Tomato-Basil Pasta Sauce 1

Tomato-basil pasta sauce is an all-natural, preservative-free pasta sauce that is made using fresh ingredients like tomatoes, garlic and basil. No more store-bought pasta sauces for my family!

My attempts at minimizing processed and preservative-laden foods for my family had an unfortunate side-effect for the kids – I had completely stopped making pasta for them. Not any more – now that I’ve discovered this beautiful, yet healthy way of making tomato-basil sauce. Try it!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• Tomatoes (I used campari tomatoes on the vine, but you can experiment with other types too) (1 lb)

• Butter (1 tbsp)
• Basil leaves (1/4 cup – finely chopped)
• Garlic (1 tsp – finely minced)
• Salt (I used sea salt, but you can experiment with other types too) (to taste)
• Black pepper powder (to taste)
• Sugar (1 tsp – depends on how tart the tomatoes are)
• Whole wheat flour (1 heaped tbsp)
• Water (1/4-1/2 cup)
• Olive oil (1 tsp)

Method:

• Cut the tomatoes finely. Melt butter on a pan, add tomatoes. Cook for 5-7 minutes till the tomatoes look cooked.

• While the tomatoes are getting done, toast (dry roast) the wheat flour on low to medium heat, ensuring that you mix frequently so that the flour doesn’t burn. You will see a slight change in color and smell an aroma emanating from the flour. Switch off the flame.

• Add garlic, basil leaves, salt, sugar, pepper, and olive oil, and mix well. If the sauce turns out too tart/sour in the end, you may want to add more sugar and/or pepper.

• Add the toasted flour to the tomato mixture. Mix well and ensure that there are no lumps.

• Add water, a little at a time, to get the sauce to the desired consistency and boil well.

• You can leave the sauce as is, and add cooked pasta. Alternatively, if you don’t like the seeds and skin coming in your way, you can puree the sauce to get the consistency you desire.

• You may mix the cooked pasta with the sauce in a pan and heat it for a few minutes on medium heat, till the pasta is completely coated with the sauce. You may add a little olive oil at this stage, it is not necessary.
• I served it for the kids’ lunch, teamed with sprouts and vegetable stir fry.

Tastes (Rasa):

Sweet (tomatoes, basil, butter, olive oil), sour (tomatoes), salty (salt), bitter (basil), pungent (pepper, garlic), astringent (basil)

Doshic Influence:

Tomatoes tend to be pitta aggravating. But this effect is minimized due to the addition of sweet basil into the sauce. Pepper and garlic are also pitta aggravating in excess, so go easy on these ingredients, especially during the hot summer months or for pitta people. Addition of basil blends in the necessary sweetness, astringency and slight bitterness to the sauce to offset the pitta aggravating properties. Pittas can eat this, but in moderation and without overdoing salty, pungent and sour tastes. This is a good dish for kaphas due to its “warmth”, but kaphas should be careful about not overeating pasta. This sauce is quite okay for vatas.

Effects on the Mind (Gunas):

This is a slightly rajasic dish due to ingredients like tomatoes, pepper, garlic etc. When eaten with pasta, tamas also increases. Moderation is the key. I am not a big fan of either pasta or its sauce, but it’s a kid favorite at home – so, I am okay with making this every once in a while – at least loads better than store-bought, preservative-laden pasta sauce!