Return of the Maggi and why every great dad (and husband), needs to master the art of making Maggi!

January, 2018

Maggi

Home Cooked, Dad Food, Bachelor Cooking

India

It’s been 35 years since the greatest meal ever produced in a packet got introduced in India. Maggi! Maggi! Maggi! No kid born in the 80’s can ever forget the jingle that created advertising history. Well, this article is not about that, but about how it is an important tool in every dad’s hands. And, if you can rustle up a great Maggi snack in 10 minutes (anyone who says that Maggi is ready in 2 minutes is talking BS BTW), it’s worth a million brownie points with the wife and with the kiddo.

During Trupti’s pregnancy with Vivaan, the only craving she ever had was for Maggi (Thank God for that!) and she used to get an intense desire for it at around 1 am in the night (Thank God for Maggi again! Imagine if she had a craving for bhelpuri at 1 am! Meri to lag jaati boss!)

So all you dads out there and husbands who are going to be dads or single guys who want to be husbands and then dads. Well, never mind! It’s best if you can master the art of making a great Maggi snack that is uniquely yours.

Whilst you can think of a million ways of creating your own version of Maggi, here’s mine. Presenting my version called “Maggi A’la Mandy”! This recipe is for 1 double pack of Masala Maggi.

Step 1

Cut some onions, carrots and have some shelled green peas ready. (More veggies, the merrier. I also love tomatoes but, the wife hates them, so…)

Step 2

I usually use a lot of sauces for this. Anything that is in the fridge—goes. Oyster sauce, soya sauce, sweet chili, black bean, no problem. First, sauté the veggies in some oil and then put in all the sauces one by one. Recommend half a spoon of each one. Keep stirring the sautéed veggies into the sauce until you see a nice blended mixture. This one makes the Maggi crazily tasty man!

Step 3

Now, slowly put in the recommended amount of water (I love my version a bit wet, so I put around 450ml instead of the recommended 420ml) and bring the water to a boil.

Step 4

Just before it starts to bubble, add the packets of masala to it and keep stirring till it starts to bubble aggressively.

Step 5

Break the Maggi into smaller pieces (or large depends on how you like your noodles) and put them in the boiling water. I also put a generous helping of tomato ketchup (this is how I get back at the wife!) in the pot, to give it that nice ketchupy tangy taste.

Step 6

Keep continuously stirring so that all the sautéed veggies, sauces, masala & ketchup mix very well with the cooking Maggi.

Step 7

And we come to last delicious part, which is the piece de’ resistance for the wife. Cheese Strips! Take two slices of cheese and cut them into strips and just layer them over the Maggi, when you know that the noodles are 95% done.

Step 8

And let the cheese melt properly. Either you leave it as is, or stir the cheese in. I prefer the latter so that the cheesy taste permeates in every bite and is an absolute delight in every forkful.

Step 9

If you are really in the mood and want to serve the cheesy Maggi in a real “cheesy” way, then go for it. Dish it in the shape of a heart and make your wife’s day. Or your girlfriend’s. Or your date’s. Either way, an “Awww” is guaranteed.

So dads and husbands, feel free to use my recipe for a great bedtime snack, and do share if you have a great idea for one!

Happy Maggi’ing!