Spicy Kolhapuri Misal Pav

Hello dear readers ! Today I will share a fantastic recipe prepared by my sister in law Santoshi Nayak. It is a famous dish from the streets of Mumbai called as “Misal Pav”. She specially gets the Misal masala from Mumbai.

Usually it is prepared with mixed sprouts like green gram, Matki and dried white peas called as vatana. But we may also prepare it with either one of the gram. Santoshi prepares it with Vatana often . I first tasted this dish in Mumbai after my marriage two decades back. Whenever we visited Mumbai my husband would get it with other street food delicacies which all of us enjoyed it to the core. Mumbai pav is one of the best pav.

Basically the curry is called as “Usal” but when it is topped with farsan, chopped onions , chopped tomatoes and relished with pav it is  called as “Misal” or ” Misal Pav” .

Recipe and dish courtesy : Mrs Santoshi Nayak

Picture courtesy: Saideepthi Nayak

Recipe adapted from : Poonams Kitchen

Ingredients on how to cook sprouts:

Vatana or white peas – 2 1/2 cups*

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp

Hing – 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves – 8- 10

Onion – 1 , chopped

Garlic paste – 1tsp

Ginger paste – 1tsp

Haldi powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt – to taste

Green chilly – 1 chopped

Water – 2 cups

Ingredients for the Misal  paste:

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

Grated coconut -2 tbsp

Fennel seeds – 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon -1/2″

Cumin seeds – 1/2 tbsp

Pepper – 10

Cloves – 2

White til – 1tsp

Onions – 2, sliced

Garlic – 3 big petals or 6 -7 small ones

Ginger – 1 ”

Kashmiri red chillies – 3 (remove seeds)

Tomatoes – 2 big, chopped

Ingredients for the Rassa or gravy:

Oil – 3 tbsp

Hing – 1/4 tsp

Kashmiri chilly powder – 1tsp

Haldi powder – 1/4 tsp

Jaggery – 1 tbsp

Kokum – 2 petals

Misal masala or goda masala or garam masala- 1tsp(optional)

Method on how to cook sprouts:

1. Take a pressure cooker, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds.
2. Once it crackles add cumin seeds, curry leaves and hing.
3. Add soaked white peas or sprouts.
4. Add water, ginger paste, garlic paste,chopped onion green chilly, salt to taste.
5. Take 2 whistles and switch off the flame.
6. Cook it until done.

Method for the Misal paste:

1. Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon,pepper, cloves, fennel seeds and coconut.
2. Keep it ready.
3. Heat oil and saute onions until light brown in colour.
4. Add  chopped ginger and garlic.
5. Saute it for a while.
6. Switch off the flame.
7. Cool and make a paste with dry roasted ingredients,tomatoes and deseeded kashmiri chillies.
8. Add 1/4 cup of water while making the paste.
9. Make the  paste and keep it ready.

Method for the Misal :

1. Heat 3 tbsp tbsp of oil, 1/4 tsp hing, 1tsp kashmiri chilly powder and 1/4 tsp haldi powder.
2. Keep the flame low.
3. Add the ground masala and saute it until the oil separates on medium flame.
4. Add 1 cup of water in mixer jar and add in the gravy.
5. Add 2 more cups of water in the gravy.
6. Add 2 kokum petals, jaggery,misal masala and salt to taste.
7. Take 1 boil and lower it for 10 minutes until oil floats on top.
8. Add cooked white peas and cook it for 5 minutes.

How to serve Misa pav:

1. Take Misal in a bowl.
2. Add farsan, chopped onion and chopped coriander leaves.
3. Relish it with slightly buttered and toasted pav.

My notes:

Ingredients for mix sprouts :

1/2 cup Moong

1/2 cup matki

1/4 cup white chawli

1/4 cup red chawli

1/4 cup Chickpeas

1/4 cup Chana