This spicy noodle recipe is a twist on the popular Indian noodles with black pepper spice, fried garlic, and herbs. I grew up on maggi noodles (aka instant spicy noodles), but I couldn’t find them anywhere in the early days of the pandemic. So, naturally, I decided to make my own version of maggi. The result is a delicious, spicy, garlicky, peppery noodle dish inspired by one of my favorite Indo-Chinese flavor combinations, black pepper and soy.
What are maggi noodles and what do they taste like?
Maggi noodles originated from the company Maggi, started in the late 19th century. They make noodles, sauces, and other instant soups in several countries, including India. For Indians, maggi has an almost cult-like following. The noodles are slightly saucy and salty with different seasonings like masala and tomato. They are similar to instant ramen noodles in that you boil the noodles in water and then mix in the seasoning packet. Growing up, I'd crave these spicy noodles all the time!
How to make maggi noodles
Maggi noodles out of the packet are quite simple. You first boil the noodles in water, then you mix in the accompanying spice seasoning to coat. The result is a saucy, spicy dish. Here, I've taken the same principle but made my own spice seasoning for this spicy noodle recipe. You can use any kind of noodles you like, but I typically have ramen noodles at home so that's my noodle of choice.
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How to make these black pepper maggi-style noodles
These maggi noodles are kind of like a maggi ramen hybrid. The recipe involves making a homemade black pepper spice seasoning, and stirring that into an aromatic base of ginger, garlic, shallot, and a sweetened soy sauce mixture. You can keep the ramen noodles on the drier side or add some coconut milk for a creamier dish. The fried garlic cloves add a nice, crunchy, pungent flavor to the dish.
Growing up, we’d eat maggi Indian noodles mixed with a tablespoon or butter or too for even more richness. You absolutely don’t need to add it in, but it helps to balance out some of the sharper flavors in the dish.
Did you try this recipe? I would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to rate the recipe and leave a comment below.
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Happy eating! Love, KarishmaMaggi Noodles Recipe with Black Pepper and Garlic
Ingredients
For the Crispy Garlic Topping
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 small garlic clove, very thinly sliced
For the Noodles
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 large shallot, finely minced
- Spice seasoning, see below for recipe
- 1 packet ramen noodles or maggi noodles
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Salt
- ¼ cup coconut milk, optional | for a saucier noodle dish
- Crispy garlic topping
- Thinly sliced green onions or minced cilantro, for garnish
For the Spice Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, or 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper — add more if you like it really spicy
- ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds, or ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon whole coriander seeds, or ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 whole cardamom pod, or ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ cinnamon stick, or ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground fenugreek, optional, but adds that classic Maggi "curry" flavor
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
For the Crispy Garlic Topping
- Set a small saucepan with the vegetable oil over medium heat. When hot, add thinly sliced garlic cloves.2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 cloves garlic
- Once they look pale golden brown on the bottom, flip the garlic cloves to ensure both sides are evenly fried.
- When the garlic is golden brown on both sides, remove from the heat with a slotted spoon onto a drying rack or paper towel and let cool. Reserve the oil (do not discard).
For the Noodles
- Set a pot of water to boil for your noodles.
- Meanwhile, heat the reserved vegetable oil in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Add the grated garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute until aromatic.1 small garlic clove, very thinly sliced, ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- Increase heat to medium, add shallot, and saute for 5-7 minutes until shallots are soft and slightly caramelized but not brown. While the shallot cooks, prepare the spice seasoning (recipe below).1 large shallot
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add ½ of the spice seasoning to start. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.Spice seasoning
- Once the water is boiling, add the ramen noodles and cook as desired (usually about 2-3 minutes or as instructed by the ramen packet).1 packet ramen noodles or maggi noodles
- Increase heat of the shallot/garlic/spice mixture to medium and add soy sauce, maple syrup, and butter until sauce is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Drain the maggi noodles and add to the pan, tossing to incorporate with all of the onion and spice mixture. Taste the noodles, and season with salt. At this point, you can add in more of the leftover spice mixture if desired.Salt
- Optional: If you’d like a slightly more saucy, liquidy mixture, add a little coconut milk at a time until consistency is as desired and allowing the sauce to reduce so that it sticks nicely to the noodles.¼ cup coconut milk
- Remove the noodles from the pan, plate, and top with crispy garlic topping. Garnish with the scallions or cilantro and eat immediately.Crispy garlic topping, Thinly sliced green onions or minced cilantro
For the Spice Seasoning
- If using whole spices, add all spices to a small pan set to medium-low heat. Toast, stirring occasionally, until aromatic and slightly browned -- about 2 minutes. Once toasted, let cool for a couple of minutes. Grind all spices in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle until finely blended and homogenous.1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon whole coriander seeds, 1 whole cardamom pod, ¼ cinnamon stick, ¼ teaspoon ground fenugreek, ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- If using ground spices, mix all ground spices together in a small bowl.
Sangeeta Pradhan
Yummy!!!
Courtney Beasley
Seriously the best! Warning: you will want to make it every week. Don’t skip on the toasted garlic!
Karishma Pradhan
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
Dharani
this was utterly amazing! going to go into my regular rota of dishes. That spice mix was inspired and I'm tempted to see where else I can use it
Karishma
Hi Dharani, so happy to hear this! Love the idea of using the spice mix in other applications - I bet it'd be a great option for popcorn, maybe a marinade mixed with yogurt, or tossed with oil for roasted vegetables!
Josh Temple
These were so delicious! I'm guessing the reason for grating the ginger/garlic and mincing the shallots was to make a smooth sauce, but I found it difficult to cook the ginger garlic paste first without burning. Ended up having to add water to the pan periodically. Next time I'll probably cook the garlic and ginger after adding the onions so it doesn't stick and burn.
Karishma
Hi Josh,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for your note about the ginger garlic paste! I'll plan on re-testing it soon to see if there's an optimal order here to minimize burning 🙂
Best,
Karishma