Penne with Homemade tomato sauce is a quick and easy recipe, or a non-recipe really. This is just a notch above boiling ramen noodles or Maggi, I think, something that can easily be made even in a dorm room or during Exams week when time is really ‘of the essence’. I seem to be caught in a nostalgic moment here, since I am shooting off analogies about the good old school days:).

The star of this recipe is the tomatoes. I have used fresh desi tomatoes or ‘Indian’ or ‘gavran’ tomatoes, as some people are wont to call them. This is the original variety of tomato, I think, that we grew up eating, and is miles away from the Roma, vine ripe, heirloom or any other western variety.

This is also totally different from the Italian ‘sweet’ tomatoes. I am using these for a slightly different taste/flavor and also because I found them very cheap like 10 rupees a kilo, which is a very rare occurrence. Needless to say, this recipe can be followed exactly using Any available tomato, or canned crushed tomatoes or Italian stewed tomatoes that you get in a can.

It will remain as easy, or perhaps easier. I use a little milk and some sugar to reduce the acid/tang, since these particular tomatoes tend to be quite sour. Any dry spice mix can be used, like Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic, one of my favorite blends, or just plain dried basil/orgeno/rosemary. I am using Herb de Provence. The recipe or method follows.

This is simple sans veggies, but feel free to add any vegetable etc. that you like to up the ante here.

I hope you try this simple recipe the next time you start defrosting that Lean Cuisine or open yet another pack of Ramen noodles.