Misal Pav
This Misal Pav is as hearty and rustic as you’ll find. It’s not one simple dish but an amalgam of unique foods – a sprouts curry served with butter toasted dinner rolls/ pav, farsan and fresh chopped onions. 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.
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.
While the Kolhapuri misal is not for the faint-hearted, 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.
How to make Misal Pav
If you have the store bought misal masala and sprouts ready, you may jump to the next section to make usal. I make everything from scratch which I share below.
Make Misal Masala or use store bought spice blend
1. Below are the ingredients you need to make misal masala.
2. 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
3. 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
4. Add ½ tablespoon sesame seeds + ½ tbsp. poppy seeds (omit if you don’t have). Please smell and taste them to ensure they have not gone rancid.
5. 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. Set these aside to cool. Slice 1 medium red onion thin and evenly, so they fry easily and well. 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, about 10 to 12 mins. I went the easier way and dehydrated them in the air fryer until crisp, adjusting between high and low settings.
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. Add the onions and garlic. Pulse in intervals to a slightly coarse powder. If you overrun your grinder you may have a clumpy masala. Store this in an air tight jar. Freeze the leftovers later, after making the misal pav. 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.
Sprouting Matki
8. For this recipe you will need 2 cups of sprouts (250 grams). You may omit this step if you have them. Rinse and soak half cup matki (moth beans) 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.
9. Crush or grate together 3 to 4 garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger and optionally 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut in a grinder. Keep this aside. Also chop 1 onion (1 cup fine chopped) and 1 large tomato about ¾ cup.
Make Usal/ Curry
10. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons oil in a pot and add ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 sprig curry leaves. Sauté until the cumin turns golden brown & curry leaves turn crisp. Then add ⅛ teaspoon hing.
11. Add 1 cup fine chopped onions (1 large onion) and saute them until transparent.
12. Add crushed ginger garlic and coconut. Saute on a medium to low heat until aromatic for about 2 minutes.
13. Add ¾ cup tomatoes and half tablespoon salt. Saute until tomatoes soften.
14. Add ¼ teaspoon turmeric, 1 to 1½ teaspoon red chilli powder and 2 to 4 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.
15. Saute for 2 minutes on a low heat until you smell the masala good. Then add 3 tbsps of coriander leaves and saute.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. Once done, you will see oil floats on top. Turn off the heat.
Toast Pav
20. You need 8 pavs to serve. Add 1 tbsp butter to a hot frying pan or griddle and toast 4 pavs for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and add the rest of the butter. Toast the other 4 pav. I go the easier way and do it in the oven as it is faster if you are doing many.
21. 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
You also need 1/4 cup chopped onions, 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, lemon wedges and ½ cup farsan / thick sev (mixture) or crushed tortilla chips to serve. 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.