Thengai Sevai

As a child, I was not in the habit of eating "tiffin" after school. Amma never bothered making any after school snacks for us as we were barely interested in food. All we wanted to do was dump our bags at home and go out to play until our respective curfew times. Also, instant sevai was not popular three decades ago, if it did exist then, that is. Amma would make sevai from scratch on weekends and we looked forward to those days. (And we took turns "twisting the press".) This is one of my favourite snacks and I love taking it in my lunchbox every now and then. Not as much effort as back then, you see!

2 cups Concorde Instant Rice Sevai

1/4 cup Coconut, scraped
Salt to taste

For the tempering:
1 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
7-8 Curry Leaves
1/4 tsp Urad Dal
3 Red Chillies

1 tbsp Cashews (optional)

Prepare the rice sevai as per instructions on the pack and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the urad dal. When the urad dal begins to change colour, add the mustard and asafoetida. When the mustard splutters, add the curry leaves, red chillies and cashews (if using). Add the coconut and fry for a couple of minutes. Turn off the flame.

Add this to the prepared sevai along with the salt. Mix well taking care not to mash the sevai. This is good as a snack for 4 people.

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Vegetable Hakka Noodles

I love noodles. I prefer it to rice any day. I have no idea why. It is not as though I grew up eating noodles all the time, but I’d prefer it any day. And I love noodles in any form. As sevai, as spaghetti, as the instant Maggi variety, bean noodles, glass noodles, rice noodles, whole wheat noodles… the list is really endless. Hakka noodles would rank as no.2 in my all time noodle rankings. No prizes for guessing the no.1.


Hakka noodles, when made well, can take you to heaven. But this is one dish that can also be spoilt very easily. Our University cafeteria served noodles and fried rice. Our staples when we didn’t have time enough to get to the hostel for lunch. But if I were to go back today, I doubt I’d be able to eat as much of it. It used to be extremely oily, has more cabbage than I could handle and could only be eaten with oodles of tomato ketchup. From the beautiful beaches of Pondicherry, I moved bag and baggage to Bangalore. I was a trainee with one if India’s homegrown majors, TTK, and had to get by on my really small stipend. I stayed with my uncle and aunt who left me in charge of their house for aout a month when they went to Bombay for Janmashtami and Ganpati. During that time, if I didn’t feel like cooking, I couldn’t really afford to eat “out” and that’s when this place seemed like a Godsend. The Chinees gaadi near the Malleswaram market. Everything on his menu was priced at Rs. 15. And I get by with very little food. A plate of hakka noodles would last me two meals. So, it didn’t get better than that. I’d also get a plate of vegetable/cauliflower/mushroom Manchurian to go with my noodles. I didn’t have to spend more than Rs. 15 on a meal.


I’ve tried to recreate the magic at home, but I’ve almost never succeeded entirely. Recently when S and I were waiting for a plate of noodles at Vyapar Kendra in Gurgaon, I noticed the amount of oil the guy used per plate. I figured it made sense to make a healthier version at home, even if meant compromising on the taste. I found this recipe on Swapna’s blog and found it similar to the way I make it. I suddenly realized that I’d not made Hakka noodles at home since I started this blog. It used to feature very regularly on our weekly lunch menu and for some reason, I’d not made it in a long time. So after reading her post and me-me, I decided it was time to treat S and I to a trip down my memory lane. I modified the recipe a bit.


1 packet Ching’s Secret Veg. Noodles
½ cup Cabbage, shredded
½ cup Capsicum, sliced thinly
½ cup Carrot, julienned
½ cup Onions, sliced
1 tbsp Oil + 1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
1 tsp Chilli flakes
1 tsp Chilli Sauce
1 tsp Soya Sauce
1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
Salt and Pepper to taste


Bring about 3-4 litres of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain the noodles, wash in cold water and pour the teaspoon of oil over it.


In a large wok, heat the tablespoon of oil. Add the chilli flakes and onions and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the capsicum, cabbage and carrot and fry for 4-5 minutes. Add the soya sauce, chilli sauce and tomato ketchup. Add the cooked noodles and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. This recipe serves two.

I wanted to make some chilli tofu to go with this, but it tasted perfect without any accompaniment. Thanks Swapna, your recipe is a keeper. I’m quite thrilled to send one of my favourite street foods to Sia of Monsoon Spice for this month’s MBP: Street Foods. If you haven’t already done so, do send in your entries before the 30th. Since the AWED event celebrates Chinese cuisine this month, I am also sending this to DK at Culinary Bazaar.

A Date with Maggi

I still remember the day when Nestle came to our school to launch Maggi. I was in Class 2. They distributed free packets to all the children. It was on that very day, that my lifelong affair with Maggi took its very first baby step.


There was a time when the flavours of Maggi were numerous. Masala, Egg, Chicken, Capsika, Sweet & Sour, Sambar Spice, Lasagna... I relished most of these (my regular readers would know by now which one I hadn't tasted) when I was growing up.


Hostel changed my life in more ways than one. It was then that I started stocking Maggi packets, both noodles and soup, in my cupboard. I had a room heater and we've cooked full fledged meals when our classes would start and the mess would still be closed. But Maggi was the fallback option. ALWAYS.

In the late 90s, the Tastemaker for Maggi Masala changed considerably. It had a combination of garlic and coriander. I wasn't complaining, but I sure did miss the taste of good ol' Maggi. A few years later, they reverted to the original flavour. Good sense must have prevailed.

Over the years, I have modified the instructions on the packet and have had several successes. With the introduction of Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles, the feeling that this may be junk food has also slipped into some dark corner. I haven't taken to the Dal Atta Noodles which is supposed to taste like Sambar. To a non native eater maybe, not to a seasoned tongue such as mine.

Here's a simple variation of Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles.

Ingredients:

1 Packet Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles

1 small Onion, chopped finely

1/4 of a Capsicum, chopped finely.

1/4 cup Mixed boiled vegetables (Peas, beans, corn, carrots)

1 tbsp Butter

1 slice Low Fat Cheese

1/4 cup Milk

1/4 tsp Garlic Paste

1 tsp Mayonnaise (optional)

Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the onions and garlic. Add the chopped capsicum and fry for a minute. Add the contents of the tastemaker after 1-2 minutes and fry for a minute. Break the noodles into pieces and add to the mixture and fry for another minute. Add the boiled vegetables.

To this add 1.5 to 2 teacups (225 to 300 ml) of water and bring to a boil. Cook on high till the noodles are soft. Add the milk and cheese and blend in till the dish has a cheesy appearance. Add the mayo if you wish at this point.

Enjoy this as it is, or with toast. You'll begin to see Maggi in a different light after this experience.