Misal pav is a popular spicy dish from western India which is made up of a spicy dish misal served bread or pav. the uniqueness of this dish is with its topping and the spicy misal is topped with chivda mix, or sev or farsaan.
A Bits Of My Army Life
As an army officer’s wife, I get the opportunity to live in different places. I was never aware of the vast variety of Maharashtrian recipes until We got posted to Pune. Over a period of time, I learnt a few recipes from friends which I have made several times now.
Among those recipes, Misal Pav is one of my favourites. I prepare this quite regularly at home for either dinner or breakfast. I am sure if you are tasting it for the first time you will definitely like it. Misal Pav is prepared with a few variations in different places in Maharashtra like Puneri Misal, Kolhapuri Misal etc. Though I have not tasted all the versions I would love to try them when I visit those places. There are also a few variations in the way they serve misal pav like either you serve gravy on top of pav or serve separately but believe me whichever way you choose the final product is just yummy.
What Is Misal And Usal?
‘Misal’ is a spicy sprouted bean gravy topped with various farsaan (namkeen), chopped onions and coriander and can be served as it is or with Pav.’ Usal’ is moth bean curry and when it is made in a slight gravy form and garnished with farsaan and onions it is called ‘Misal’. Misal is supposed to be hot, fiery and slightly oily but one can prepare it as per their personal preferences. However, I make it a bit healthy with less spices and oil.
sorry for the picture quality very soon I will post some more pictures of this dish …
Finally, I would like to suggest you few recipe links from my blog
Misal pav ( Maharashtrian cuisine )
Course: Breakfast, MainCuisine: Maharashtrian, IndianDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutespopular spicy dish from western India which is made up of a spicy dish misal served bread or pav.
Ingredients
6 Pav Buns
Butter, to roast Pav
- For Matki Usal:
1 1/2 cups Matki(Moth beans) Sprouts, steamed
1 large Potato, boiled and cubed
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
2 tbsp Spice paste(prepared as below)
1 tsp Kala Masala or Goda Masala or 1/4 tsp Garam masala
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
5-6 Curry leaves
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
a pinch of Asafoetida
Salt to taste
1 1/2 tbsp Oil
- For Kat/Tarri(thin Gravy):
1 large Onion, chopped
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup grated Dry coconut
4-5 Garlic cloves
3/4″ Ginger, chopped
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Kala Masala or Goda Masala or 1/2 tsp Garam masala
1 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves
1/2 tsp Sugar
2-3 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
- To serve:
1 cup Mixed Farsan ( namkeen – Indian tea-time snacks)
2 Onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped Coriander leaves
1 Lemon, cut into small wedges
Directions
- To prepare Kat/Tarri(thin Gravy):
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add chopped onions and fry until they turn slightly golden brown in colour.
- Add garlic and chopped ginger and fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add grated dry coconut and fry for 3-4 mins until it turns brown, do not burn it.
- Add chopped tomatoes, coriander and cumin powder and fry until the tomatoes get mashed and form a pulpy mixture. It takes 4-5 mins. Cool the mixture completely and grind to a very smooth paste. Reserve 2 tbsp of this mixture to prepare Usal.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a Kadai and add the ground paste and fry again for 2-3 mins and add 3/4 tsp red chilli powder, turmeric powder, Kala(or goda masala) and salt and fry for another 3-4 mins.
- Add 3 cups of water and boil it for 7-10 mins until the oil starts floating on top.
- Add chopped coriander leaves at the end.
- In a separate small pan heat 1 tsp oil and add 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder and sugar and remove it from heat immediately and add this to the kat/tarri gravy, do not mix it. This step is optional but gives the authentic look of an oily layer on top.
- To prepare Matki Usal:
- To sprout Matki – Wash and soak matki(moth beans) overnight in water and wash it once with fresh water and drain the excess water and tie in a muslin cloth or use a sprout maker to make sprouts. It will take 12-15 hrs.
- Steam the matki sprouts in a cooker with a pinch of salt for 8-10 mins.
- Heat oil in a Kadai/pan and crackle mustard seeds and add asafoetida and curry leaves and fry for half a minute.
- Add chopped onions and fry until they turn translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes away.
- Add 2 tbsp of spice paste as prepared above and saute it for 2 mins.
- Add steamed moth beans and boiled and cubed potatoes and fry for 2 mins.
- Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, goda(or Kala) masala and salt and fry it for another couple of mins.
- Add 1/4 cup water and cover it and cook for 7-8 mins. The Usal should not be watery but should have slight gravy.
- To roast pav:
- Slice the pav buns and roast them slightly on Tawa by applying butter.
- To assemble Misal Pav:
- layer-1: In a deep plate add 2 ladles of Matki Usal and pour 1 ladle of Tarri/Kat(gravy) on top of it.
- layer-2: Now add either 3-4 tbsp of Poha chivda.
- layer-3: Add a layer of finely chopped onions liberally and coriander leaves. You can squeeze lemon now or serve it on the plate. Lemon will add on taste to it.
- layer-4: Add a layer of mixed farsan according to your wish. You can add either mixed namkeen or mixture or ghatiya whatever is available with you. But do not skip this layer.
- Serve it hot with roasted buns, a bowl of Kat/Tarri and lemon wedges.
- How to eat misal pav –
- One needs to dip the pav in Kat/Tarri and eat along with the mixed misal. Do not forget to squeeze the lemon into misal and mix nicely.
