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Gnocchi Masala

By Manali Singh

5 from 12 votes

Apr 07, 2021

Potato gnocchi tossed in a creamy Indian spiced tomato sauce- this Gnocchi Masala makes an indulgent meal!

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EFEgg FreeNFNut Free

Give gnocchi an Indian twist with this Gnocchi Masala! 

Boiled gnocchi tossed in a spiced tomato sauce flavored with Indian spices and finished with cream! Even better, it all comes together in 30 minutes!

I love adding Indian flavors to my favorite dishes (which aren’t Indian). 

There’s this Italian restaurant here and I love their gnocchi tossed in a simple creamy tomato sauce. It’s very basic but tastes so good.

Adding Indian spices to that tomato sauce seemed like a good idea and it has been on my mind to do that for so long now and I finally worked on this recipe and really excited to share it with you all. 

If you love my Indian inspired fusion dishes like this makhani pasta or paneer lasagna then you will absolutely love this one too!

This gnocchi masala recipe combines gnocchi with an Indian spiced tomato sauce. It’s full of flavors, creamy with a little bit of tang from the sour cream and makes the ultimate indulgent meal.

Growing up in India, I wasn’t familiar with gnocchi. My first introduction to gnocchi was at an Italian restaurant where it was tossed with basil pesto. I remember loving it instantly! It has been a favorite ever since.

This Gnocchi Masala

✔combines Indian flavors with Italian gnocchi.

✔is the perfect meal for date nights or special occasions.

✔easy to make and can be done under 30 minutes!

If you love fusion recipes, then this is right up your alley. The sauce has just the right mix of sweetness from the cream & sugar, tanginess from the tomatoes & sour cream and spiciness from the garam masala & Kashmiri red chili powder. 

There’s also some wonderful aroma from the cardamom powder, kasuri methi and cilantro.

This is an easy recipe to make, the ingredient list might seem a long but it’s all very basic and if you cook Indian food often, you will be having all these ingredients in your pantry already.

Ingredients

Gnocchi: I used potato gnocchi from Trader Joe’s. This was the shelf stable gnocchi that’s found in the pasta aisle and needs 3 minutes of cooking time. From the ingredients list, it does look like this gnocchi is egg-free.

If you use frozen gnocchi, follow the instructions on the package to cook it.

Can of diced tomatoes: for the sauce to have that texture, use a can of diced tomatoes. I would suggest not replacing this with fresh tomatoes as the flavor and texture both change if you do that.

Tomato paste: this adds richness and depth of flavor to the sauce so I highly recommend not skipping it. I always buy a tube of tomato paste from Trader Joe’s and keep it refrigerated.

I am not a fan of the canned tomato paste, because most recipes call for few tablespoons of tomato paste and once you open the can, you don’t know what to do with the rest of it. You can obviously freeze it but in the past, whenever I have frozen it, I have ended up forgetting about it.

So I much prefer the tube, it’s easy to use and keeps well in the refrigerator. 

Onion & peppers: these are only veggies I have used in this recipe. If you want you can also add some chopped mushrooms here, will go really well. Also spinach can be added towards the end.

Spices: since this is an Indian style masala sauce, I have used spices like garam masala, kasuri methi, Kashmiri red chili powder (which is mainly used for color and is not hot) and cardamom powder.

Heavy cream: this makes the sauce creamy and also add touch of sweetness to the dish. You can substitute this with coconut cream or coconut milk if you prefer.

Sour cream: I love adding a touch of sour cream to this dish, it gives it a little tangy taste which perfectly balances the other sweet flavors in the recipe.

You can use cream cheese in place of sour cream, even Greek yogurt should work.

Butter & oil: for this recipe, I use a combination of butter and olive oil to cook the sauce. Butter gives the sauce that makhani flavor. 

Cilantro: can’t have Indian sauce without cilantro, can you? I love garnishing mine with lots of chopped cilantro.

Other than these there is salt, pepper (both black and white), sugar and chili flakes to balance out the flavors. You can adjust these flavors to taste.

Prefer spicy? Add a chopped jalapeño along with the onions and add more red chili flakes towards the end. You can also reduce some of the Kashmiri red chili powder with regular chili powder which is hot.

Less spicy? skip the red chili flakes, you can even reduce the amount of Kashmiri red chili powder (even though it’s really not hot).

Frequently Asked Questions

I don’t have gnocchi, can I make this using pasta?

Yes, if you don’t have gnocchi, this recipe should work with pasta as well. I would suggest using Rigatoni.

Can you make it vegan?

Replace the butter with vegan butter, heavy cream with coconut milk, sour cream with vegan sour cream or yogurt.

Also, make sure the gnocchi is vegan.

What to serve along side this dish?

Garlic bread would be nice! You can also serve a nice salad along with.

Method

1- Boil gnocchi according to instructions on the package. Mine was supposed to boil for 3 minutes. Then drain using a strainer. You can reserve some of the water (around 1/4 cup maybe) to be added to the sauce later.

2- Take a heavy bottom pan and put it on low-medium heat. Add butter and oil to it. Let the butter melt.

3- Then add the garlic and onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on low heat, stirring often. The onion and garlic should not get browned so keep heat on low-medium.

4- Add the chopped peppers and increase the heat to medium. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes.

5- Then add 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder and stir. Cook for 30 seconds.

6- Add the can of diced tomatoes and 2 tablespoons tomato paste. Mix everything until combined.

7- Add sugar and 2 teaspoons kasuri methi and stir.

8- Then add heavy cream and sour cream and mix until it’s all combined. 

9- Add white pepper powder, black pepper powder,  cardamom powder and stir.

10- Then add in the boiled gnocchi and toss it well with sauce.

11- Also add 2 tablespoons water along with the gnocchi (you can use the reserved water that you had saved after boiling the gnocchi here). Adjust the consistency of the sauce to preference here.

12- Add the remaining 1 teaspoon kasuri methi, red chili flakes (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, depending on taste) and sprinkle garam masala on top.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve gnocchi masala with a side of garlic bread! 

If you’ve tried this Gnocchi Masala Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!

Gnocchi Masala

5 from 12 votes

By Manali Singh

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 3

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Potato gnocchi tossed in a creamy Indian spiced tomato sauce- this Gnocchi Masala makes an indulgent meal!

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 500 grams potato gnocchi shelf stable, one that's available in pasta aisle
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter I used salted butter
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil 15 ml
• ▢ 4-5 large garlic cloves chopped
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• ▢ 1 medium red pepper chopped
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garam masala + more to sprinkle
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder not hot, mainly used for color
• ▢ 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes I used petite diced tomatoes
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ▢ 3 teaspoons kasuri methi divided
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 4 tablespoons heavy cream 60 ml
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sour cream 15 ml
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon green cardamom powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons water or add more to adjust consistency to preference
• ▢ 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes adjust to taste
• ▢ cilantro to garnish

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Instructions 

• Boil gnocchi according to instructions on the package. Mine was supposed to boil for 3 minutes. Then drain using a strainer. You can reserve some of the water (around 1/4 cup maybe) to be added to the sauce later.
  
• Take a heavy bottom pan and put it on low-medium heat. Add butter and oil to it. Let the butter melt.

  Then add the garlic and onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on low heat, stirring often. The onion and garlic should not get browned so keep heat on low-medium.
  
• Add the chopped peppers and increase the heat to medium. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes.

  Then add 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder and stir. Cook for 30 seconds.
  
• Add the can of diced tomatoes and 2 tablespoons tomato paste. Mix everything until combined.

  Add sugar and 2 teaspoons kasuri methi and stir.
  
• Then add heavy cream and sour cream and mix until it's all combined. Add white pepper powder, black pepper powder,  cardamom powder and stir.
  
• Then add in the boiled gnocchi and toss it well with sauce.

  Also add 2 tablespoons water along with the gnocchi (you can use the reserved water that you had saved after boiling the gnocchi here). Adjust the consistency of the sauce to preference here.
  
• Add the remaining 1 teaspoon kasuri methi, red chili flakes (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, depending on taste) and sprinkle garam masala on top. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve gnocchi masala with a side of garlic bread! 
  

Notes

1. The kashmiri red chili powder used here is not hot, it's mainly used for color. Do not replace it with regular chili powder else the dish will become spicy. Of course if you prefer spicy, then you may 100% replace it with regular chili powder.
2. If you don't eat eggs, make sure the gnocchi you use is egg-free.

Nutrition

Calories: 529kcal, Carbohydrates: 76g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 1141mg, Potassium: 555mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 2267IU, Vitamin C: 70mg, Calcium: 121mg, Iron: 8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, Italian

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