Join us for some quick and easy no cook noodle bhel snack that is so satisfying. enjoy this out-of-the-box wai-wai bhel and don’t forget to share.
While picking up groceries this time, I saw a few packs of wai-wai noodles on the shelf. This used to be the core sustenance during the hostel years. While billing the storekeeper casually asked “Madam, bhel banaogi kya? ” not just happy to hear the Hindi, the bhel sounded like the factor that I have been missing for a while. So here it is no cook noodle bhel.
What is bhel?
Bhel or bhelpuri is a crunchy Indian snack that is popular as a street food. It is a mix of salad, with rice puffs or murmurs along with some spice powders that make it work. This low-effort, low-fat snack is a popular chaat that is loved by many. Earlier we had made a couple of versions of this on this blog.
Strawberry bhelpuri
and Nippatu masala chaat.
The bhel being a customisable recipe in ingredients and flavours becomes the base of many variations. One common one is the noodle bhel.
Why do wai-wai brand noodles work?
Noodle bhel is usually made with boiled noodles. As we are looking to make no-cook noodles, we need a noodle that has been pre-cooked and crunchy at the same time. The Nepali Wai-wai brand is perfect in this way. The noodle is fried, compressed and flavoured. This makes a perfect replacement for the rice puffs or murmura. Along with the other additions, the noodle holds its crunch for a while. In addition to the noodles per se, the spice mix is actually suitable to add to the bhel. The mild chilli powder, the tiny bit of oil to coat the noodles along with the spice mix makes sense. Haha, you can see that I am impressed!!
Ingredients to make crunchy noodle bhel
Waiwai noodles: the only effort to make for these ingredients is to cut open the packs and slightly crush the noodles. If you don’t want to wash some dishes, directly make the individual portions in the pack itself. No washing up then!!
Vegetable mix: the basic veggies needed are tomatoes and onions. These are in equal proportions. The other additions we have made today are chopped green capsicum (bell pepper), boiled potato and drained canned chickpeas. You can add chopped cucumbers, grated carrots, grated beets, jicama strips, sprouts, pomegranate arils, boiled corn etc to it too.
Herbs: typical to most bhelpuris, coriander leaves and mint leaves are the ones added to this recipe too. You can avoid mint leaves if you don’t like the flavour. finely chop them to add so they evenly spread through the mix.
Seasoning: the seasoning pack that comes with the instant noodles is fairly good. however, it is not spicy enough for a chaat. so finely chopped green chillies are best to be added. The tangy flavour comes from the added lemon juice. You won’t need to add much salt to this mix as the noodles are salted. However, a final sprinkle of that homemade chaat masala certainly adds a lot of oomph to the recipe.
Let’s make the bhel
The wai-wai bhel comes together in just a couple of steps.
The salad ingredients: the main job is to prep and chop the salad ingredients. The rest comes together so easily. As far as possible chop the ingredients smaller so the wai wai bhel is a cohesive mix.
The noodle addition: Into the mixing bowl add the noodles and crush them. Now add the contents of the spice mix packs and the oil and mix well.
Bring it all together: mix the chopped vegetables and herbs and add to the crushed noodles. Squeeze a bit of lemon on top and mix this well. If you prefer it spicy, rub in the chillies or pound them to add to the mix.
The no-cook noodle bhel is now ready to eat. The proportions of vegetables and seasoning are in the recipe card below with the step-by-step images. Hope you like making some as much as we loved it.
No cook noodle chel
Equipment
- mixing bowls and spoons.
- chopping board
- Knife
Ingredients
- 1 pack wai wai noodles
- 1 medium Tomato
- 1 small red onion
- 1 small green bell pepper
- 1 small potato cooked
- 1/4 cup chickpea cooked and drained or canned
- 10-12 mint leaves
- 1 handful coriander leaves
- 1 small green chilli optional
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash, pat dry and finely chop the vegetables.
- Clean the herbs and chop them too.
- Cut open the pack of wai wai noodles.
- Add the noodles to the bowl, sprinkle the spice mix, oil and the give chilli powder.
- Mix and crush the noodles gently so the spice mix coats evenly.
- Now add the chopped vegetables and herbs.
- Sprinkle the chaat masala.
- Mix well and squeeze the lemon juice on top.
- Give it a mix and the bhel is ready to be served.
Variations to this recipe
You can easily make a layered chaat with this mix if you are planning a party. Layer the veggies and spices at the base, add a layer of herbs and top it off with the crunchy noodles. Garnish with lemons slices that you can squeeze as needed. This is an easier one to assemble if you are planning a potluck chaat table.
As for flavour, you can make this into corn chaat or sprouts chaat. You can vary the masala and add schezwan sauce for a spicy kick.
Meal prep and lunch boxes
This no cook noodle bhel recipe is off-limits for meal prep. The only thing you can really prep is the chopped veggies. All the other assemblies I would do just before eating.
If packing this recipe in a lunch box, make the salad mix and put it in a box and the noodle mixed with seasoning in a separate box. When you are ready to eat mix them both so you have it crunchy.
Let’s serve some wai-wai bhel
I loved the idea of this no cook noodle bhel and we had it with guava fresca. You can make some loe;y lemonade, peach iced tea or mango lemonade to go with it based on the season.
Stay connected
I will not say that this is a very healthy recipe, but the flavour and comfort of this recipe are what prompted us to make it. Let us know how you liked this recipe in the comments below and rate the recipe when you make it using the star rating system. As we explore a few more fun recipes like this, stay in touch with Instagram or Facebook to catch up. Subscribe to receive new content directly to your inbox as soon as we post it.
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