Maharashtrian Misal Pav

Misal Pav is a traditional Maharashtrian snack recipe where sprouted legumes are cooked with spicy masala and are served with soft pav. It’s a great dish for breakfast and brunch and is healthy as well. Here is how to make it at home.

Misal Pav has been a hot favourite on the bustling streets of Mumbai and other places in Maharashtra.

You’ll find hordes of people appeasing their hunger pangs by feasting on this delicious snack by the side of the road.

Restaurants like Mamledar Misal in Thane, Mumbai, Aaswad or Kata Kirr in Pune have been serving this special dish for many years and are still going strong.

There is just something about Misal that helps you stay full and also satisfy all your street food cravings.

Traditionally, Misal is a little on the spicier side and you’ll find different varieties of this snack being served in different regions.

Puneri Misal is slightly different from it’s Kolhapuri cousin. But wherever you eat this spicy Maharashtrian treat, you will fall in love with it.

Just like Vada Pav, it has become a crowd fav.

Today I’m making a special healthy version of the Misal with mixed beans that make it an extremely healthy and nutritious snack.

It’s eaten with pav and topped with a generous helping of farsan, chopped onions and a spritz of lemon juice.

How to make Misal?

To make this Misal at home, we are making use of a mixed legumes that is to be soaked in water and left for a few hours.

Then the soaked missal mix is kept in a container for sprouting in a warm place.

You can use only Moth (matki) to make this Misal Pav recipe as well.

Once the sprouts are ready, it’s put in a pressure cooker with potato, salt and some water and allowed to cook.

Then some oil is heated in a pan, to which we add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, allowing them to crackle for a few seconds.

Then the finely chopped onions are added, along with curry leaves until it’s slightly browned.

To this mix, ginger garlic paste is added and fried, finally chopped tomatoes are added in.

Next we put in all the spices and masala powders and cook it for a few minutes.

Then the cooked sprouts and potatoes are added till it soaks in all the flavours of the masalas.

The missal is simmered for a few minutes and finally it’s topped with some fresh coriander and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Traditionally it’s served with buttered pav and lemon wedges.

It is a great breakfast dish as well, in some Maharashtrian homes, you’ll find it being served as a breakfast dish.

You can also enjoy this Mix Sprout Misal Pav with a cup of hot chai in the evenings, especially on those rainy days when you’re craving for something hot and spicy.

Misal has a cacophony of flavours in every bite and it tastes great when it’s dipped with pav as the pav soaks in all the flavours of the curry.

Once you make this recipe, you can change it depending on your taste preferences, if you like it to be on the spicier side, you could also add in some more chilli.

Do check out some of the other street food specials on the blog: Bread Pakora, Tawa Pulao, Aloo Chaat and the famous Papdi Chaat.

Serving Suggestions

Traditionally, misal is served in a bowl along with cut or the liquid of the curry in another bowl.

You can keep adding the cut in your misal as required.

Along with it, chopped onion lemon slices and a spicy sev mixture (farsaan) is served on the plate.

You can keep adding these things in your misal as you go.

The pav is generally not toasted and they are served cold and soft along with the misal.

Which other legume can be used to make Misal?

Apart from using Moth or Matki, you can use chawli, kala chana, matar or val to make Misal.

The process remains the same though. In the below recipe, I have used a mix of legumes and it tastes great too.

Misal Pav vs Usal Pav

“Misal and Usal are the favorite street food of Maharashtra, and anyone who has not tried this dish on their visit to our city, is really missing something.

You are likely to find at every street corner and in every local hotel, the smaller the restaurant, tastier is the dish.

First and foremost, let me tell you the difference between Misal and Usal, or else, you might end up ordering the wrong dish.

Both Misal and Usal can be eaten with Indian bread rolls called Pav, to prepare Misal first make ‘Usal’ which is a water based curried preparation of cooked sprouted lentils and then, when topped with pohay, Chivda, farsaan, raw chopped onions and tomato it is called Misal.

This is a healthy food made from tiny dried dark-green beans call matki (Moth beans). Some use the combination of 3-4 different kinds of beans.” – Source

Variations

Many people cook the usal and kat separately and then serve them together.

For the convenience of cooking, I made this dish in a single pot but the taste is not compromised at all.

Puneri Misal is usually served with some tempered poha. The kat or tarri is made separately, the usal is made and served in a bowl.

It is topped with some tempered soaked poha and then topped with kat or tarri.

It is then topped with farsaan, chopped onion, fresh coriander and lemon wedges and served.

Some people also like to top their misal with sweet tamarind chutney.

To make Dahi Misal, serve the misal topped with whisked yogurt (Curd).

You might also like

Pav Bhaji

Puran Poli

Achari Chana Pulao

Dal Makhani

Sol Kadhi

Step by Step Recipe

Soak the legumes in water and drain well. Keep aside for 24 -32 hours for them to get sprouted.

Transfer the sprouts in a pressure cooker along with potato, 2 teaspoon salt and 3 cups of water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles on medium heat.

Heat vegetable oil in a  pan.

Once the oil is hot, add mustard and cumin seeds and let them crackle for a few seconds.

Add onion and curry leaves and fry until onion turns slightly browned.

Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Now add tomato and cook for 2 minutes.

Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, goda masala and red chilli powder and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cooked sprouts and potato along with the water they were cooked in.

Simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add lemon juice and fresh coriander and mix well.