HYDERABAD : Remember those days in the hostel when you’d be curled up under your blanket and while it rained heavily outside your favourite roomie would prepare that hot bowl of instant noodles with a dash of chopped vegetables, pepper and tomato sauce? A bit soupy. A bit of comfort in a bowl.
Reminisces Shaswati Sadukhan who completed fashion studies at NIFT in Hyderabad, “We used to have so much work selecting fabrics, thinking of cuts and silhouettes, drawing sketches that we’d completely forget about dinner. Feeling hungry at midnight when you live in the hostel makes you search for something quick, hot and filling.
That’s when a packet of instant noodles would come in handy. We used to add eggs and ketchup and gobble it up. The electric kettle would serve the purpose.” Now, the 28-year-old works with a local designer but loves cooking the noodles the same way.
LOCKDOWN LOVE
During the lockdown, many people survived on instant noodles of various brands. Says Ragini Dhariwal, who works for a medical-fiance startup in Banjara Hills, “I couldn’t go back to my hometown i.e., Bokaro Steel City. I was stuck at the hostel where they’d stopped giving us food.
I and another housemate would go to the nearby kirana shop to buy the essential items and much to our surprise the instant noodles had disappeared, there was almost a kalabazaari. Whatever little stock was left the seller added a few more rupees to that. Somehow we procured a few packets. This was nothing less than a boon during that tough time.”
DIFFERENT VARIETIES
Other than people preparing the noodles using their own recipes, the eateries, especially the small ones offer several varieties using different vegetables and spices. For example, Kwikbytes at Begumpet there are 13 types of instant noodles on offer starting from Chicken Egg Cheese to Tomato Dhaniya which is their bestseller.
Says Ajuli Tulsyan the owner, “We started in October the last year. It all began with our five-year-old who loves instant noodles as do we. That’s when we decided to offer food lovers a variety of instant noodles.” With five star hotels also including instant noodles and variations in their live counters, they are no longer just streetside snacks.
HOT FAVOURITE
The soupy-spicy instant noodles are hot favourite of IT professionals. Says Biswamit Dhal, who works for Infosys as Senior Associate Consultant, “We in our team and among the friends’ circle frequent the DLF area to relish instant noodles in varieties of Fried Chicken and Fried Egg. What more can be filling than this especially when you want to enjoy something away from the conventional food!” He adds, “I am an avid traveller and love those tiny stalls in hilly areas selling instant noodles with tea especially in Manali and McLeodganj.” However, diet experts don’t show much love for instant delight.
Says Karen Campos Bhatia, nutritionist, exercise physiologist and lifestyle specialist, Vigor Health Consulting, Banjara Hills, “Eating instant noodles is as good as eating any junk food. These noodles are highly processed and basically have starch with out any other major nutrients. High in preservatives, the consumption of instant noodles won’t kill you but its impact will be seen over a period of time with elevated blood sugars and a secondary impact on cholesterol. The occasional hot noodles with veggies in a hot spicy soup may bring comfort to some and is ok as an odd indulgence. Eating it on a daily basis isn’t advisable.”
It was in March 2014 that a popular brand of instant noodles came under the health scanner for its undesirable levels of MSG content. However, the chatpata snack now seems to have entered even the buffet counters of five star brunches. City nutritionists, however, slam the dish for obvious reasons
— Saima Afreen saima@newindianexpress.com @Sfreen