Misal Pav

 Misal Pav

Misal Pav is as hearty and rustic as you’ll find. It’s not one simple dish but an amalgam of unique foods. This Misal Pav is almost like a meal prep food but one that brings you a blast of flavors from hot to tangy. This 100-year-old street food with its variations is popular in Maharashtra. Misal Pav is one of the few unadorned street foods that have made the leap from hand carts and factory canteens to fast food joints and fine dine restaurants.

There are Indian restaurants in Singapore, Europe & many other countries that serve authentic versions of misal pav.

Super Spicy! If you asked foodies to describe Kolhapuri cuisine in two words, those are the very words they’d use.

This city in the western Indian state of Maharashtra is famous for many things. But stands out for mouthwatering dishes that take you to food heaven, even as tears stream down your cheeks. You can’t stop eating even your nose turns red and runny, and your tongue feels like it’s been set on fire.

If spicy, and I mean fiery hot (but not the naga jolokia kind) is your thing, then you’ll love this anytime meal recipe.

A tasty, albeit hot way, to get your dose of protein and nutritional spices.

About Misal Pav

Misal pav is a popular Maharashtrian street food consisting of a sprouts curry (usal), topped with onions & farsan, and served with pav, Indian dinner rolls.

Sprouted lentils or moth beans (matki) are simmered with coconut, tomato and spices into a curry gravy (usal). The usal is dunked in just the right amount of chili, onion and spice infused thin gravy (kat or rassa). The crunchy toppings of fried savory (farsan) and onion complete the look and complement the texture and flavor of the dish.

What’s the history behind this dish? It probably originated in Nashik 100-150 years ago, as a nourishing and affordable meal for workers. The misal is a good mix of proteins, carbs and fat, an essential energy booster for a hard workday.

And soon found its way into homes and got popular with the masses like many other soul foods around the world. People in cities across Maharashtra have modified the Nashik recipe by introducing new ingredients to suit their tastes.

Kolhapuri Misal –The fiery nature of the dish aside, it’s usually served with sliced bread instead of pav. The moth bean curry and red/green gravy are served separately.

Puneri Misal – The mildest of the lot. What separates it from other variants? The use of cooked poha as a base along with usal.

Nashik Misal –The original recipe comes with black or green gravy. What sets it apart from the others? This dish is served with yogurt and fried papad.

Mumbai Misal — You won’t find potatoes in this street version whose heat quotient ranges from slightly pungent to very spicy.

Khandeshi Misal — Another spicy version unique for its use of kala masala and black pepper to make a black rassa or gravy.

Nagpuri Misal — Like its Pune cousin, this dish contains poha but as a topping along with grated coconut and farsan.

About this Recipe

While the Kolhapuri misal is not for the faintest of heart, there is the milder Pune version. If you’re looking for an easier and quicker recipe, the Mumbai version is the way to go.

My recipe can be modified to suit different heat levels – mid, medium and hot. Serve it with buttered pav or bread slices to create a vibrant weekday meal or school/office lunch.

There are different ways to make kat and usal. An authentic misal pav always has four components – sprouted bean curry(usal), spicy gravy (rassa), crunchy toppings and bread rolls.

But making this takes a bit of time as the usal and the kat/rassa are made separately. Here my recipe shows how to make the easiest yet super delicious and flavorful misal pav without the need to make kat separately.

Ingredients

You want to combine different elements of the dish to transform it into a nourishing, wholesome meal bursting with flavors.

Sprouted lentils — sprouted moth or Turkey beans is the base or soul of the dish. You can make this misal with a combination of moth sprouts and sprouted legumes like green lentils, moong bean, and dry peas. Sprout lentils for 1-3 days before you make this dish.

Spice Mix – kolhapuri masala is the spice mix that gives this dish its fiery taste. Make it at home or use store bought misal masala. Use 2-4 tablespoons of this masala for desired heat levels.

Fresh veggies, aromatics and herbs — tomatoes, onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, tamarind, jaggery, mustard seeds, desiccated or dry coconut, and impart a unique flavor to the cury. While I’ve not added boiled potatoes to this recipe, you can add cubed boiled potatoes to the gravy.

Oil — Use any vegetable oil of your choice. But peanut, sesame and coconut oil add that extra zing to the dish.

Spices – The curry and the gravy use other spices like turmeric, red chili powder, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafetida/hing for extra flavor and tempering.

Toppings: Choose from one of the farsan or namkeen mix. Simply top with plain sev, ghatia or chivda. Additional toppings include raw onions and coriander leaves.

Serve options – include pav, dinner rolls, buns or sliced bread.

How to Make Misal Pav (stepwise photos)

Make Misal Masala or use store bought

For this recipe you can use either store bought or homemade spice powder. I make my own misal masala using various spices shown in the picture. I forgot to show the black cardamoms and didn’t have poppy seeds so skipped them. Every home has a different masala. The authentic spice powder even uses nagkesar which I don’t use. If you like to try out my homemade masala, scroll down to the misal masala section below.

Sprouting

1. For this recipe you will need 2 cups of sprouts (250 grams). You may skip this step if you have them. Rinse and soak half cup matki for at least 8 hours. Drain them completely and add them to a thin moist muslin cloth. 

Make a tight knot and keep it in a container. Place it in a warm place, depending on the weather conditions they will sprout. Mine sprouted in just 5 hours. You can also sprout peas or any other beans if you don’t have matki.

2. Crush together 3 to 4 garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger and 2 tablespoons coconut in a grinder. Keep this aside. Also chop 1 onion (1 cup fine chopped) and 1 large tomato about ¾ cup (deseeded and chopped).

Make Usal

3. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons oil in a pot and add mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add cumin seeds and curry leaves. Sauté until the cumin turns golden brown & curry leaves turn crisp. Then add ⅛ teaspoon hing.

4. Add 1 cup fine chopped onions (1 large onion) and saute them until transparent.

5. Add crushed ginger garlic and coconut. Saute on a medium to low heat until aromatic for about 2 minutes.

6. Add ¾ cup tomatoes and half tablespoon salt. Saute until tomatoes soften.

7. Add ¼ teaspoon turmeric, 1 to 1½ teaspoon red chilli powder and 2 to 3 tbsps of misal masala or goda masala. Adjust as needed to suit your spice levels. I used 1½ teaspoon red chilli powder and 5 tbsps of homemade misal masala for an extra spicy version.

8. Saute for 2 minutes on a low heat until you smell the masala good. Then add 3 tbsps of coriander leaves and saute.

9. Add 2 cups of sprouts (250 grams). Pour 4 to 5 cups of water depending on how much gravy you want. I used 5 cups water. To speed up the cooking you may use hot water. For every tbsps of masala I use 1 cup water. So adjust & match the water and spice powder accordingly to suit your taste.

10. Give a good stir and bring it to a rolling boil on a high heat. Then add 1 tsp tamarind paste (optional). If you don’t have the paste, soak 1 tbsp tamarind in half cup hot water, squeeze it and then filter it here.

11. Add 1 tbsp jaggery (optional). Once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat and cook until the sprouts turn tender yet remain crunchy. It took me just 7 to 8 minutes. Taste test and adjust at this stage. You may add in more salt or masala at this stage but not red chilli powder.

12. Once done, you will see oil floats on top. Turn off the heat.

Toast Pav

13. Add 1 tbsp butter to a hot frying pan or griddle and toast the pav for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. I go the easier way and do it in the oven as it is faster if you are doing many.

14. I slit the pav and spread soft butter on the them. Toasted in the oven in the center rack for 3 to 4 minutes at 360 F or 180 C. Keep an eye on them as they get browned too fast.

Assemble Misal Pav

Transfer usal to 4 individual serving bowls.

Top with the thin gravy/ ras.

Squeeze in some lemon juice. Garnish with farsan, onions and coriander leaves. Serve misal pav immediately.

Make Misal Masala Powder

This recipe makes about 15 tablespoons of misal masala. You will be able to make 3x of the usal using this spice powder. If you want to make kat separately then use another 2 to 3 tablespoons for that.

1. Heat a pan on a low heat and add the following

• ¼ cup chopped dried coconut (35 grams), you may replace with desiccated coconut or unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 8 to 10 red chilies (you may use lavangi chillies for extra heat)
• 6 cloves
• 1 ½ inch cinnamon (a few layers if using Ceylon cinnamon)
• 1 black cardamom
• 3 to 4 green cardamoms
• 1 strand mace
• 1 star anise
• 8 to 10 black pepper
• ½ tbsp. stone flower

2. Roast all of them for 2 minutes or so until slightly fragrant. Then add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
and 1 teaspoon fennel seeds. Roast them slightly until they begin to smell good, not too long

3. Add ½ tablespoon sesame seeds + ½ tbsp. poppy seeds. Please smell and taste them to ensure they have not gone rancid. If you don’t have skip them.

4. Add 3 to 4 garlic cloves (5 grams). Toast them until they turn little dry & warm. Ensure you don’t burn any of the spices and the flame is low throughout.

5. Set these aside to cool and Add 1 tbsp oil to the same pan. Heat it and saute the onion slices on a medium heat until golden brown and not burnt. Ensure you slice 1 medium onion thin and even so they fry easily and well. I went the easier way and dehydrated them in the air fryer until crisp, adjusting between high and low settings.

Grind the Spices

6. When all of these cool, grind the spices (not onions and garlic) in intervals of 30 to 40 seconds. Also add the following while you grind

• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger (dried ginger powder, saunth)
• 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon red chilli powder (I used Kashmiri for color)

7. Then add the onions and garlic. Grind to a slightly coarse powder. Store this in an air tight jar and refrigerate.