Comfort Maggi
The day I made the brinjal chips, I ended up having dinner by myself. It being a Friday night, dad assumed I’d be out. But since it was the day before my workshop at the Kala Ghoda Art Festival, I’d decided to stay home and turn in early.
I’ve never really had a problem eating by myself. For years, I wrote off the common phobia of eating alone to insecurity and fussiness. However, having cooked a full meal, I can now testify to the fact that the prospect of eating it alone can make one’s heart sink.
I made grumpy faces at the television set (which typically for a Friday night home, was showing the worst selection of programs possible). I banged a few spoons into the sink. And then I listened to my stomach growling. Delicious as they were, I just could not bring myself to eat the sambhar, rice, salad and brinjal chips I’d spent the afternoon making.
So I took a cue from my many bad mood times (PMS, break-up, fight etc) and decided to rustle up some comfort food. The benefits of comfort food haven’t been documented enough. Comfort food is generally easy to procure or make. It is sturdy enough to not require fancy cutlery to serve. It’s best eaten out of the pack or from chipped plastic plates (and glasses). And it soothes all aches of the heart.
My usual recourse to comfort food is in the direction of Kellogg’s Chocos, eaten straight from the pack and (of course) without milk. But I decided to save that for dessert. Instead I called upon the memory of something this lady rustled up once during a girls’ night in. I call it Comfort Maggi.
Ingredients:
- 1 packet of Maggi noodles
- 3 teaspoons of tomato ketchup
- 1 cube of Amul cheese
Method:
1. Open the Maggi pack and empty into a pan. Break the stiff noodle mass into tiny bits (and not just quarters like the pack advises). This doesn’t really change the taste but it is tremendously satisfying when you’re feeling grumpy – the foodie’s equivalent of popping bubble-wrap
2. Pour 1 glass of water or more until the noodles are just surrounded a few hairs breadth by water. Start the gas on full heat.
3. Stir in the tastemaker and use a fork to separate any bits of Maggi that are determined to stick together. Keep stirring and picking till they’re all swirly.
4. If you’re feeling particularly carnivorous, you can break an egg into the cooking mass too and break the yolk so it spreads into the noodles.
5. Frequently spear a noodle and try to pull it free of the mass without breaking it or having it slip off the fork. This will keep you sufficiently engaged till the noodles are cooked.
6. Boil off any excess water, making sure to stir so the noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. You should be able to put it on a plate (and not need a bowl).
7. Spoon the ketchup liberally onto the top of the noodles on the plate.
8. Grate cheese all over the ketchup.
Serving:
Serves one lonely/broken/grumpy heart.
Ye of the large and experimental appetite can also scoop it up between two slices of bread for a Comfort Maggi sandwich.
Other suggested accompaniments are pickles and mayonnaise.
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Also served at The Idea-smithyThe day I made the brinjal chips, I ended up having dinner by myself. It being a Friday night, dad assumed I’d be out. But since it was the day before my workshop at the Kala Ghoda Art Festival, I’d decided to stay home and turn in early.
I’ve never really had a problem eating by myself. For years, I wrote off the common phobia of eating alone to insecurity and fussiness. However, having cooked a full meal, I can now testify to the fact that the prospect of eating it alone can make one’s heart sink.
I made grumpy faces at the television set (which typically for a Friday night home, was showing the worst selection of programs possible). I banged a few spoons into the sink. And then I listened to my stomach growling. Delicious as they were, I just could not bring myself to eat the sambhar, rice, salad and brinjal chips I’d spent the afternoon making.
So I took a cue from my many bad mood times (PMS, break-up, fight etc) and decided to rustle up some comfort food. The benefits of comfort food haven’t been documented enough. Comfort food is generally easy to procure or make. It is sturdy enough to not require fancy cutlery to serve. It’s best eaten out of the pack or from chipped plastic plates (and glasses). And it soothes all aches of the heart.
My usual recourse to comfort food is in the direction of Kellogg’s Chocos, eaten straight from the pack and (of course) without milk. But I decided to save that for dessert. Instead I called upon the memory of something this lady rustled up once during a girls’ night in. I call it Comfort Maggi.
Ingredients:
- 1 packet of Maggi noodles
- 3 teaspoons of tomato ketchup
- 1 cube of Amul cheese
Method:
1. Open the Maggi pack and empty into a pan. Break the stiff noodle mass into tiny bits (and not just quarters like the pack advises). This doesn’t really change the taste but it is tremendously satisfying when you’re feeling grumpy – the foodie’s equivalent of popping bubble-wrap
2. Pour 1 glass of water or more until the noodles are just surrounded a few hairs breadth by water. Start the gas on full heat.
3. Stir in the tastemaker and use a fork to separate any bits of Maggi that are determined to stick together. Keep stirring and picking till they’re all swirly.
4. If you’re feeling particularly carnivorous, you can break an egg into the cooking mass too and break the yolk so it spreads into the noodles.
5. Frequently spear a noodle and try to pull it free of the mass without breaking it or having it slip off the fork. This will keep you sufficiently engaged till the noodles are cooked.
6. Boil off any excess water, making sure to stir so the noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. You should be able to put it on a plate (and not need a bowl).
7. Spoon the ketchup liberally onto the top of the noodles on the plate.
8. Grate cheese all over the ketchup.
Serving:
Serves one lonely/broken/grumpy heart.
Ye of the large and experimental appetite can also scoop it up between two slices of bread for a Comfort Maggi sandwich.
Other suggested accompaniments are pickles and mayonnaise.
