Misal Pav

Ingredients

Sprouts

• 300 gmatki, moth beans
• water, for soaking

Usal, the bean curry

• 3 tbspoil
• 1onion, chopped
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tspmustard seed
• 1 tspcumin seed
• 10curry leaves
• ½ tspturmeric
• 1 tbspgoda masala or garam masala
• 1 tspred chilli powder
• salt

Kat, the spicy gravy

• 4 tbspoil
• 2onions, sliced
• 50 gfresh coconut, grated
• 2 tbspKolhapuri or Lavangi chilli powder
• 1 tbspcoriander seed
• 1 tspcumin seed
• 4cloves
• 1 stickcinnamon
• 6 clovesgarlic
• 3cm ginger
• 500 mlwater

To assemble

• 200 gfarsan or mixed sev
• 1onion, finely chopped
• coriander, chopped
• lemon wedges
• 12pav, soft bread rolls
• butter, for the pav

Directions

1. Soak the beans 8 hours, drain them, then tie them in a damp cloth and leave them somewhere warm for 24 to 36 hours.
2. Rinse the cloth twice a day and keep it damp but never wet, because standing water makes the beans rot instead of sprout. They are ready when the tails are about 5 mm long. Fry the sliced onions in oil until deep brown, then add the coconut and fry until it colours too.
3. Take the onion and coconut properly dark, well past golden. Dry roast the coriander, cumin, cloves and cinnamon, then grind them with the fried onion, coconut, garlic and ginger into a paste.
4. Fry the paste in oil with the chilli powder for 5 minutes, then add the water and simmer 20 minutes. Let the kat separate: a layer of bright red oil should rise to the surface, and that floating oil is the whole signature of the dish.
5. Add the onion and cook until soft, then the tomato, turmeric, goda masala, chilli powder and salt. Add the sprouted beans and enough water to cover, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes until tender.
6. Cook the sprouts until soft right through. Now assemble, and the order matters and is done at the table. Spoon the usal into a bowl first. Ladle the hot kat over it, including plenty of the red oil from the surface. Top thickly with farsan, then raw chopped onion and coriander.
7. Add the farsan at the very last second before serving. It goes soggy within a minute and the crunch against the soft beans is the point of the dish. Serve with a lemon wedge and buttered pav, toasted on a griddle. It is Maharashtrian breakfast food, eaten early and in quantity, and it is genuinely very hot.

Technique

• Tinned or boiled matki works if you cannot sprout, though the texture and flavour differ.
• The kat is often served in a separate jug so people can add heat to taste.
• Curd or buttermilk is drunk alongside to take the edge off.

Substitutions

• Sprouted mung beans in place of matki, which is a common variation.
• Any garam masala for goda masala, though it is noticeably different.

Variations

• Kolhapuri misal, the hottest style.
• Puneri misal, milder and often with poha underneath.
• Nashik misal, with a thinner kat.

History

A spicy curry made from sprouted lentils or moth beans, topped with crunchy farsan snack mix, onion and lime, served alongside soft pav bread, developed in the state of Maharashtra, with the city of Pune and the broader Maharashtrian region both claiming strong historical ties to its development, though the exact point and place of invention is not precisely documented. Sprouting the beans before cooking, a technique with roots in older Indian home cooking practices for improving digestibility and nutrition, is considered essential to a proper misal rather than an optional step. It developed into a popular Maharashtrian breakfast and snack food, with individual restaurants and regions closely guarding and debating the correct level of spiciness a truly authentic misal should have.

Frequently asked questions

What is Misal Pav?

Misal Pav is a street food from India: fiery sprouted-bean curry topped with crunchy farsan, served with bread rolls. A spicy curry made from sprouted lentils or moth beans, topped with crunchy farsan snack mix, onion and lime, served alongside soft pav bread, developed in the state of Maharashtra, with the city of Pune and the broader Maharashtrian region both claiming strong historical ties to its development, though the exact point and place of invention is not precisely documented. Sprouting the beans before cooking, a technique with roots in older Indian home cooking practices for improving digestibility and nutrition, is considered essential to a proper misal rather than an optional step. It developed into a popular Maharashtrian breakfast and snack food, with individual restaurants and regions closely guarding and debating the correct level of spiciness a truly authentic misal should have.

How long does Misal Pav take to make?

Misal Pav takes 30 min plus 2 days sprouting of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Misal Pav?

Yes, within limits. Sprouted mung beans in place of matki, which is a common variation. Any garam masala for goda masala, though it is noticeably different.

What is the most important thing to get right in Misal Pav?

Rinse the cloth twice a day and keep it damp but never wet, because standing water makes the beans rot instead of sprout. They are ready when the tails are about 5 mm long. Fry the sliced onions in oil until deep brown, then add the coconut and fry until it colours too.