Cheesy Italian Chicken Carbonara with an Indian Twist

This is my made-up italian inspired chicken carbonara, drizzled with a creamy garlic sauce. Garnish with fried onions, pine nuts and a dash of chopped parsley.
I love pine nuts. They give you that final crunch you need with each spoonful of cheesy pasta. I like to add it as the final touch in most dishes – Nutritional and delicious.
This is a perfect lunch recipe or if you fancy a quick evening dinner – then this recipe will work a treat.
An Indian household which means everything is usually cooked on a larger scale. This pasta recipe would be able to serve upto 4 people.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
NOTE: I used baking spoons and cups to help give you an exact measurement. I hope this makes it easy for you.
- 2 Chicken Breasts (approx 1.5lb in weight) cut into cubes
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp black Pepper
- 1 tblsp Ginger-Garlic paste
For the Pasta:
- A pan of boiling water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 500g pasta (I used fusilli)
For the Sauce:
- 1 Chicken Broth cube
- A little boiling water
- 35g Butter
- 3 tblsp Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 pint Milk
- 1 cup Double Cream
For The Garnish:
- Cheddar Cheese grated
- A handful of Chopped Parsley
- Fried Onions (from the store – unless you prefer homemade)
- 1 pack of Pine Nuts (not toasted)
The Ultimatum:
- Enough Oil
- 3 Cloves of Garlic thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
How to cook it
It begins:
- Clean and wash the chicken. Cut into small cubes.
- Marinate the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and ginger-garlic paste (It is always best to marinate 30 mins upto overnight in advance. It helps to enhance the flavour of the food).
- Heat up a frying pan. Once hot, add the chicken and cook until done. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a pan of boiling water – cook up the pasta.
- Set aside while you work on the sauce.
How to make the sauce:
- First, In boiling water, melt the Chicken Broth cube. Break and mix the cube up to avoid any lumps. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a deep saucepan, allow the 2 Tbslp Butter to melt on low heat.
- Add in the Flour, Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder. Whisk until fragrant.
- Gradually, add the Milk – whisking continuously to ensure a smooth consistency.
- Now, you can turn the heat up to medium. If you’re a beginner at this: keeping the heat on low to medium will help you focus and concentrate without rushing into things.
- Add in the Double Cream and the melted Chicken Broth water.
- Whisk until the sauce thickens up. You will now have a smooth, creamy sauce for your pasta.

Time to layer it up:
- In a large bowl, add the cooked Pasta and Chicken. Toss it up.
- Grate over a good amount of mild Cheddar Cheese. And more cheese! I love cheese!
- Now, pour over the creamy sauce (Make sure the sauce is hot when serving – you don’t want to serve it cold).
- Dash in the chopped Parsley.
- Garnish with the fried Onions and Pine Nuts.

And as if it wasn't fattening enough - I always add one more optional but delicious step to this:
- In a small saucepan, Heat up enough oil to fry the Garlic slices.
- Fry the Garlic slices together with the Turmeric until golden brown.
- Once that is ready, drizzle it over the layers.
- You’re a fantastic cook!
Count the memories, not the calories.
It would make me so so happy if you share your makings or your version of this recipe. It probably looks difficult, but its just a few basic ingredients that delivers a big bowl of unique flavours. And honestly, there are no rules for food. You can always tweak it to your preference.