Misal Pav / Maharashtrian Breakfast Recipe

Misal Pav is a popular Maharashtrian snack and one of the famous Mumbai street foods. As the name suggests, the dish consists of Misal (a spicy curry usually made from sprouted moth beans) and Pav ( a type of Indian bread roll). The Misal again comprises two parts, the matki Usal which is a thick curry of sprouted moth beans, and the spicy watery curry called 'Rassa' or 'Tarri'. Misal Pav is a lip-smacking breakfast dish but can be enjoyed as a filling and nutritious snack or as brunch. The recipe is vegan and easy to follow and does not require any fancy ingredients.

 What is Misal Pav?

Misal is a spicy vegetarian breakfast dish from the Indian state of Maharashtra and is usually served along with bread slice or bread roll, called pav. It is popular street food and there are different versions of Misal Pav like Kolhapuri Misal, Puneri Misal, Khnadeshi Misal, Nagpuri Misal etc.the first part indicating the origin of the Misal. It is my family's favorite dish and though there are many famous Misal joints in Pune, we prefer to have it at home. For me, no other Misal Pav can match the taste of the Misal prepared by my mom. Today i am sharing her recipe of Puneri Misal. Usually, the Misal is spicy but you can adjust the spice levels as per your liking and spice tolerance.

This recipe requires little patience but the end result is worth it. Many recipes of Misal, generally have a common Misal curry whereas this recipe has a tasty stir fry of sprouted moth beans and a spicy tarri. One can mix the two as per taste and requirement. The assembling of Misal again has many variations. In this recipe, the sprouted moth bean stir-fry and Kanda Pohe are mixed with the tarri as per taste and then the final dish is topped with farsan, finely chopped onions, chopped boiled potatoes coriander leaves and lemon wedges. I have served this Misal with homemade Egg less ladi Pav. In Kolhapur, misal pav is often served with Mattha, spiced buttermilk. Though misal pav is a breakfast dish, it makes for a complete meal and can be served as a delicious, filling and nutritious breakfast. Misal is always served piping hot.

Related Event :

This is an old post that I had published in 2015 during my initial blogging days. I have updated this post today with the new final images and written content of this recipe. I have many such old posts where the photography is dull and the recipe is not up to the mark. Such posts need to be updated with new pictures and written content. Thanks to Renu, my dear friend, and a fellow blogger who came up with a Facebook group, Foodies_Redoing Old Posts as an initiative, wherein we bloggers can update our old posts with either new pictures or written content or both every two weeks. This is my 16th entry into this event (1st May 2020). The pic below is my old pic of Misal Pav. Meanwhile do check out Renu's blog for some healthy delicious recipes like this Oats Chivda which is on my to-do list. 

                         
                                                          
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients: 1 Cup = 240 ml
For Usal:

• 1 1/2 Cups of Sprouted Moth Beans (Matki)
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 tomato finely chopped
• 2 green chilies chopped
• 2-3 sprigs of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp peanuts
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Pinch of asafoetida (Hing)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil

For "Kat / Tarri / Rassa/ Gravy" :

• 2-3 Florets of Cauliflower
• 4-5 flakes of fresh/dry Coconut
• 2 dry Kashmiri Red Chilies
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 1 Tomato finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves of Garlic
• 1/2 inch piece of Ginger
• 1 tsp Red Chili powder
• 1 tsp Goda masala / Garam Masala
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 1/4 tsp of Sugar
• Salt to taste

Other Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked Kanda Pohe
• 1/4 cup Farsan or Sev
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped boiled potato
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
• 2-3 wedges of Lemon
• Pav Buns as per need

Method:

For Usal:

1. To make the Sprouted Moth beans at home, take the Matki/moth beans and soak them for 7-8 hrs in water. Drain the water and tie the beans in a kitchen towel and keep in a warm place for 8-10 hrs or until they sprout). Wash these Moth Beans in a colander thoroughly. Cook them in a pressure cooker with 4 cups of water for 2 whistles.

  

   2.  On cooling, open the pressure cooker and strain the moth beans using a colander. Reserve the stock for making gravy or rassa. 

  3. In a pan heat up the oil on medium heat and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter add the cumin seeds followed by curry leaves, green chilies, Hing, and turmeric Powder. 

4.  Add in the peanuts. Stir fry them until they splutter. Now add the onions followed by tomatoes. Saute them for 1-2 minutes.

5. Add the cooked and drained moth beans. Season with salt and stir fry for another 2-3 minutes. Put off the flame. The stir fry Usal is ready. Keep it aside.

Method for preparing Gravy:

1. Heat up 1 tbsp oil in a pan and shallow fry the dry red chilies, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, garlic, ginger, cauliflower florets and coconut flakes. 

   2.   Grind all this in a grinder with little water to a fine paste.

   3.  In a pan heat up 2 tbsp of oil. to this add 1/4 tsp of sugar. This step gives a vibrant red color to the rassa....sharing secret :)

  4.    Stir fry the ground masala for 2-3 minutes or until the oil separates out from sides in this oil.

 5.  Add the red chili powder and Goda masala /garam masala. Mix well and stir fry again for about 30 seconds. Now add the reserved stock and mix well. The resultant gravy should be watery.and not thick. If you are left with little stock, you may add 1/2 cup of water to adjust the consistency.

  6.  Add salt and chopped coriander leaves and boil this rassa and then simmer for 5-7 minutes, until a nice red layer of oil floats on top of it. The name of this rassa originates from this fact that red layer floats and floating in Marathi means Tarang hence the name tarri.

  Assembling the Misal:

1. In a deep serving plate, first, add about 3-4 tbsp of stir fry usal followed by 2-3 tbsp of Kanda pohe.  

   2.  Now add in the rassa as per liking. I add 2 ladles full of rassa in each plate followed by farsan or Sev , chopped onions, chopped boiled potatoes. I forgot to add the boiled potatoes. They taste good in this preparation. There is no fixed way to assemble the missal and you may arrange it as per the spice tolerance and liking.

   3.  Lastly, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and a lemon wedge. Serve hot with butter toasted Pav and enjoy !!!

                           

I hope a few of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

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For more Maharashtrian Breakfast Recipes, do check out the following from this blog

• Dudhi Che Thalipeeth

                            

• Besan Dhirde

                            

• Bhajaniche Thalipeeth

                             

• Gavhache Dhirde

                             

• Goad Dashmi

                             

• Gulachi Poli

                             

• Ukadpendi

                             

• Kande Pohe

                             

• Ratalyacha Kees

                             

• Puranache Dind