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Misal pav
Fiery Maharashtrian sprouted moth bean curry with farsan, onion and soft rolls (sprout the beans for 1–2 days)
Misal pav is Maharashtra's great street breakfast, eaten from Pune's old eateries to the hot, red misal of Kolhapur. Sprouted moth beans (matki) are cooked into a thick usal, then drowned at the table in a fiery, oily, thin curry called kat or tarri, and topped with crunchy farsan, raw onion, coriander and a squeeze of lemon. It comes with soft pav to mop it all up. Each person builds their own bowl, adding as much tarri as their tongue can take. Chef's tip: let the kat simmer until a red layer of oil floats on top; Pune vendors skim this 'tarri' off and spoon it over each bowl, and that oily, spicy film is the whole point of a good misal.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the usal (sprouts)
For the kat masala paste
For the kat (spicy curry)
To serve
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: To sprout the beans, rinse 7 oz moth beans (matki) and soak in plenty of water for 8 hours. Drain, tip into a sieve or tie in a damp muslin cloth, cover and leave in a warm place for 24–36 hours, rinsing once or twice a day, until most have 5 mm tails. Short sprouts taste nuttier; long ones go bitter.
Step 2: For the usal, heat 1 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add ½ tsp mustard seeds and, when it crackles, ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing) and ½ tsp ground turmeric. Add the sprouts, 1 ¼ cups water and ¾ tsp salt, cover and simmer for 12–15 minutes, until the sprouts are tender but still whole with a slight bite. Don't pressure cook them to mush.
15 minStep 3: For the masala paste, heat 1 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion for 6–7 minutes until golden-brown. Add 4 tbsp desiccated coconut and stir for 2 minutes until it turns a deep golden colour. Add 6 cloves garlic and ½ oz fresh ginger for 1 minute, then 2 tomatoes for 3 minutes until soft.
12 minStep 4: Cool slightly, then blend to a smooth paste with a splash of water.
Step 5: For the kat, heat 4 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil in a deep pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 12 curry leaves; when they sizzle, add the masala paste and fry for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and the oil separates. Don't skimp on this frying: under-fried paste gives a raw, flat-tasting kat.
6 minStep 6: Lower the heat, add 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp hot red chilli powder and 2 tsp goda masala or garam masala and stir for 30 seconds; take care, chilli powder burns quickly in hot oil and turns bitter.
Step 7: Pour in 3 ¼ cups hot water, add 3 kokum petals or tamarind paste, 1 tsp jaggery, 1 tsp salt and 3 tbsp of the cooked sprouts (they thicken it slightly). Simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes, until the kat is thin but full-bodied and a layer of red oil floats on top.
12 minStep 8: To serve, spoon a ladle of hot usal into each deep bowl and pour over a ladle of kat. Skim some of the red tarri from the top of the kat and spoon it over. Pile on 5 ½ oz farsan (spicy mixed savoury mix), 1 red onion and 4 tbsp fresh coriander, add 1 lemon wedges and serve with 8 pav (soft bread rolls, dairy-free), warmed on a tawa. Keep extra kat at the table for second helpings.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 19 g
- Carbs
- 70 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 13 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does misal pav take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of mustard seeds?
- Cumin seeds, same amount (different flavour, same crackle).
- What can I use instead of asafoetida (hing)?
- A pinch each of garlic powder and onion powder (asafoetida stands in for onion and garlic).
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