Years back I was very much into trying out new recipes. So much so that, in whatever free time I got, I used to read not novels, short stories, magazines or the newspaper, but recipe books. My favorite used to be the one brought out by the Inner Wheel Club’s Trivandrum chapter. There were files too, filled with recipe pages ripped off magazines that I had finished reading. Then there were also diaries in which I had painstakingly written down recipes gleaned from whatever source I could. Usually, I chose one or the other, and happily went through them, deciding on a whim what to make next.

In addition, I also watched cookery programs on television a lot, jotting down whatever caught my fancy. One day I watched a lady on television outlining the intricacies of making a savory snack with Maggi noodles as the main ingredient. Just kidding. It looked the easiest thing to make, the ingredients easily avialable too.. I decided to make it the very next day. And I did. Suffice to say it was a HUGE HIT. Not just with the sons, who went crazy over it by the way, especially the younger one, but with guests who dropped in.

Down the years I have seen it happening again and again: People when served the Maggi snack for the first time, take a spoonful and pause. Next they ask in wonder, What IS this? Never once have I been disappointed. Never has it not happened this way, not yet anyway. Still when the Second Born told me what happened at his office recently I couldn’t help but be thrilled all over again.

There are usually two things he demands that I take along when visiting him, the first is fish pickle and  the second, oh yeah, this very same Maggi snack. Being Karna the generous by nature, he promptly distributes whatever I send/take among his friends at his office and it almost always gets over the same day. I’d be eagerly awaiting feedback in spite of already knowing it in my heart, on how the items were received. Yeah I know, looking to bask in the glory of some praise. Hehe..

The last time he came home he told me about how well-received the latest batch of my Maggi snack was at his new office. And do you know Amma, he added. I was all ears. A couple of people from other departments in my office came by and asked, ‘I heard there is some Maggi snack or something here?‘ He said he pointed them to whatever was left in the packet, telling them to help themselves.

Guess what I told him in reply, that is after I had laughed happily and repeated it to other family members? That I’d blog about it (which didn’t come as a surprise to him because that’s Mom’s stock response to anything and everything). There’s a problem though. Ever since the day, I have been told by reliable sources, I look more like a Cheshire Cat than the Cheshire Cat itself. Sigh.

You can find the recipe here. But I am copying it here too as suggested by the son.:

MAGGI SNACK

Ingredients

Maggi Masala noodles: 1 packet
Roasted groundnuts : 50 gms
Red chilly powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Coconut (fresh): 1/2 cup thinly sliced pieces

Instructions

Heat oil. Deep fry coconut bits, drain and keep aside. Deep fry noodles after breaking it into smaller bits. Mix all three ingredients in a bowl. Add the ‘tastemaker’ from the noodle packet, and red chilly powder. Store in airtight containers. Serve as ‘namkeen’.
In addition to the above, you can deep fry cut green chillies, curry leaves, cashewnuts, chana etc and add to the mixture to make it more interesting.

©Shail Mohan 2016