#44 - Maggi Chatpata Noodles

• Brand: Maggi
• Flavour: Chatpata
• Cost: £0.39
• From: Tesco
• Description: 2 Minute Noodles in Authentic Indian Flavours
• Weight: 76g (301g when prepared)
• Allergies: May contain traces of soy and mustard
  
  
       Different, in a good way![/caption]

Maggi is a company owned by Nestle and they produce these in India. I'll be honest, I'd never heard of chatpata but apparently it is a Hindi word meaning Hot & Sour.

They're an interesting product that arrives in the usual non recyclable plastic wrapper and contains a sachet of flavouring called a TASTEMAKER which is also non recyclable. To prepare them you are asked to break the noodle cake into 4, add them and the TASTEMAKER to 225ml of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. All well and good but measuring out 225ml is never going to be easy and you know me, I like to be exact in my tests.

“How do they taste?” The answer is spicy. These are the spiciest packaged noodles I've ever tried. Yes you can get your Bombay Bad Boy with it's artificially produced chilli heat but these are the real deal. There's a strong garlic flavour and you also get peanut and onion coming through. There's a bit of sweetness as well. The taste is pretty good, I'd say 3 out of 4.

“Do they remind me in any way of a traditional chatpata dish?” The answer is... ...hang on a minute. I've ever had a dish called chatpata but I do know what hot and sour tastes like and this is indeed both hot and sour. So I'd say yes, they achieve what they set out to do.

“How do I feel now I’ve finished it?” The answer is a little bit hungry still, I'm going to have to snack which isn't great but the flavours are still hanging around my palette and I like them - excellent!

Conclusion – It's good to explore different flavours and I'm glad I did. It's not a flavour I'm used to but it's one I enjoyed.

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 6/10