Marco Polo introduced pasta to Europe. But the Italians have certainly made it their own.

Literally, pasta is a paste or dough made with flour and water and can be eaten in fresh or dried form. You can use packet noodles and try out a wonderful spaghetti meal using the following easy recipe. Spaghetti is the long form of pasta.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1 medium-sized onion, 1 medium-sized carrot (peeled), 1celery stick, 2 tbsp olive oil, 4 ripe tomatoes, 1 cup water, half cup parsley or coriander, 2 tsp sugar, salt and freshly ground black pepper, 500 gms noodles (spaghetti), fresh herbs (mint or sweet basil leaves) and 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese.

Preparation

Chop the onion, carrot and celery. Chop the tomatoes and keep aside. Heat oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion, carrot and celery. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Add the chopped tomatoes. Add water, parsley/coriander and sugar. Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and black pepper. Check the consistency of the sauce. It should not be very thick. Keep aside.

About 15 minutes before serving time, add the noodles to a large pan of boiling water and cook till tender. Drain thoroughly and return to the pan. Pour the sauce over the pasta and gently toss until combined. Garnish with fresh herbs and cheese and serve.

(The writer can be contacted at hussina@rediffmail.com)