Spaghetti in White Sauce and Curried Sausages

This is actually a recipe which failed partially due to my wrong measurements. I have never been the one to go for exact measurements; I usually eyeball them as per the number of people I am cooking for. This is the major reason behind my unwillingness to bake cakes and similar recipes that require strict adherence to ratios and proportions.  That’s how lazy I can get.

Then again, the pasta did not fail altogether in the ‘taste test’ and so I thought of sharing the recipe with you. I had got some delicious spicy chicken sausages (it was written ‘curried sausages’ on the packet) and had secret plans of enjoying them alone while watching my favourite serials on Star World. That’s how selfish I can get, you see. But the plan did not work out. The husband opened the fridge one Saturday morning and pulled out the packet which I had surreptitiously stashed away in a corner. 

“Hey, we have sausages!” The guy announced loudly and happily. “Let’s have them for breakfast.”

Yeah, sure, why not. *face palm moment*

Now, I had plans of making spaghetti in white sauce that morning. Wait, ‘spaghetti in white sauce’ is known by some other name, no?  Anyway, since I can’t recollect that, let stick to the white sauce part. I decided to chop the sausages into chunks and add them to the spaghetti. Everything was fine till the moment I made my white sauce. I put in way too much flour. The sauce turned out very thick and when I stirred it in with the spaghetti, it immediately hardened up and made the dish dry. 

I was balefully staring into the heap of spaghetti when the husband stepped in. I blurted out my predicament to him and he gallantly put in a forkful in his mouth. “It will do,” he said. Oh well, it will have to do, or else there would be no breakfast. Thankfully, the unsuspecting in-laws did not complain and took it to be a ‘dry’ dish. Maybe.

So, here is my recipe. Do be careful while making the white sauce. In case you find the dish too dry, add a little water reserved while boiling the spaghetti (as suggested by Poorna in the comments). Now, we proceed.

Spaghetti in White Sauce

Ingredients:

1 packet of spaghetti, boiled and kept aside

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 green chillies, chopped

5-6 chicken sausages, chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the white sauce

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

2 cubes of processed cheese, grated (I used Amul cheese)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a wok or kadai and pop in the minced garlic, chillies and the sausages. Once the garlic turns brown, tip in the cooked spaghetti and toss well. Remove from gas and keep the spaghetti aside.

Meanwhile, put up another pan on the gas and spoon in the butter. Now, add the flour into the sizzling butter and stir till it loses its raw smell. Take care not to burn the flour-butter mixture.  Then, pour in the cup of milk and let it come to a gentle simmer.  Smooth out the lumps, if any. Add the grated cheese and keep stirring till the cheese melts and is incorporated into the white sauce. Season with salt and pepper before taking it off the gas.

Now, pour the white sauce over the spaghetti and mix well so that it coats evenly. Check for seasonings and add more salt and pepper, if required. Garnish with generous sprinklings of oregano, basil and chilli flakes and serve hot (I did not have any of these).

I hope you have a much better experience with this dish than mine. I plan to make it again, with more care, and see if it tastes better then!