This Indian street food style masala pasta is an explosion of flavors. Penne pasta is smothered in a simple tomato sauce flavored with Indian spices and mellowed with cashew cream. It's easy, it's delicious, and it's a pasta dish unlike any you've eaten before.
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Masala pasta: Indo-Italian fusion at its yummiest
Masala pasta is a popular street food that likely originated in Delhi, India's capital city. Indian street food is known for its bold, spicy flavors that keep people coming back for more. When these enterprising cooks decided to add pasta to their repertoire, they likely figured that as delicious as pasta in marinara sauce is, to make it truly irresistible to their clientele it needed something more: it needed a generous hit of spice.
So they amped up the garlic and smothered the sauce in chili pepper, cumin and a spice blend like Maggi magic masala powder or garam masala. Then, they stir-fried the cooked pasta to develop and meld the flavors. Finally, in a conciliatory gesture, they drizzled on some fire-dousing cream.
All of this might sound strange if you are used to cooking and eating pasta the Italian way, but this is an incredibly delicious dish. You will not want to miss all those magical flavors that bring your tastebuds alive. Also, if you aren't a heat lover, the good news about making masala pasta at home is that you can control the amount of spice you add to it.
This is a very kid-friendly dish and perfect for lunchboxes. It's soy-free, can be nut-free, and you can make it with gluten-free pasta. And if you love this Indo-Italian fusion recipe, you won't want to miss my creamy curried spaghetti with kale, a quick pasta dish where the pasta cooks in one pot with the sauce and spaghetti.
Recipe FAQs
Tubular pasta like penne or macaroni is used in India but rigatoni or even spaghetti would hold on to the sauce spectacularly. I'd break the spaghetti into smaller pieces to make it easier to stir-fry in the end.
On the streets the pasta is cooked until really soft but I advise you cook the pasta al dente. That way it won't break when you stir-fry it at the end and also you won't have mushy pasta.
There are five spices in this dish: ground coriander, ground cumin, Maggi magic masala powder, garam masala and red pepper flakes. You can reduce the quantities of the red pepper flakes and the garam masala, or skip the garam masala altogether for a milder dish.
You can add green peas, diced carrots, corn kernels and scallions. Add them along with or instead of the bell peppers.
You can easily source it at the Indian store or online. Or make it at home using my Maggi magic masala recipe.
The sauce is already gluten-free. Use a gluten-free pasta to make the dish gluten-free. I used chickpea penne this time.
If you're nut-free, replace the cashews with an equal amount of pumpkin seeds to make the cream.
Add baked tofu cubes toward the end of cooking. My air fryer tofu would be magnificent in this recipe.
Serve the masala pasta by itself: it's a complete meal. You can serve a fresh salad on the side if you want to.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week. For longer storage freeze up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat before serving.
Recipe card
Masala pasta recipe
Ingredients
For cashew cream
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
For masala paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 3 medium tomatoes (diced, or use 2 cups of tomato puree)
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (tweak to taste)
Other ingredients
- 12 oz penne (See FAQs on other pasta shapes to use in this recipe.)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 12 cloves garlic (peeled and crushed into paste or minced)
- 2 green bell peppers (seeds removed and cut in a ½-inch dice)
- 1 tablespoon Maggi magic masala
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (or curry powder)
- Salt to taste.
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
Make cashew cream
- Place the cashews in a blender with water and blend into a very smooth paste. Set aside.
Cook pasta
- Put a large pot of pasta water to boil and salt it generously. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and set aside.
Make the spice paste
- Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a wok or skillet until aromatic and just slightly darker. Place in a blender.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and red pepper flakes to the blender. Blend into a smooth puree.
Make masala pasta
- Place the oil in a large wok or skillet and add the oil. Add garlic to the oil, then turn the heat up to medium low. Sauté the garlic about a minute until fragrant.
- Add the blended spice paste to the skillet with ½ cup water or reserved pasta water. Let the tomato sauce cook 10 minutes or until it turns a brighter red and you see some oil spots floating on top. At this point add some more of the reserved pasta water, if you want, to make the sauce saucier.
- Stir in the Maggi magic masala and garam masala, if using, and salt to taste. Mix.
- Add the diced green bell peppers followed by the cashew cream. Mix well, cover and cook another five minutes.
- Add the pasta and mix. Stir-fry the cooked pasta, moving it constantly, to ensure the sauce cooks evenly and the pasta doesn't stick to the pan. Do this for five minutes.
- Serve with fresh cilantro sprinkled on top.
Notes
- Nutrition information is for pasta made with chickpea penne.
Nutrition Information
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More tasty Indian street foods
First published Jan. 2, 2020. Updated and republished on April 22, 2025.
Vaishali says
Thanks for pointing out--I've fixed it!
Asha says
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe..
Goona try it tomorrow for sure.
Kyle says
Hey I wanted to make this at home. But I have now idea what curry powder is, how can I make it or buy it?
Navan K says
You can get it at any Indian store hun.
Vaishali says
Hi Kyle, I have a curry powder recipe on the blog!
PamelaB says
I’m also thinking this would be great for making the sauce ahead (maybe doubling & freezing half) and then only needing to cook the pasta...then stir-fry with the sauce. A quick meal. Even quicker if pasta is cooked ahead also.
Or make entirely & freeze in portion sizes.
The corkscrew with ridges pasta would also be good here.
Love your recipes/ideas!
Thank you for sharing.
(you always have my attention with the words “Indian street food”)
Vaishali says
Hi Pam, I hope you try it! And yes, you could definitely freeze the sauce and use later for a quick meal. Indian street food is my favorite too. 🙂
PamelaB says
? ? ? ?
Alocasia says
This sounds great. Is there a substitute for the magic seasoning or a homemade recipe for it?
Vaishali says
Hi, yes I usually make this recipe at home when I don't have the seasoning -- it's quite good, but needs a ton of ingredients. I linked to it in the blog but here it is again:
Alocasia says
Thanks. Made the Maggi Masala, and of course I found the packets at the store afterwards. Using the homemade.
This is dinner tonight. I just had two questions. Can I use diced canned tomatoes, one 14.5 oz? I do have dried guajillo pepper, but also have Kashmiri chili powder. Can I substitute the Kashmiri powder, and if so, how much would I use in place of the 4 dry? This sounds so good I just want to get it right. 🙂
Vaishali says
14.5 oz of tomatoes would work if you're also using tomato paste. You might need to add a little bit of the pasta cooking water to thin it out if the paste is too thick. The heat in different chili powders can vary depending on the brand so I'd just say start with 1 tsp and work upward after tasting.
Alocasia says
Delicious. The flavors are great. I ended up using fresh tomatoes and the Kashmiri chili powder. The 1/2 cup water to 1/4 cup cashews was very watery. Not paste like at all. Was that correct?
Vaishali says
Yes, it needs to be a little watery to mix into the pasta well. You can always reduce the water if you prefer a thick paste, but since pasta sauce always thickens on standing, I prefer to keep it loose. Happy you liked it!
radiya says
Hi Vaishali,
Curious about the garlic - leave it whole?
Vaishali says
Hi Radiya, crush it into a paste or mince it! Clarified now.