Healthy White Sauce for Pasta

Healthy Pasta Recipe|| White Sause in a healthy way||

I can live my life on #pasta!!! Naaa.. that’s too much actually.. then what will happen to my rice mixes? Then cakes.. then smoothies.. then so many other things!! Let’s not count this statement.. You didn’t read it okay?? Let’s just say… let’s say… I simply love pasta.. I love trying different recipes with Pasta.. Health with good taste is always the priority of course..

This time I have something really interesting for you.. A white sauce with wheat flour.. ‘Wheat Flour’ not plain refined flour.. and it was tasty.. is that convincing now? Really tasty.. Are you going to try it now? It’s going to be.. ummmm.. let’s keep it to ‘interesting’ for now and give you the recipe first…

Ingredients:

• Pasta: 2 cups of the standard measurement cups
• Vegetables of your choice. I used- Capcisum, red & yellow bell pepper, Broccoli (blanched)
• Diced potato/ small baby potatoes- per boiled
• Onions- sliced
• Garlic- chopped
• Salt- pepper
• Italian seasoning/ mixed herbs
• Whole wheat- 2 table spoon
• Milk- 3 cups
• Dry roasted peanuts- a handful (optional)
• Olive oil
• Butter/ margarine – 1 teaspoon (optional)

Recipe:

• Let’s start with the Pasta first. I got this Fusilli Pasta made of Ragi (Finger Millet).. which is very healthy, you may use whatever pasta you like. You may also opt for spaghetti pasta. So cook the pasta in boiling water, after adding some salt.
• These Ragi pastas i used, had a sweet smell, so while draining the water, I saved some pasta water, about 1/2 cup and kept is aside.
• Now the main cooking.. Take a Pan, add oil and butter into it. Once the oil is hot, add the potato first, let is cook for few minutes, then add the garlic. Once the garlic is infused with the oil, add all the rest of the veggies. (You may add whatever you like, carrots, beans, corn.. this is home cooking, it’s about taste and good health okay!).
• Stir fry the vegetables for some 5- 7 minutes, add salt-pepper in between. Once they are slightly soft or the onions are turning little translucent, it’s time to take them off the heat, add the peanuts before taking the vegetable off the pan, give a light stir and keep the vegetable aside.
• Now it’s time for the white sauce… ‘Healthy’ white sauce. I take the same pan with remains of oil infused with the smell of garlic and the veggies in it. You may add little more oil or butter in the pan, OR like me, without adding any oil add the wheat flour on the pan (keep the heat to minimum or medium through out). Stir the flour, it may stick to the pan, but Don’t scrape it off the pan, it will come off while we put the milk. Wait for the flour to turn slightly brown, not much, just slightly.
• Add the milk now… Hold on.. Don’t pour the entire milk all at the time. I took full fat milk because I didn’t use any cheese (if you are vegan, then add some nut milk, like almond or cashew milk, otherwise you may not get a sweet, creamy flavour with oats or soya milk). So add little milk, mix with the flour, you will find lumps forming at first, but it’s ok. You have to be patient at this stage. Add little more milk, try to blend the flour slowly with the milk, and keep adding the milk slowly. Once you are sure enough that the flour is more or less mixed well with the milk…
• If some minor tiny lumps remains, we will take care of it, add the remaining milk (you may add more than 3 cups of milk, if you think) and increase the heat, keep stirring till the milk is coming to a boil. The remaining lumps will dissolve by this time. Once the milk comes to a boil, add salt-pepper- mixed herbs or Italian seasoning.. and keeping the heat to medium, stir the sauce for about 2-3 minutes.
• The Sauce will start to thicken by now, add the pasta along with the pasta water. Mix them well. (You may also add cheese now)
• Now it’s ready. You can serve it in two ways.
• 1. You may serve the pasta like you cooked and serve the stir fry vegetables as a side OR
• 2. Like me, add the vegetables in the sauce and mix everything to make it more flavourful (or more of lazy people’s thing!!). And just enjoy a lazy weekend dinner with this dish!!

What do you think?? Is that good for your slight-feel-of-the-winter weekend supper option? I am sure it is!! Do try this healthy version of white sauce and let me know how it goes.. Happy foodie weekend!!