How noodles might be more Indian than you think

How’s this for some food for thought? Those noodles that captured the affection of a generation or two in the form of hakka or chowmein in an Indian avatar, and continue to be the love of a nation, might actually be closer to home than you thought. While the earliest mention of noodles is said to be found in a Han dynasty (25-220 AD/CE) book, eminent food writer Madhur Jaffery makes a strong case for indigeneity. She is known for expanding the West’s knowledge about Indian cuisine since the 1970s through her cookbooks. In her Flavours of India (1995), she writes, ‘anthropologists today believe that noodles probably originated not in China or Italy but wherever there was wheat… points mainly to the Tigris-Euphrates valley in the Middle East and to the Indus valley’. KT Achaya, the pioneer in chronicling Indian food history, writes about availability of ‘several kinds of wheat’ during the Indus Valley civilization (3300-1300 BC/BCE) in his book – Indian Food: A Historical Companion (1994). Hence, as Jaffrey continues, the flat wholewheat noodles of Vartal, Gujarat, are likely to be ‘completely indigenous, going back perhaps 4,000 years’. Chef Sadik Khan, the creative force behind pan-Asian delights of China Bistro in Mumbai, Delhi, and UAE, concurs. “Noodles have always been there. Wherever wheat was, noodles were there,” he tells the writer. Noodles as we know them! But, the modern context of noodles, however, always points to the pan-Asian versions. Else, the indigenous versions that still remain unchanged since eons might have had an equally large following. The Vartal wheat noodles are still a tradition on Holi – the sundried coils are boiled, drained, and then eaten with melted ghee and sugar. So are idiappam, sevaiyan, sev, falooda. As Achaya points out, idiappam, in fact finds mention in Perumpanuru of Sangam literature around 5th century AD/CE. “The noodles in today’s context were a result of cross-cultural exchange in Southeast Asia. And they became popular when a lot of Chinese immigrants settled in different parts of India. They are probably a part of the cultural fabric of cities like Chennai, Kolkata or Mumbai today, but back then, they were there. And, their small Chinese restaurants served basic yet authentic Chinese noodles and fried rice,” food historian, Rakesh Raghunathan, puts it in perspective. And, then started India’s tryst with chowmein that ruled many 80s-90s weddings, birthday parties, and friendly neighbourhood restaurants. “In India, it actually started with chowfun, when the hakka people migrated to (the then) Calcutta from the southern parts of China. The Indians made a vegetarian version of the chowfun and they started calling it chowmein,” Khan adds. The instant revolution It was, however, the 1980s that completely changed the game for noodles in India when Nestle introduced Maggi. After an initial hesitation on part of the Indian kitchens steeped in tradition of unrushed cooking, the instant noodles, owing to their clever marketing, became an integral part of them. And, now, as per the World Instant Noodles Association, India is at No.4 in the most noodle-eating countries in the world. The Indian instant noodles market is expected to grow from $1.84 billion in 2023 to $3.49 billion by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.69 per cent, says Mordor Intelligence’s report published this year (Instant Noodles Market In India Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts, 2023-2028). “India is the largest noodles market for Nestlé globally, and Maggi has been, and continues to be the market leader in the instant noodles category,” a Nestlé India spokesperson confirmed. That ever-increasing fondness for instant noodles though attracted other players, they could only gain a substantial foothold after the 2015 Maggi crisis. As per the reports, when Maggi’s market share dropped to 42 per cent in early 2016, ITC’s Sunfeast Yippee, Nissan’s Top Ramen, Capital Food India Ltd’s Ching’s Secret, and Hindustan Unilever’s Knorr – among others – saw a rise in their share. Noodles, thy name is innovation If the instant noodles brands started innovating in terms of flavours to keep the Indian palette enchanted, the pan-Asian restaurants did too. “We try to keep the recipes authentic but adjust them to the Indian customer’s taste. For example, when it comes to Sichuan preparations, we tweak them a bit by adding garlic and some chilli. The Chinese Sichuan preparations are about numbing chilli, but the Indians prefer their spicy, but well-balanced,” says chef Thanglawm Valte of Spicy Duck, Taj Palace hotel in the capital. “And then we add a lot of indigenous vegetables, and Indians love their prawns too.” From ramen, ramyeon, udon, thukpa, soba, yakisoba, banh pho, to rice, millet, and glass noodles, the chefs are serving a variety of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Burmese versions. Chef Khan, meanwhile, finds noodles not only versatile enough to adapt to each course of the meal but fit for umpteen innovations too. “We, in fact, even made a ramen burger – pan-fried ramen in place of a bun. And then, we are experimenting with a lot of trending ingredients, like moringa, chickpeas, quinoa, chia seeds, and more,” he says. “The Indian customer has evolved a lot; they have travelled the world, so they are willing to experiment with the tastebuds.” And as Raghunathan says, “blame it on K-pop or not, but there’s a lot of conversation around Korean food.” “Be it jjamppong, japchae, naengmyeon, or more, a lot of young people are trying Korean food,” Khan adds. “Vegan is another trend to watch out for, as lots and lots of people are becoming health conscious,” Valte points out. Noodles and G20 Noodles make for an interesting observation for inter-country diplomacy trends too, especially in the G20 world. For, these countries not only dominate the consumption but production too. The global instant noodles market, as per Fortune Business Insights report, should grow at a CAGR of 5.95 per cent from 2022 to 2029 – or from $54.60 billion in 2022 to $81.84 billion by 2029. And, as highlighted by a paper by Elna Tulus from the University of Melbourne, the G20 members control a large part of the global trade of wheat and palm oil – the two main ingredients for instant noodles. Among the nine countries that supply the bulk of wheat to the world, eight are G20 members. And, Indonesia is the largest palm oil exporter, with a market share of close to 60 per cent of the global supply. As the Ukraine crisis impacted Indonesia’s demand for wheat, the country started seeing other alternatives, like rice noodles, being advised. Indonesia is the largest importer of wheat in the world. The wheat void was largely met by two other G20 members. As reported, Australia supplied 2.45 million metric tonnes, a 46 per cent increase YoY (year-on-year), and 861,000 metric tonnes came from Canada, a 66 per cent jump. And that’s noodle diplomacy for you. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. 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