I don't eat an awful lot of instant Ramen these days. I do however indulge from time to time, and this variety caught my attention while shopping in an Indian supermarket the other day.
The big 'Paneer' emblazoned on the front of the cup caught my eye first, followed by the Black Widow and Avengers cross promotion, and then finally the phrase 'Paneer Butter Masala'.
I love Indian food, and sometimes when a craving strikes, I simply go without. I had no clue that cup noodles had Indian varieties available. I grabbed a couple off of the shelf, And into my cart they went.
Now going in.. I didn't expect much from this cup of noodles, but I've gotta say I was really impressed. Upon opening the package I couldn't help but be surprised, as I saw something made out of plastic sitting atop the noodle block..
How convenient.. a folding eating utensil!
In all my years of dining on all manner of noodles in instant form.. I had never come across one that included an eating utensil. The plastic fork inside was folded flat. It snaps open when unfolded, and snaps yet again to a rigid state. It was quite nice not having to dirty another piece of silverware, and I ended up saving the fork as an emergency utensil for my lunch Box.
The noodles are pretty much prepared the same exact way as any other pot noodle. Even though I liberally stirred these noodles after their 3 minute soak time, in the future I will transfer everything to a bowl so as to mix it better. The reason being, there was still a lot of paneer at the bottom of the cup in addition to what you see here. There are also more spices and ingredients at the bottom of the cup that thicken the broth even more, making it more reminiscent of a curry.
As for the taste, it was pretty Dang good! Mind you, it's not like a fresh cooked Indian meal, but is a decent simile, and is definitely good enough to curb an Indian food craving in a pinch. For sure, it's miles ahead of its bland cousins we've come so accustomed to see in in most supermarkets here in the states.
The reason I definitely won't be indulging in this variety of noodles very often, has to do with the nutritional value. While it has half the fats and more protein than your garden variety of Cup Noodles, it has 200 more calories, more sugar, and 20 more grams of carbs! I was curious to see some more stats, but as you can see, the nutrition labels are quite different in India.
It's a shame really, because I would love to stock these in my cupboard for when the odd Indian food craving strikes, but during my recent trek to get and stay healthy, I've learned carbs and sugar are my biggest enemies. However, that won't stop me from trying intriguing ramen varieties I come across in the future, and if/when I cave.. I will share my findings here.