Penne Pasta in White Sauce

Pasta is one of the best comfort foods invented!!! I love to enjoy my bowl of pasta any day any time. I love pasta both in white and red sauce. 

The white sauce pasta was introduced to me by my grand mother. You don't believe right??? Yes, she was the one who made it first time for me. She was back from the States and one night when I was staying with her, she asked me will I have pasta for dinner. I did not know what was it, hence said yes. Because what ever my grand ma makes it turns out the best!!! 

The first time, I did not enjoy pasta so much because I felt it was quite bland and tasteless. But later as I grew I really started liking this dish. 

Usually, I used to make white sauce without maida in it. I just kept adding more cheese to thicken the milk. Also, I was little skeptical because the maida would form lumps and that doesn't taste nice. So kept evading from this method. 

Once when my husband and I tried a three mushroom pasta and spoke to the chef regarding how he makes, I was pretty confident of the procedure and ever since I make it the way he taught me. It is a never fail recipe and my husband loves it!!! 

What you need:

Servings: 2

1. Pasta - 1 cup 
2. Maida - 1 tbsp (heaped)
3. Milk - 2 cups
4. Cheese Slice - 2 (or) Grated Cheese - 2 tbsp
5. Mixed Herbs - 1 tbsp
6. Salt - to taste
7. Butter/ Ghee - 1 tbsp
8. Water - to boil the pasta

How to go about it:

1. Pour water into a pan and bring it to a rolling boil. Add little oil to the boiling water and add in the pasta. The boiling water bubbles helps the pasta to stay separated from one another.The pasta should be cooked to "Al Dente" - firm to bite. 
2. Take a bite from the cooking pasta and check. If you feel it is firm to bite and yet cooked, cook no further. Switch off the heat. Filter the pasta through a colander and wash it well with cold running water (this is to prevent the pasta to cook further)
3. Now, in a pan add the butter or ghee (I used ghee). The ghee should turn very hot. It should not burn but be very hot. 
4. Now add the maida. While adding maida, be ready with a whisk. Once you add maida, you will see the maida bubble up with the ghee. If you achieve this, then rest assured that the maida will not form lumps at all. So this is the most important step in the white sauce. 
5. While whisking the maida ghee mixture, slowly add the milk and keep whisking. The milk will start to thicken up now. 
6. The milk will start bubbling on sides, add salt and cheese. Let the cheese completely. 
7. Now, add the cooked pasta and the mixed herbs. Give a final mix, so that the pasta and the sauce mix to become homogeneous.
8. Your pasta is ready, serve hot!! 

Njoy with your luvd ones...

Luv..

Champa