Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce

Italian cuisine, is soon becoming an integral part of Indian Food fraternity. First came the Pizza and now the Pasta. So when I started preparing Pasta dishes @ home, I tried and tasted number of recipes. Searched whole lot of sauces, got number of options , while doing so I stumbled upon a too delectable snap here on flickr. The snap was so addictive, I immediately searched about Bolognese Sauce and tried to create my version of this.

As I have never tried this @ any restaurant yet, so I’ve very little idea if this can go as an authentic recipe, but we tasted what I prepared and we loved it. The sauce can be prepared beforehand and refrigerated to use later.

You Need:

• Mushrooms : Sliced – about 1 cup
• Onion : finely chopped – 1medium
• Tomatoes : finely chopped or can be easily replaced with puree – about 2-3 Large
• Capsicum : finely chopped : Green and Yellow – ½ each
• Carrots : finely chopped : 1-2 small
• Red Chilli powder : 2-3 tsp <Spicier the better>
• Bay Leaf : 1
• Garlic Cloves : 2 medium – crushed
• Sugar : 1-2 tbsp
• Milk : ½ cup
• Vegetable Stock : 1-1/2 cup (optional) or Water
• Olive Oil – enough to sauté onion
• Salt and Pepper : to taste

You DO:

1. Heat Olive Oil and follow with bay leaf , garlic and onions. Sauté till light pink.
2. Follow with Capsicum, Carrots and Mushrooms. Sauté till half cooked.
3. Follow with red chilli powder, salt and pepper. Add Tomatoes and let it simmer for 5 minutes or so.
4. Mash with a masher to make a mashed sauce. Cook covered for about 10-15 minutes till all is well cooked.
5. You can add the vegetable stock or can replace with ½ cup water.
6. Follow with milk, mash again if required to make a juicy sauce. Do not overdo it as it should not be paste but a lumpy sauce.

This Sauce can be easily used with a sandwich or with Mashed Potatoes. But goes best with Spaghetti, widely known dish – Spaghetti with Bolognese ~~ Coming Soon :)

Happy Cooking and Posting about it :)