A classic combination of tomatoes and cream, pretty common in Indian as well as Italian cuisines, and loved by people from all over the world… this Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta is my absolute favorite! Its rich, easy to whip up, and the velvety sauce is a perfect balance of tanginess and creaminess which tastes incredible right from the first bite. This recipe is very similar to an Indian style Butter chicken but with some variations to the spices used.

The key to any pasta dish is the perfection in the cooking of the pasta and not allowing it to dry. So, make sure to cook your pasta just al dente. The tomato paste gives the color and the flavor, and combining it with spices and cream gives you the creamy dreamy pasta which is so perfect for your date nights or get togethers.

A few pointers:

1. This is a toddler approved recipe and always a hit for our kids’ parties.
2. You can make the vegetarian version of this pasta by swapping chicken with vegetables. Veggies like mushroom, broccoli, spinach, bell peppers work well with this recipe.
3. Shrimp is also a great substitute for chicken in this dish.
4. Although I highly recommend tomato paste, you can use fresh tomatoes, marinara sauce or canned diced tomatoes. Make sure to cook them well until it is thickened and reduced to a thick saucy consistency.
5. How to store: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an air tight container for up to 3-4 days.

Interested in other pasta recipes? Check these out:

1. White Sauce Chicken Pasta
2. Spaghetti and Meatballs
3. Spaghetti with Mushroom and Peas
4. Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo

Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

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Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta

Creamy Tomato Pasta with Chicken! A Delicious Pasta packed with Tomato flavors put together in just 30 minutes. Pair it up with your Favorite Wine for the Perfect Meal on your Dinner Nights!!!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword chicken pasta, creamy tomato pasta, pasta

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 2 cups rigatoni pasta (or any pasta of your choice)
• 3 chicken breasts (thinly sliced)
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 medium yellow/white onion (finely chopped)
• 6 oz canned tomato paste
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1½ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup pasta water (reserved)
• 2 tbsp butter/olive oil
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese + topping
• Parsley (garnish)
• Salt (as required)

Instructions

• Preparation of pasta: Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the cooked pasta water.
• Preparation of chicken: In a pan, heat some oil on medium flame and cook the chicken with salt and pepper, until cooked through and slightly browned. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
• Make the sauce: Into the same pan, add butter. Once it is melted, add garlic and sauté until it turns fragrant.
• Add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes until it turns soft.
• Add tomato paste and mix well. Followed by adding the spices; oregano, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Add the reserved pasta water and allow it to cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the heavy cream and cooked chicken, mix well, let it cook for 3 minutes until it is slightly thickened but still saucy. Check for the seasoning.
• Add the drained pasta, toss them together and top with parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve hot.

The post Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta appeared first on Pepper Delight.

This restaurant-style salsa is quick n easy. All you need are a few minutes of you time and a handful of ingredients which are readily available in your pantry!  The freshness of the tomatoes, the zestiness of the lime clubbed with the heat from the jalapenos and the aroma of the cilantro, together balance the flavors very well and tastes just like the restaurant version.

Why homemade Salsa?

The thought of making homemade salsa started after noticing my son going crazy over chips and salsa whenever we visit Mexican restaurants. I mean, how could I blame him, we all love it, right? And when he started asking for the same at home too, I used to give him store bought salsa initially. But watching how he used to drink & gulp it (lol, I donno what else to say), it made me concerned about the quality of store-bought ones and the preservatives present for longer shelf life, not to mention the high amount of salt and sugar added for taste. That was the moment I finally decided to try my hand on a homemade version. And trust me, that was the right decision and never have I turned back to store bought salsa again. Also, I can’t be happier watching my son savor mommy’s homemade salsa!

Is Salsa Healthy?

Yes, tomato being the main ingredient of Salsa, it is an excellent source of Vitamin C with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Salsa is also low in calories, helps with digestion, boosts your immune system and promotes heart health.

How to store?

Leftovers can be refrigerated in an air tight container for up to a week. I do not recommend freezing salsa as it is best enjoyed when freshly made without any preservatives.

Interested in other Mexican food recipes? Check these out:

1. Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
2. Crispy Fish Tacos
3. Salmon Tacos with Avocado crema
4. Easy Homemade Guacamole

Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate us if you love it!

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Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa

Quick and Easy Homemade Salsa, made with a few simple ingredients! Top your salads, tacos & fajitas,or enjoy as a dip with your favorite tortilla chips.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword homemade salsa, mexican, salsa

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 7

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 1 can diced / crushed tomatoes 14.5 oz
• 2 fresh tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 handful of cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ of a medium sized onion
• Salt (as required)

Instructions

• Blend all the ingredients together and check for the seasoning.
• Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

1. You can remove the seeds of the jalapenos to make it less spicy.
2. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.

The post Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa appeared first on Pepper Delight.

Two years back if someone had asked me what a food blog is, all I could say were the names of a few blogs out of which I seldom visited any. Never did I even think in my dreams that one day I would have a food related website of my own. Life changed so much during this one year and I must say I couldn’t be happier. As days went by I kept on falling in love with my blog and an even more desire to work towards it. It’s all you dear readers and my followers who have made me feel so special throughout this journey, and I thank you everyone for the huge support you have given me.

When I started this blog, people often asked me the reason behind doing a food blog, my recipe sources, ideas, and many more. So, I thought to sit down and pen my first year experiences and the journey as a food blogger. Shortly I will be uploading my second part of this feature too, a “Behind the Scenes” episode! So stay tuned!!

The Story
I don’t believe in luck coz it never favored me, and it was the unexpected which gave me positive results. There were a lot of ups and downs in my life and the one lesson I learnt is that the realities of life are always the same, but if you push yourself you can surely achieve your dreams… and Sky is the limit!!

Chocolate Hazelnut Semi Naked Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

After I met my husband, I took my first year to enjoy life and be a good housewife. As months went by, I started getting bored and slowly the urge to do something more in life began to haunt me. And I think it gets even worse if you had been working or had a job in the past. Quickly things changed as we moved to the US for my husband’s work assignment, and once again I got engaged and busy with the new phase of life. But as you get further away from family n friends, and being unable to work on a dependent visa, boredom really kicks in. I started looking out for new hobbies, ideas, volunteering, and even thought about higher studies and getting an MS (like any other dependent Indian wife). But I wasn’t really interested in spending time again in a classroom, writing exams, or back to college life. In fact I wanted to do something which makes me happy, carefree, have a balanced work life, and gives me plenty of time to enjoy and be with family. And that’s how Pepper Delight started!!!

The Inspiration
I love cooking and experimenting with food but until recently, I used to confine myself to Indian recipes, in fact South Indian to be specific. Like as I had mentioned in the Inspiration page of my blog, it was after meeting a few friends did I get the courage to explore and cook international recipes beyond my comfort zone. And after moving to the US; the exposure to various global cuisines, the easy accessibility and availability of all ingredients in your nearby grocery stores, having a full sized conventional oven at your apartment/home (it opened the world of baking to me); all of these instilled my desire to start a food blog. Once I had that figured out, then came even bigger confusions; like I need a good website, need to learn photography n food styling, will I be able to write well, can I find time to blog and carry on my household chores, and so on. A millions questions kept on popping daily during my initial blog days, as if I opened a can of worms. So I started spending time to research, did a lot of reading about the experiences of other food bloggers, realized the importance of food styling and photography as the first big step to a good food blog, and as I started to cook, photograph, practice; the real fun began! In fact, if you compare the photos of my initial recipes vs the recent ones, you would get a picture of my learning phase and the journey so far.

Spaghetti with Garlic, Mushroom & Peas

My favorite question I get asked is, where do I get my recipe inspiration and how do I understand food styling? Inspiration is everywhere; it’s all about your priorities and looking out for it. For e.g., I used to tell my husband that only after I sat in the driver’s seat and started driving did I start noticing the sign boards and signals, although they have been there all the time. Same is the case with me after I started blogging; the food blogger’s community out there is my biggest inspiration! Instagram & Pinterest helped me in getting to know an amazing pack of friends who support you and share the same desires in this journey.

Green gram/Parippu Curry

Just like the inspiration, an equally important fact is the criticism. Though it’s been only a year of blogging, I consider myself lucky to not have had that much of a negative feedback. But there is this perception of this profession which some carry and I get asked when I tell people that I am a blogger; “Is that seriously a job?”, and I hate that!! Are white collar jobs that only matter?

People don’t understand the hard work we put before publishing a post. Sometimes it takes days to complete the whole work behind a post. Somedays you lack inspiration for a good recipe, or your dish doesn’t turn out well, otherwise your photos don’t, or being a cloudy day you do not have enough sunlight for photography, at times you struggle to get the right words to pen down your inspiration behind your recipe; there is a lot of effort and work which goes behind the scenes for each and every recipe post.

Red Fish Curry / Meen Mulakittathu

It was a bit stressful initially to hear such criticism, but now it’s my motivation to write even better. All I have to say is; do something in life which you enjoy and makes you happy! Money cannot buy happiness, but the satisfaction in doing something you love and being successful is priceless…

The Journey
Food blogging is a competitive career, and now it is my full time job. One year down the lane with 92 recipes …that’s a big baby step in my journey. Each recipe takes hours and hours of preparations before posting online. Starting with the recipe planning to the grocery shopping, food styling, photography, writing, and posting online, everything involves a lot of work & focus. And finally the least exiting part of it; cleaning up!!! After every post goes live (which usually happens at midnight), I look forward excitedly to wake up in the morning to view the likes, comments, & shares, and make my day bright and happy!

Strawberry Banana Chia Smoothie Bowl

The beautiful part of my journey is the learning phase in photography. And of course, the happiest moment for any food blogger is when someone tries your recipe and shares their wonderful feedback…

Future plans
Into my second year of blogging, I look forward to embrace “staying healthy” as my mantra. I will be focusing on clean eating, and introduce a lot of healthy recipes & detox recipes like smoothies, salads, soups, and so on.

Blueberry Virgin Mojito

Being a travel lover, I also wish to write travel posts (hope I get to travel a lot) focusing on the local and international cuisines/produce available at the places I visit. Collaborating with bloggers, inviting guest posts on my blog is another to-do item on my wish list. And of course, I would love to explore my photography skills and shoot for local restaurants and farms who wouldn’t mind amateurs like me.

So, Thank you all once again for all the love n support; Stay tuned for the second part of this feature, “Behind the Scenes”!!

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