Missing Maggi? Try this homemade substitute

While Maggi is out of your reach now, maybe this is the time to explore some options. I am sharing a homemade ‘tastemaker’ recipe here.

It doesn’t taste like Maggi either, but is tasty nonetheless, and my 4-year-old likes it. (Source: Sanghamitra Mazumdar)

Even as the sale of Maggi is banned almost in the entire country now, the debate over whether it is safe for consumption is on, and it doesn’t look like the controversy will die down very soon. I don’t know what has happened, or will happen, to with the packets of Maggi that different households had already stocked at home, but it is certain that new packets won’t be available for a very long time.

So, are Indians missing their Maggi already? Well, while Maggi is out of your reach now, maybe this is the time to explore some options. I am sharing a homemade ‘tastemaker’ recipe here. I use seviyan for it to go with, but you can use other noodles too — whichever you think is safer for consumption. And if you are a “lazy mom/dad/student/bachelor”, you can keep this ‘tastemaker’ in the fridge for a few days to toss up a real “two-minute noodles” dish at any time that suits you.

Tastemaker (Source: Sanghamitra Mazumdar)

The mixture, however, will be in the form of a paste, not powder. It doesn’t taste like Maggi either, but is tasty nonetheless, and my 4-year-old likes it.

Ingredients

Onions: 2 (medium)

Tomatoes: 2 (medium)

Green chilli: 1-2

Garlic: 5-6 cloves

Ginger: ½ inch

Coriander leaves: 2 tablespoons

Cumin seed: 1 teaspoon

Turmeric: ½ teaspoon

Chilli powder: ½ teaspoon

Coriander power: ½ teaspoon

Asafoetida: A pinch

Vinegar: 1 tablespoon

Sugar: 1 tablespoon

Salt: To taste

Refined oil: 1 tablespoon

Preparation

Chop all the vegetables and set aside. Heat oil in a pan. Put cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the cumin sputters, fry the onions, chillies, ginger and garlic until golden brown. Add the tomatoes and all the dry spices. Once the tomato softens, add the salt, sugar, vinegar coriander leaves. Keep frying till the mixture is really dry and leaves the sides of the pan. Cool it down and grind it. You can now use it with seviyan or other noodles.

(Source: Sanghamitra Mazumdar)

Note: In case you want to use the mixture later, you can consider adding a little oil to keep it fresh. Avoid water while cooking, it may dilute the taste. While this is devoid of any flavour enhancer, you can always enhance the taste of the dish by adding different sautéed vegetables or protein to the noodles.

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