Spaghetti alio e olio

Still inspired by Lewis, who seems to have enjoyed himself over the weekend eating astonishing amounts of pasta, I am posting a recipe for this simple and fulfilling pasta dish. It's quick (15 mins at the most), cheap and very tasty. If you like the ingredients, that is.

spaghetti no. 5 or 6 (just regular spaghetti) or spaghettini no. 10 (thin and delicate) or bucatini (thick and tough)
olive oil
garlic cloves
chili powder
parmesan cheese, capers, anchovies (optional)

Cook spaghetti al dente and rinse in cold water, transfer to a bowl. Meanwhile, peel as much garlic as you like - I usually peel two cloves - and heat some olive oil in a small pan. Slice the garlic and fry it gently in the oil until it begins to turn brown. The idea is to flavor the oil with garlic without burning it. Pour over pasta. Sprinkle with chili powder or hot paprika. Toss lightly. Enjoy.

I've been using Kashmiri mirch for this dish because it's the best chili powder I've ever tasted.

You can also add parmesan cheese, capers, anchovies or whatever you like but the basic recipe is only garlic and chili.

Drying Kashmiri mirch (by Getty Images)

I've had so much of this recently that I began to suspect I am developing an addiction. This was confirmed by a documentary I watched, where they said people develop carbohydrate addictions and eat pasta every single day to fix their mood swings and energy levels. Obviously, they get fat doing so. But I think my addiction was rather to Kashmiri mirch. Since I am running out of it and my supermarket has also run out, I'm safe.