By now most of you must be aware of my love affair with Italian Cuisine. Be it any time or any day, give me a bowl of pasta, I would be a happy soul. I have had my share of store bought and packaged pasta – penne, fusilli, spaghetti, lasagna and the likes. I have tried some of the best brands available in our super markets to some of the local made ones. I have tried different types of pasta as well – whole wheat, durum wheat and what not. Although the results would be satisfying and much better than having it out, I was never truly satisfied. The game plan changed a couple of weeks back when I spotted a pasta machine in one of the shops. To say that I was elated would be an understatement. Although I was pretty sure it was a pasta maker, I was very skeptical especially given that the store guys did not know how to demo it to us. I still got one, not able to contain my excitement. It was late at night when we came back home and that was not enough to stop me from trying out some pasta preparation. I had some whole wheat dough and the pasta came out beautifully – atleast that’s what I thought. I had to still work on my recipe though. I wanted a fail proof recipe that could be prepared easily at home. Then started my eternal search for a recipe that was essentially eggless and was fail proof too. After spending almost a day looking for it, I decided to try out the different things I learnt and that’s how this vegan 3 step easy pasta dough recipe was formulated. I used very fine semolina and made a dough out of it with pretty much nothing but water. The only trick is to knead it really well for 5-7mins, stretching the dough everytime it’s kneaded. The next important thing to rest it enough for atleast 30 mins and viola – homemade pasta dough is ready to roll. In my pasta machine, I have the options to roll the pasta sheet – with 6 settings (with number 6 being the thickest). I start with the widest setting first, rolling the dough longer every time. Each time, keep reducing the thickness of the pasta roller to get thinner pasta sheet. Once the sheets are about 2mm thick, they can be run through the fettuccine or spaghetti cutter on the other side of the machine to get long strings of pasta. Cooking this pasta is super easy – takes not more than 2 mins at the maximum. If the sauce is kept ready, cooked pasta can be mixed and that’s it! I can’t begin to say how easy this is, really. Another best thing – I know for sure there are no preservatives – it’s fresh, it’s homemade and it’s tasty. It’s so silky that it melts in your mouth.  A very big bowl of pasta that can serve 6 people can be made for less than 20 Rupees, I kid not.

Without further delay, here is my homemade pasta from scratch recipe –

  1. In a large bowl, take the semolina and make a well in the center of it. Pour less than half cup of water and using a fork or spoon bring sides of the semolina together until it all looks crumbly. Using your hands, bring the dough together. It would not look fine but should form a ball of dough as shown below. Knead this dough for 5-7 mins stretching it away from your body and folding it again. Repeat this process until the dough is nice and smooth. Wrap it in cling film and set aside for at least 30 mins.
  2. Take a ball of dough while keeping the rest of the dough still wrapped in cling film. Dust it with some whole wheat flour. Meanwhile, set up your pasta machine on a table lined with table cloth. Place newspapers around it to avoid mess. Set the pasta roller on maximum thickness and roll the ball of dough. With every roll, reduce the thickness of the pasta roller. When you are in setting 4 or when the sheet of rolled pasta is long enough, dust it with some whole wheat flour and fold each end of it towards the center. Repeat the rolling process. I went as far as setting number 2 to get 2mm thickness of my rolled pasta. Dust it on both sides with flour.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to boil with 1.5 teaspoon or more of salt and a teaspoon of olive oil. Meanwhile, cut the rolled pasta in half (if it’s too long). Take each half of the pasta sheet and roll it on the fettuccine cut on the pasta machine. When the fettuccine pasta is out, dust it with some more flour if it’s sticky. Drop the fettuccine in the boiling water. It sinks to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the flame to medium. Slightly toss it over after 30 secs and the pasta should be swimming freely in the boiling water. In about 2 mins, the pasta floats to the top of the water – which means it’s cooked. Remove it on to a bowl. Come back tomorrow to find out what has been made with this vegan homemade fettuccine! 🙂

If you don’t have pasta machine and do not want in invest in one, roll the pasta dough really thin (make sure it’s all even) and cut it into thin strips. Some of the recipes called for 00 flour to be added along with the semolina. I couldn’t find the flour and yet this pasta has become a huge hit at home. We have already made it thrice so far! Kneading and resting the dough are very essential. Usually the salt is not added to the pasta dough while preparing but only during cooking. I usually do not add oil while cooking the pasta but as this is fresh pasta, I did want it to turn into one gloppy mess while cooking. This is more of a precaution, but don’t think I have to be afraid anymore. Will update after my next trial.