Curried Pasta with Green Tomato Sauce (Vegan)

Remember how every blogger requests you to leave a comment about the content. There are a couple of reasons for that. One is to be motivated, to be assured that someone is reading what they write. Second one is to get more ideas as to what a reader wants. Sometimes, a comment triggers something which makes us create something totally new.

When I posted 'Green Tomato Vermicelli', I got several comments. One of them was from Susan. She said something in the lines of 'Never thought of making sauce with green tomatoes....'. That made my mind come up with this dish. It is totally like an Indian dish with lot of spices. You can skip them and use something mild of your choice. Do read the notes section. Thanks Susan for creating a trigger which inspired me to create this.

Ingredients:
Green tomatoes - 4 medium chopped into big chunks
Garlic - 2 pods
Peanuts (roasted) - 1/4 cup (Or any toasted nuts of your choice)
Curry Powder - 1 TBSP or more per taste (The one I used is not very strong in heat)
Cayanne powder - 2 tsp or more per taste
Red Chilli flakes - 1 TBSP or as per taste
Olive Oil - 3 - 4 TBSP
Salt - to taste
Chopped Cilantro - 4 TBSP
Medium sized Pasta like penne, fussilli - 3 cups dry (I used Fussilli - about 6 Oz in weight)
Green Onions - 6 (optional - I had to use them up)
Red Onions - 2 medium chopped into medium chunks

Method:
Grind green tomatoes, peanuts and garlic in a blender till pureed. Set aside. Heat oil in a pan. Place a pot of water to cook pasta at the same time. When oil is hot, add chopped onions, green onions. Sprinkle some salt and let them cook. When they are cooked, add the green tomato puree. Add curry powder, cayanne powder, red chilli flakes. Stir. Let them start reducing. When the water comes to a boil, add salt generously and add the pasta. Cook as per the box directions. When the pasta is cooked al-dente, drain the pasta reserving the pasta water. Add the pasta to the simmering sauce. Mix well. Add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of pasta water to thin down the mixture. The key is to coat all the pasta with sauce. Adjust the seasonings. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot/warm.

Notes:
You could use heavy cream instead of pasta water to thin down the pasta. Curry powder is a mixture of spices like chilli powder, fenugreek, cumin, coriander, fennel seeds etc. It varies from one brand to another. You can make a mixture of your favorite spice powders and use instead. You could add any vegetable of your choice. If you don't have green tomatoes, you could make this dish using regular tomatoes itself. The taste will be a bit different since green tomatoes are tangier.

Enjoy!!