Basil Pesto is a basil leaves based pesto or as we say in India a basil leave chutney. It is made with fresh basil leaves with Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and extra virgin olive oil. A fresh and amazing compliment with your favorite pastas, breads and salads. It also goes very well as a marinade for grilled fish and chicken
Basil Pesto can be made very easily with Indian ingredients too. You can substitute Parmesan Cheese with Fresh Paneer (Cottage Cheese) and pine nuts with cashew nuts or walnuts. The flavor may not be as authentic with the substitute ingredients but trust me they taste equally good.
For storing the Basil pesto add 2 -3 tbsp extra olive oil to the recipe. It can then be stored in an air tight container in a refrigerator for almost 2 months. Also remember when the pesto is cooked it might turn a bit rancid so always add the pesto at the end of your cooking.