Tadka Pasta

Tadka Pasta

By SONIA CHOPRA
Total time 30 minutes
Serves 4
When my mother came home from school as a kid in Bombay,
her mother used to make her a super-quick dish of noodles tossed
in a fragrant tadka for flavor. A few decades later in Atlanta, my
grandmother made a version of it as an after-school snack for me
too, but here she sometimes used instant noodles and I sometimes
added a few healthy shakes of Parmesan.

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp. Heray Spice Bihar
Black Mustard Seed

2 cups fresh or frozen, thawed
corn kernels, peas, and/or
chopped green beans
Kosher salt
1 lb. spaghetti
2 Tbsp. plus 11⁄2 tsp. peanut oil
or ghee

30 curry leaves (3–4 sprigs)
2 tsp. urad dal
1⁄2 tsp. asafetida
4 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter,
cut into pieces
2 oz. Parmesan, finely grated
(about 1 cup); plus more for
serving (optional)
2 Tbsp. chana dal, soaked
15 minutes, drained, or chopped
unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation

STEP 1

If using fresh peas and/or green beans, cook in a large pot of boiling salted water just until bright green, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a small bowl.

STEP 2

Add pasta to same pot of boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

STEP 3

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium. Cook mustard seeds until oil around seeds is sputtering (cover skillet if you are getting spattered), about 10 seconds. Add curry leaves, urad dal, and asafetida and stir to combine. Cook until fragrant and urad dal is golden, about 1 minute.

STEP 4

Add corn (and fresh or frozen pea and/or green beans if using) to wok and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add pasta and toss to combine, then add butter, 2 oz. Parmesan, and reserved pasta cooking liquid and toss until butter and cheese are melted and coat pasta. Add chana dal and toss again to combine.

STEP 5

Divide pasta among bowls and top with more Parmesan if desired.

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