University Kitchen No. 9 🍝 Pasta in Tomato Sauce

University Kitchen No. 9

🍝 Pasta in Tomato Sauce

A simple, comforting pasta that comes together with a handful of basic ingredients. The secret is slow-cooking the tomatoes and garlic and using a little pasta water to create a lovely loose, silky sauce.

Ingredients — Serves 2

• 200 g fusilli pasta
• 3 medium ripe tomatoes (about 300–350 g), finely chopped
  OR 1 × 400 g can chopped tomatoes
• 4–5 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp chilli flakes, or to taste — add more if you like a bit of heat
• 1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
• ½ tsp salt, plus extra for the pasta water
• ½ cup pasta water, reserved
• A handful of fresh basil

Method

1. Make the tomato sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and chopped tomatoes.

Cook slowly over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the oil starts to separate and the garlic becomes soft and almost mushy.

2. Cook the pasta

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the fusilli and cook until done according to the packet instructions.

3. Save the pasta water

Before draining, reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water.

A great trick is to place a large colander inside a big bowl and pour the pasta and water into it. The bowl catches the pasta water automatically.

4. Bring everything together

Add the cooked pasta to the tomato sauce.

Add the chilli flakes, Italian mixed herbs and salt. Add extra chilli flakes if you like more heat.

Toss everything together, then add the reserved pasta water a little at a time.

You want a loose, silky sauce that coats the pasta rather than a thick, dry sauce.

5. Finish

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Scatter with fresh basil and serve hot.

🍗 Serve with

• Grilled chicken thighs, or
• Meatballs

👩‍🍳 University Kitchen Tip

Don’t throw away your pasta water! The starchy water helps turn the tomato sauce into a smooth, glossy sauce that clings beautifully to the pasta.

University Kitchen No. 8 🍗 Busy-Evening Chicken Curry

University Kitchen No. 8 🍗

Busy-Evening Chicken Curry

This is one of my own University Kitchen creations — a chicken curry I started making for those busy evenings after hospital work.

It has the flavours of Kerala, my hometown — coconut, spice and warmth — but is deliberately simple enough to make when you’re tired and don’t want to spend ages in the kitchen.

As my friends like to say: “Sherin = coconut milk + spice!” 😄

And honestly, they may have a point! Coconut milk and spices are very much my comfort-food combination.

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken thighs, skin removed and each thigh cut into 2 pieces
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 2½ tsp chilli powder
• 2½ tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Pink onion or shallots, sliced
• Green chillies, sliced, to taste
• Coconut milk, as required
• Oil, for shallow-frying

My shortcut: I usually use Maggi coconut milk powder to make the coconut milk. If you’d like to make your own, see my guide on how to make coconut milk.

Method

1. Marinate the chicken

Place the chicken in a bowl and add the salt, pepper, chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder.

Mix well, making sure the spices coat all the chicken pieces. Leave to marinate for a little while if you have time.

2. Shallow-fry

Heat a little oil in a wide pan.

Add the chicken and shallow-fry until one side is nicely golden. Turn the chicken only once and brown the other side.

The chicken doesn’t need to be completely cooked at this stage — it will finish cooking in the coconut milk.

3. Add the onion and chillies

Add the sliced pink onion or shallots and green chillies.

4. Add the coconut milk

Pour in the coconut milk and gently mix everything together.

I like to shake the pan rather than stir too vigorously, allowing the coconut milk to coat the chicken.

5. Cook until done

Cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through and the onions are tender.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

🌶️ Make it spicier

If you like your curry hotter, simply add more chilli powder while marinating the chicken.

Keep the chilli powder-to-coriander powder ratio the same to maintain the balance of spice and flavour.

🥥 Coconut milk

I use Maggi coconut milk powder for convenience, particularly on those busy evenings after hospital work.

If you’d like to make your own coconut milk, refer to my guide on how to make coconut milk.

🍽️ To serve

Serve hot with plain rice, chapati, appam or bread.

A simple Kerala-inspired chicken curry, made for busy evenings — coconut milk + spice, just as my friends would expect from Sherin! ❤️