Misal Pav
Misal Pav is a popular breakfast and snack dish from the state of Maharashtra which is a spicy thin gravy made using sprouted beans topped with farsan, onions served with pav bun or plain bread.
Though the fundamental concept of this dish is the same across Maharashtra, however there are numerous variations of Misal Pav within the same state. To name a few, there are Kolhapuri Misal Pav, Puneri Misal Pav, Nagpuri Misal Pav, Nasik Misal Pav etc. The difference lies mainly in the spice mix used for making misal, spice level, type of sprouts used and the type of bread that is served along with the misal.
In this post, we are going to be looking at the Kolhapuri Misal Pav which is extremely popular and known for it’s spice and intense flavour and colour of Misal. The heart of this dish is the Kolhapuri Masala which is a fiery spice blend made with a blend of dried red chillies, dry coconut or Khopra and an array of whole spices. Though many use the readymade Kolhapuri masala available in the market for making the misal, but it tastes best when made with fresh homemade masala. I have already posted the recipe of Kolhapuri masala in a separate post. You can refer to the recipe here.
Misal can be made with sprouts of different type of beans like moth beans or matki, green moong etc., but this Kolhapuri version of misal is typically made using the moth beans and tastes excellent. Moth beans or matki is a small sized bean and the sprouts made from this are very tender, so it gets cooked quickly. It is important not to overcook the sprouts as it would become mushy.
Misal is traditionally made in two parts – the sprouts are cooked with masala separately and a thin oily and spicy gravy called ‘Kat‘ is made with the stock of the cooked sprouts. This kat is supposed to be fiery, bright red in colour and typically the oil must float on top of this gravy. This Kat is what makes the misal a Zanzanit Misal.
Another important ingredient in Misal Pav is Farsan which is topped as a garnish on Misal just before serving. Farsan, generally speaking is type of a savoury deep fried namkeen, however for misal pav, a special type of farsan is used which is called as Misal Farsan. This farsan variety is not that spicy and contains gathiya and papdi that are made using gram flour or besan. While you can use any type of mixture namkeen for topping the misal, but try looking for the misal farsan mix for the best taste. The reason this farsan works best with misal is because it does not become soggy immediately after adding in the kat as it is thick as compared to normal namkeen.
As the name suggests, misal is supposed to be served with Pav. However one interesting thing to note about this dish is that the pav is not toasted with loads of butter as in case of pav bhaji. While untoasted pav is the preferred choice for serving misal pav, you could slightly toast with small amount of butter as per your liking. The reason the pav is not toasted with lot of butter is because, the kat is generally heavy in oil and adding more butter to the pav as well will make the dish quite heavy.
Some Commonly Asked Questions
Yes, you could also use sprouts made of whole green moong dal or a combination of green moong and moth beans sprouts for making misal.
Traditionally speaking sprouts work best for this recipe, however if you are in a hurry and you haven’t had the time to sprout the beans, you could cook the moth directly. Just pressure cook it additionally by one more whistle.
Yes, misal can alternatively be served with plain bread as well, if Pav is not available. In many places in Maharashtra Misal pav is served with the regular white bread.
Of course yes, however this dish tastes best when the kat is made with some spicy oil floating on top. So my personal preference is also to make the traditional way with relatively higher amount of oil.
While traditionally this dish demands onion and garlic, you could also make it without them. In this case increase the amount of asafoetida or hing.
Serving Suggestion
Misal Pav is assembled in the following way – In a shallow serving dish, first the sprout masala is added and then a generous amount of kat is added over it. It is finally topped with farsan and garnished with chopped raw onions and fresh coriander. A lemon wedge can also be served on the side. Serve hot misal with toasted or untoasted pav.
Misal Pav
Ingredients
- ½ cup Moth Beans or Matki or 2 cups Sprouted Moth Beans
- 8 tbsp Kolhapuri Masala
- 2 large Onions + 1 medium onion roughly chopped for garnishing
- 2 large Tomatoes
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 7-8 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- ¼ tsp Asafoetida
- 2 cups Misal Farsan
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds or Jeera
- Fresh Coriander Leaves finely chopped for garnishing
- 1 Lemon
- 15 nos. Pav
- Butter for toasting Pav
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- This recipe requires 2 cups of sprouted moth beans. If you already have the moth beans, you can skip the sprout making process below.
- For making sprouts, wash and soak ½ cup of Moth beans or Matki overnight.
- The following morning, drain the water from the soaked moth beans and transfer to a muslin or cotton cloth and tie it like a potli bag. Place this in a vessel. Leave this for a day or longer till the sprouts appear.
- The sprouts should be ready after one day or bit longer depending on the weather. Half cup of moth beans should yield around 2 cups of sprouts.
- Pressure cook the prepared moth bean sprouts (2 cups) in 4 cups of water along with some salt and a pinch of turmeric powder only for one whistle.
- Drain the stock from the cooked moth beans and keep the stock aside. This stock will be used to make the Kat or the thin gravy.
- Now first for preparing the sprouts masala, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once it sputters, add ⅛ of teaspoon of hing and add half of the finely chopped onion and cook till it turns pink.
- Next add half of the finely chopped tomatoes and some salt and add some turmeric powder and cover and cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
- Now add 3 tablespoons of Kolhapuri masala and some water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Finally add the cooked sprouts and gently mix it. Cook for couple of minutes.
- Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves and mix well. The sprouts masala is ready, keep it aside.
- For preparing the kat or thin gravy, in a separate kadai, heat 5 to 6 tablespoons of oil and add the remaining finely chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste and mix.
- Cook the onions on medium flame till they are golden brown.
- Now add the remaining finely chopped tomatoes and some salt and cook for couple of minutes.
- Now add ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder, ⅛ teaspoon of hing, 1 teaspoon of Kashmiri red chilli powder (for rich colour) and 5-6 tablespoons of Kolhapuri masala and mix well.
- Add some of the reserved stock and let it cook on medium flame till the oil starts separating.
- Now add the remaining stock to the masala and cook further for 7 to 8 minutes till the oil completely starts floating on top. The kat should be thin.
- Finally add some finely chopped fresh coriander for garnishing and turn off the stove. Kat is ready.
- Scoop out some of the floating oil from the kat and keep this aside. This will be used in the garnishing when we serve the misal pav.
- Toast the pav buns with little butter.
- For assembling the misal, add a big ladle of the sprout masala to a shallow dish. Now add around 2 ladle of the Kat gravy. Add around 2 to 3 teaspoon of the reserved oil separated from the kat.
- Add some finely chopped raw onion and top with a big handful of farsan and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with the toasted pav and a wedge of lemon on the side.
Notes
- Though matki sprouts tastes best for this recipe, you can also use mixed sprouts.
- Make sure not to overcook the sprouts. Just one whistle in pressure cooker should suffice.
- The recipe for the Kolhapuri masala is given in the link below. The quantity mentioned in the above recipe is for the moderately spicy version of the Kolhapuri masala. If your Kolhapuri masala is spicy, reduce the amount accordingly.
- Be generous with oil in this recipe, as it gives a nice flavour and taste. Oil has to float on the kat.
- Try using the misal farsan as compared to regular mixture namkeen.
- Serve immediately after adding the farsan on top, else it will absorb all the kat and become soggy.
- You can also serve this misal with bread instead of pav.
- Misal pav can be had for breakfast or snack or even as a complete meal.
Looking for the recipe of Kolhapuri Masala which is used in the above Misal recipe? Click here.