Source: FOSS Cooking (community recipes)
Toast the whole spices — cumin, turmeric, paprika — in the dry pot over medium heat for 90 seconds until fragrant. This spice-blooming step concentrates their oils and oils and removes raw harshness that would otherwise muddy the finished dish. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, then pour in enough cold water to cover the spaghetti by two centimetres. Bring to a rolling boil.
Snap the spaghetti in half and add it to the boiling water. The pasta will hydrate unevenly at first — some strands will sink, others will float — so stir immediately and continuously for the first minute to prevent sticking and ensure even absorption. This is boiling|one-pot cooking at its most exposed: there's nowhere for mistakes to hide. After one minute, stir every two minutes. Taste a strand at 7 minutes; it should bend without cracking but still offer resistance at the centre. Most dried pasta hits this point between 8 and 10 minutes depending on thickness, but sensory assessment beats the clock here.
The water will reduce and thicken as the starch releases from the pasta. This is your sauce base forming. When the pasta is al dente, the liquid should cling to it lightly — not a soup, not a dry mass. If you've still got a centimetre of water sitting loose, give it another minute of heat without stirring. If the pasta is done and the pot is dry, you've overcooked it; add the tomato paste now and it will grab and scorch.
Stir in tomato paste or sauce — paste is better here because it won't thin the starch-thickened liquid — and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Mix constantly for 60 seconds so the oil emulsifies with the starch and coats every strand. The pasta should look glossy and loose, not clumped or greasy. Taste and adjust salt. If you're adding bacon or turkey, it should already be cooked and warm; fold it through now.
Pour into a bowl and eat at once. The dish cools and seizes quickly once plated.
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