Mummy mujhko bhukh lagi, Maggi chahiye mujhe abhi…
Maggi… Maggi… Maggi…
Bus 2 minute!!!

I used to love this jingle as a kid. Maggi Noodles is certainly a favorite amongst all of us. In fact, Maggi had such a monopoly over instant noodles market, that others like Top Ramen, et al never really took off. Every child in India knows noodles as Maggi! Thats the power the brand of Maggi has!! Most people may not even know Maggi for their other products. For them Maggi stands for instant noodles!

Well… they are my favorite too… But, certainly not my mom’s favorite. I remember those days when my sister and I would come up with all kinds of excuses to coax mom into making maggi! I distinctly remember sundays as the only day of the week, when we were allowed to officially cook Maggi! 🙂 The reason is obvious: Maggi is convenient and tasty but not really healthy!

For all those who love Maggi noodles as much as I do and also are concerned about their health, here is a ready reckoner!

Normally we cook the instant noodles by putting them into a pot of boiling water, throwing in the masala and letting it cook for around 3 minutes. Thats when it’s ready to eat.

Kindly note, this is an incorrect way of cooking Maggi!

By doing this, when we actually boil the ingredients in the powder, normally with MSG, it will change the molecular structures of the MSG causing it to be toxic.

The other thing that you may or may not realize is that, the noodles are coated with wax and it will take around 4 to 5 days for the body to excrete the wax after you have taken the noodles.

Correct Method to prepare Maggi

  1. Boil the noodles in a pot with water.
  2. Once the noodles is cooked, take out the noodles, and throw away the water which contains wax.
  3. Boil another pot of water till boiling and put the noodles into the hot boiling water and then turn off the fire.
  4. Only at this stage when the fire is off, and while the water is very hot, put the ingredient with the powder into the water, to make noodle soup.
  5. However, if you need dry noodles, take out the noodles and add the ingredient with the powder and toss it to get dry noodles.

Dietician’s Note

If you buy plain hakka noodles, you initially boil them in water and then discard that water. This will soften the noodles. Now, to prevent it from sticking, you need to add a tbsp of oil. The truth is that the noodles are already deep fried partially to make them crunchy and then dusted with flour to prevent it from sticking while boiling.

Hence when you buy noodles they are already made unhealthy and this is the type we use to make stir fry noodles. The regular maggi is also made the same way. Over and above that, they further add MSG/Ajinomoto and other chemical preservatives to these noodles.

A large number of patients in the age group of 18-24 years are ending up with pancreatitis either as a swelling or infection of the pancreas due to regular consumption of instant noodles…. If the frequency of consumption is more than 3 times a week, then it is very hazardous…

To conclude, let me tell you guys my favorite way of making Maggi:

  1. Boil plain maggi (without Masala) till it is soft and cooked.
  2. Drain away the water.
  3. Move maggi now to a pan with holes at the bottom to drain off the water easily.
  4. After changing the vessel, put Maggi under flowing tap water. This will ensure the Noodles dont stick together
  5. Now, take a frying pan, and fry finely chopped onions
  6. Once they turn reddish brown in color and crisp, add Maggi Masala to the pan and mix it well.
  7. You can add vegetables like peas, carrots, etc based on your preference
  8. To this mixture, now add Maggi noodles.
  9. Mix it well and serve hot!

Happy eating! 🙂

[PS I wanna eat Maggi now 😦 ]