Servings : Serves 4-6
A classic luxurious and hearty Lasagna, packed with meat sauce, white sauce and lots of cheese!
Ingredients for Meat Sauce
- 500 gm beef mince (you can use chicken or lamb mince if you like)
- 4 onions, chopped
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 8 fresh tomatoes, blended until smooth
- 4 tbsp tomato paste/puree
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce/ketchup
- 1 green or red capsicum, chopped
- 2-3 sausages, fried and chopped (optional, you can leave this out)
- 2-3 green chillies chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- chopped coriander
- oregano (optional)
- 4 tbsp oil
- chopped veggies like beans, peas, carrots, sweet corn (optional, or you can use any that you like and leave the rest out)
Ingredients for White Sauce
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 4 cups milk
- salt to taste
- white pepper powder to taste (you can also use black pepper)
Other Ingredients
- 12 lasagna sheets (approximately)
- 2-3 cups grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese
- oregano (optional)
- chopped coriander (optional)
Instructions
First, prepare the Meat Sauce
Heat oil, then add the onions and fry until soft and translucent. Add the ginger and garlic pastes, and when they release their aroma, add the mince and sprinkle some black pepper over it and fry whilst breaking the bits of mince so that there are no lumps until the mince changes colour to brown.
Now add the capsicum, green chillies and veggies, and sprinkle the spices of your choice (I normally add a pinch of turmeric and a tsp. of cumin powder) fry them with the mince for a few minutes, then add the chopped sausages if you’re using them, tomato paste and blended tomatoes. Cook on low heat, whilst covered, until the sauce thickens, and the mince is ready then add the ketchup, sugar and adjust salt and chilli. Sprinkle some oregano if you have it, or a bit of garam masala, squeeze the lemon juice in and sprinkle some chopped coriander, then turn off the heat. This sauce should not be dry, it should be saucy.
Next, prepare the White Sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in plain flour, then cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Cooking the flour in the butter helps reduce the ‘raw’ smell of the flour so don’t skip this step! Slowly whisk in milk, if you pour the milk in too quickly you will form lumps, so add gradually whilst whisking briskly to get rid of any lumps and form a smooth roux/mixture. Then bring to the boil, whilst stirring. Turn down heat, then cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Prepare your lasagna sheets, about 12 should be enough. Check if they need to be boiled first, or if they can be used as is. It is normally indicated on the carton. If they need to be boiled, follow the instructions on the pack and proceed to boil them for the time specified. Keep some shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese ready, my favorite combination!
Finally, assemble the dish
Grease a baking dish with some butter, then add a bit of white sauce (to prevent your lasagna from sticking to the dish), followed by some lasagna sheets. Try to avoid overlapping, you can break the lasagna sheets to fit your dish. Now pour some meat sauce, followed by white sauce and some cheese. Again add a layer of lasagna sheets, again the meat sauce and once more cover with the white sauce. You can add a third layer if your dish is deep enough. Make sure the final layer is covered with white sauce and you can sprinkle some cheese on top, and some chopped coriander and oregano if you like.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for about 40 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, then cover it with some foil and continue baking. Once ready, remove and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into the lasagna. This will ensure that your cuts will be neat and tidy.
Enjoy your yummy lasagna!! 🙂
Salam Alaikum,
Im a new cook and I have problems in deciding the quantity of food to prepare. Could you please tell me the quantity, if I want to make the above for 2-3 people.
Jazakumullah Khair 🙂
W/Salaam, this recipe serves 6, you can either halve the ingredients to serve 2-3 people, or make the full amount and freeze the leftovers for a second meal. 🙂
Jazakumullah Khair! it turned out to be awesome!! 🙂
Asw fauzia ur recipes r awesome I only makes ur recipes nd my family love it I made ur peri peri rice,chicken buns,khowsey etc my son says Ammi ur the great cook Ammi open the hotel
hi fauzia..its look realy yummy…can u tell me wht is lasagna sheet??is it available in superstore??
Hi and thank you! Yes they are sold in the pasta section of the supermarket, they come in boxes and are basically like pasta but in the form of flat and rectangular sheets.
I want your kitchen member,thanks
you r doing good job my dear fuzaia
Fauzia u a great cook God bless u this ramadhan my husband will be fat(Inshallah)rgdz ftm shadya555
Hi Fauzia,
For the white sauce is it wheat flour or maida?
Maida.
what white pepper i have no idea what it mean
It is a spice like black pepper, only that this is white. If you don’t have it use black pepper.
tried ur lasagne recipe last week and it was very very delicious…. the filling was great. got very good comment from ma hubby nd da kids. jazakallah for the great help.
i m from india & i want to know where could i get lasagna ? is it having any other name also?
Check for it in the pasta isles at the supermarkets. Hopefully you will find it. Because it comes in thin sheets, they pack it mostly in rectangular boxes.
i just want to know which type of sheets r lasagna sheets? what material they r made of?
A type of pasta, only that it is flat and rectangular instead of the usual spaghetti or macaroni etc. The taste and texture is exactly like pasta, firm when raw, soft when cooked. 🙂
ASSALAMUALAIKUM WHERE CAN I GET LASANGNA I CAN get
Do you mean the sheets? Any supermarket, try the isle which has pastas.
are the lasagna sheets available in market ? or u have prepared them
Available in the market.
hi Fauzia..finally i summed up enuf courage to make lasagna..twas absolutely delicious..was worried abt the amt of effort that goes into it..bt once u get going doesn’t take much time..n the end result is worthwhile..reading the above queries abt the sheets,hats off to ur patience in replying ;D
Salaams! =)
Wanted to know how much lemon juice to put in the meat sauce? It says add lemon juice in the method, but doesn’t say lemon juice in the ingredients.
Also, when making the white sauce, when do we add the salt and white pepper?
Thanks in advance, can’t wait to try this recipe! My husband rarely requests me to make something, but he requested this today.. So I can’t wait to try out your recipe 😀
W/Salaam, juice of half a lemon or to taste and you can add the salt and pepper in the white sauce once it starts to thicken. 🙂
Can I use boneless chicken cut into v small pieces?
Yes you can.
How would I change this if I had ready made pasta sauce
Is the pasta sauce with any meats or just plain? If plain you can cook the mince then add the sauce into it and use as needed.
Excellent recipe!!!
MashaAllah
Asalam o alikum dear Fauzia! NEED QUICK HELP I m scarred to put the raw lagsana sheets in baking dish as mention on goody lagsana pack…can i boil naa ?isnt any harm… I want more soft & tender. Sheets?..
W/Salaam, normally if it says no need to boil, they will cook properly during baking but yes you can boil them for a couple of minutes to soften them more if you want.