The quickest dinner to bring to our table on weeknights is noodles or pasta. It is something my daughters love and one of the few dishes that have survived the test of time. You know how kids adore a certain dish one day and then a week later will not even touch it with a fishing pole? Well, not if it is noodles or pasta in our home.
I don’t complain because the Indian-style stir-fried noodles has been a long-time favorite of mine too. Long before 2-minute Maggi noodles swamped the Indian diaspora, my mother would regularly make Licia egg noodles. It came in an elongated blue box and looked like spaghetti.
She would mostly make it for weekend breakfasts, and sometimes, if my father was travelling on work, noodles would feature on the dinner menu.
Made with glistening slivers of orange carrot, jet green peas and white cauliflower in winter, the steaming plate of noodles looked as magical as it tasted.
I find it the perfect vehicle to transport vegetables to little tummies without any complaint and also the perfect item to pack for next day’s lunch box if there are any leftovers.
With so many win-win situations, the Stir-Fried Indian-Style Noodles is a sure winner on a 20-minute dinner menu.
The recipe is very free flowing and you can add as many or as few vegetables as you like. You can also add small fried shrimp or cooked chicken if you want to pack in more protein. With a dash of hot sauce and some green chillies in vinegar, this easily converts to a bowl of spicy delight.
Cook 250 gms of egg noodles according to package directions. I usually add a few drops of oil and salt to the water and let it come to a rolling boil. Break the noodles by hand and add it to the water. Once the noodles are cooked, drain in running cold water and toss with a little olive oil . This will help to keep the strands separate and not turn into muck.
Heat vegetable oil in a wok.
Add 2 cloves of minced garlic followed by 1 medium onion, finely chopped along the length.
Fry the onion till it is soft and translucent.
Cook veggies like sliced carrots, french-cut beans, spring onions, peas etc. in the microwave. I have added carrots, french cut beans and asparagus this time. I also add small florets of broccoli or cauliflowerat times. Thinly-sliced cabbage and bell peppers are another common choice.
Add the veggies to the wok and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes on high heat.
Add salt to taste , a sprinkle of black pepper powder, about 2 tsp of dark soy sauce and 1 tbsp of tomato ketchup. Add a tsp of green chilli sauce for grown-ups.
Mix well and then add the noodles.
Combine the noodles with the sauce and veggies and fry for a couple more minutes.
I use cooking tongs for this and it helps to toss the noodles very easily and uniformly.
Meanwhile, in a separate frying pan, cook sausage and eggs . I usually scramble eggs and chop the sausage. You can skip this step or do your own thing.
Add the eggs and sausage to the noodles and toss to combine. If it is only for grown-ups, I add some green chilli rounds to vinegar and add them to the noodles at the end.
Adjust for seasoning and serve. This also makes for a great lunch box item.
