Indian Ramen

Ramen is probably the cheapest way to find calories, period. The problem with Ramen is that the local American brands seem to focus on Asian flavors, which frankly, I am really not a fan of. "Mushroom Chicken" flavoring? Yikes. Fortunately, there are alternatives, namely Indian ramen, which comes with these little joyous spice packets that pack a pretty good punch. I haven't tried many flavors, but the Curry Smoodles and Maggi Masala Noodles are both spectacular.

A four-pack of imported Indian noodles will vary in cost at your local import store, at Kashmir in Coolidge Corner, I think it's about $1-$1.50. It's well worth the extra change, as your noodles are spicy and wonderful. My present meal consists of one noodle serving, a can of tuna and half of a can of peas.

The only trick to making ramen in the microwave is to make sure you don't add too much water. I hate when my noodles are too soupy, and am a much bigger fan of just regular old noodles. So I use only about 1/2 cup of water for one noodle block, and that leaves only a little bit of watter at the bottom. Make sure you microwave your ramen and water together, and don't try and boil water in your microwave first. If you put water and nothing else into your microwave, you risk superheating your water, which is really pretty cool, but not the sort of thing you want to get up close and personal with.

Let's round it up!

Noodles: $0.35
Tuna: $0.85
Peas: $0.33

Total: $1.53