Chutagi (pasta with vegetables)

Chutagi is a famous Ladakhi dish, like pasta with a rich vegetable sauce. Chu means water in Ladakh and tagi means bread. The pasta dough is made in the shape of a bow-tie, and is cooked in a thick soup of potatoes, carrots and local leafy green vegetables. There is a version made with mutton as well.

Credit: Murdoch Books

• serves

  3

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Pasta dough

• 100 g (generous ¾ cups) atta chapati flour (or plain/all-purpose), plus extra for dusting
• about 75 ml water, at room temperature

Broth

• 250 g boneless lamb
• 700 ml (scant 3 cups) water
• 4 tsp mustard oil or sunflower oil
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 75 g white onion, chopped
• 75 g potatoes, peeled and diced
• 75 g carrots, peeled and diced
• 75 g leafy greens, roughly chopped
• 75 g kohlrabi, peeled and diced
• 100 g tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp chilli powder

Resting time: at least 10 minutes.

Instructions

1. To make the pasta dough, sift the flour into a bowl, slowly add the water and knead into a soft dough. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes.
2. Dust the work surface with flour and roll the pasta dough into a 2 mm thin sheet (or put it through a pasta machine). Roll to around 20 cm long. Use a 5 cm cookie cutter to cut small rounds out of the pasta sheet. Wrap each pasta circle around your index finger and pinch the tube closed. Gently pull your finger out, then pinch the two open ends of the tube together. It should resemble two cones joined at the bottom. Repeat until all the dough is used up and set aside.
3. To make the broth, place the lamb and 500 ml (2 cups) of the water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and until the meat is tender, about 30–40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a separate deep saucepan over a medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and onion, and cook for 4–5 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the salt, pepper and chilli powder, along with the remaining 200 ml (scant 1 cup) of water. Cook for 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
5. Finally, add the cooked lamb and pasta to the broth and cook for a final 10 minutes until the pasta is chewy, firm and holding its shape. Serve hot.

 

Recipe and image from On the Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh by Romy Gill, photography by Poras Chaudhary and Matt Russel (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $55, available in-stores nationally). Read an extract from the book here. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.