(jeera) seeds, and let them crackle. Then add chopped onions and minced ginger garlic and saute till the onions are soft and translucent.
- Next, add tomato puree & sauté it for about 2-3 minutes till the oil separates.
- Then add the mixed vegetables and cook till they are tender.
- Next, add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, salt, and tomato ketchup and saute for a minute.
- Add cooked pasta, and reserved pasta water, and mix well. Cover and cook for 2-3 mins, so that pasta absorbs the flavor. Garnish with cilantro(coriander leaves). You can also add some cheese on top.
- Indian Style Masala Pasta is ready to be served.
Variations
- If you don’t have olive oil, you can also use butter or regular cooking oil.
- You can use any kind of pastas like macaroni, or penne.
- Try using Whole wheat, Lentils, or Veggie pasta for kids.
- You can also add sweet corn, and broccoli for this pasta.
- If you dont have time to prepare tomato puree, you can just use canned crushed tomato.
- You can add pav bhaji masala instead of garam masala to give it a twist
Tips
- You can also add cheese to the Pasta after cooking.
- Pasta sauce should not be too thick else after mixing pasta, they become dry when eaten later.
- The sauce will seem thin when you start to mix in the pasta. Don’t worry; just keep tossing. The starches from the pasta will mix into the sauce to give a perfect consistency.
- BURN ALERT? If your instant pot has shown BURN in the past, add ½ cup of extra water while making this pasta. Tomato-based sauces easily stick to the bottom of the pot during sauteing. So that's why we are just spreading sauce on top of the pasta.
More Pasta Recipes
- Avocado Pasta
- Mayonnaise Veggie Pasta
- Macaroni Puligogare pasta
- Creamy Spinach Pasta
- Mac and Cheese (Instant Pot)
Instant Pot Masala Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
Measuring cup used ,1 cup = 250ml
- 8 oz farfalle pasta (about 2.5 cups) or any pasta
- 2 large tomatoes (about 1.5 cups tomato puree)
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- 2 cups mixed vegetables(carrot, bell pepper, green peas)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 2 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt to taste
For Garnish:
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 2 tablespoon shredded cheese (optional)
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- In a pot, boil water add whole tomato to blanch. Take out tomato after 5 mins.Once tomato has cooled ,peel of the skin and puree in a blender without adding water.Keep aside.*You can also use 1.5 cups or 12 oz of crushed canned tomato
- Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add olive oil and once it’s hot add cumin(jeera) seeds, let them crackle.Then add chopped onions and minced ginger garlic and saute till the onions are soft and translucent.
- Then add water or veggie broth ,salt and de-glaze the pot.Make sure there’s no brown bits stuck at the bottom.
- Then add dry pasta, mixed vegetables ,garam masala, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, tomato ketchup, salt to the instant pot.Spread tomato puree on top. Gently push all pasta under liquid. Do not mix it.Most of the pasta should be covered in the sauce and water. If it is not, add some more water.
- Close the lid on the pot, and turn pressure valve to SEALING position.Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set timer to 4 minutes.Let the pressure release naturally for 3 minutes and then quick release the pressure.
- Using Farfalle Pasta in this recipe which has 10 minutes for cooking on stove top. So to cook on Instant Pot – Divide the cook time by half and minus one for al dente pasta.So its 4 minutes.For softer pasta do 5 minutes.
- Then quickly stir the pasta and garnish with cilantro(coriander leaves).
- Indian Style Masala Pasta is ready to be served.
Stovetop Pot Method:
- Firstly, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add some salt to the water and cook the pasta, according to the package instructions. I used Farfalle, but you can use your favorite pasta. Other good pasta options are: penne , spaghetti or even tortellini!.Reserve some pasta water for later use.
- While the pasta is cooking, Blanch tomato and make the tomato puree.
- Add olive oil and once it’s hot add cumin(jeera) seeds, let them crackle.Then add chopped onions and minced ginger garlic and saute till the onions are soft and translucent.
- Next add tomato puree & sauté it for about 2-3 minutes till the oil separates.
- Then add the mixed vegetables and cook till they are tender.
- Next add in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder ,salt and tomato ketchup and saute for a minute.
- Add cooked pasta, reserved pasta water and mix well.Cover and cook for 2-3 mins, so that pasta absorbs in flavor. Garnish with cilantro(coriander leaves).You can also add some cheese on top.
- Indian Style Masala Pasta is ready to be served.
Notes
Variations:
- If you don’t have olive oil, you can use butter or regular cooking oil as well.
- You can use any kind of pasta’s like macaroni ,penne.
- Try using Whole wheat ,Lentils or Veggie pasta for kids.
- You can also add sweet corn, broccoli for this pasta.
- If you dont have time prepare tomato puree, you can just use canned crushed tomato.
- You can add pav bhaji masala instead of garam masala to give it a twist
Tips:
- You can also add cheese in the Pasta after cooking.
- Pasta sauce should not be too thick else after mixing pasta they become dry when eaten later.
- The sauce will seem thin when you start to mix in the pasta. Don’t worry, just keep tossing. The starches from the pasta will mix into the sauce to give the the perfect consistency.
- BURN ALERT ? If your instant pot has shown BURN in the past, add ½ cup of extra water while making this pasta.Tomato based sauces easily stick to the bottom of the pot during sauteing.So thats the reason we are just spreading sauce on top of the pasta.
Nutrition
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