Kolhapuri Misal Pav Recipe / Maharashtrian Misal Pav Recipe

When we were returning from Shirdi three years back on a road trip, we started early from Shirdi. So we planned on having breakfast somewhere on the way. What we didn’t know then was there was not a single hotel on the road we traveled. We were going through many villages, but I couldn’t find a single place to have our breakfast. After a long search we ended up in a dhaba. We didn’t know Marathi and he couldn’t understand my Hindi, but somehow, I saw what was available there and ordered two plates of Misal Pav. I have heard of Misal pav and I thought it was a snack, but when they served it for breakfast, I was surprised. I liked it, but I couldn’t think of it as breakfast as we are so much used to idlis, dosas and rotis. But somehow we filled our tummies that day and I noted it down in my to do list.

When I chose chat for the second week of Cooking Carnival, the month long Mega Marathon this month, I immediately wrote down misal pav on my board. This is the only chat for which I did a lot of research. I have heard misal and usal but didn’t know which is which and the recipes I read online confused me too much. I then asked my BM buddies and they helped me with some answers. Usal is made with sprouted moat beans or legumes and is a part of misal. This is what I understood after a lot of reading. I read a lot of recipes and clubbed them together to arrive at this. The dish has so many components which are layered and served topped with farsan/ deep fried snacks. Though it seems lengthy, it is really easy to make if you go for store bought farsan. I baked my whole wheat pav, but bought the farsan to top the misal.

The beans used to make usal is moat beans. Moat beans is not common in Madurai and the only place I was confident to find it was Nilgiris. I saw the photos of the beans in my Google search and then went to Nilgiris to search for similar beans. I found a pack and I was so happy. That day itself I soaked it and the next day I prepared them for sprouts. While it was sprouting, I made the pav buns. The next day, I made the usal, poha and tarri/ kat. Poha is a simple preparation of beaten rice and tarri / kat is a spicy thin gravy which they serve along with misal pav. You can add or omit it according to the spice level you prefer. I added some while assembling the dish and it was too hot. So I skipped adding it after the assembling. I finally assembled the whole dish to have as our lunch. I was afraid that hubby would say no, but he too enjoyed it for lunch which was highly satisfying. After finishing it that day, I felt like I have accomplished something huge. That is the satisfaction I love and even Sruti liked it so much. For her I omitted the kat and served the poha, usal and farsan along with pav.

Ingredients:

For The Usal:

Sprouted Moat Beans ( use 150 gm of moat beans) – 2 1/2 cups

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard Powder – 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds -1 /2 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida – a pinch

Curry Leaves – a sprig

Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbs

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp

Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt – to taste

Jaggery – 1 tbs

For The Poha:

Poha / Beaten Rice – 1/2 cup

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Peanuts – 2 tbs

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp

For Tarri / Kat:

Grated Coconut – 3-4 tbs

Tomato – 1

Onion – 1

Garlic – 2-3 pods

Ginger – 1″ piece

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp

Oil – 2 tsp + 4 tsp

Salt – to taste

Whole Wheat Pav Buns

Farsan / Deep Fried Snacks

Onion Finely Chopped

Coriander Leaves

Procedure:

For Usal:

Wash and soak moat beans overnight.

Drain water and spread it in a sprouter or tie it in a cloth and place in a air tight box for 24 hours.

The next day, pressure cook the sprouts in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles with enough water and turmeric powder.

Heat oil, and add mustard seeds, hing and cumin.

When they crackle add in curry leaves.

Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute or two.

Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, cooked beans and salt. Add the water used to cook the sprouts to adjust the consistency of the usal.

Let it come to boil.

Reduce flame and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Set aside.

For Poha:

Wash and soak poha (if using thicker poha) or wash it thrice and set aside until it is soft.

Heat oil, add mustard and peanuts.

When peanuts are golden, add in turmeric.

Add poha and salt to taste.

Mix well and set aside.

For The Tarri/ Kat:

Roast coconut in a pan and transfer to a mixer jar.

In the same pan add two tsp of oil and add cumin seeds, onion, tomato, garlic and ginger.

Cook on low flame until tomatoes turn mushy.

Add it to the mixer jar with coconut.

Add enough water and grind it to a smooth paste.

Now heat remaining oil and add the spice paste, garam masala, red chilly powder and salt.

Add enough water to make a thin gravy, let it come to boil.

Reduce flame and let it boil for 3-4 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Assembling The Misal Pav:

In a bowl, take some usal.

Top it with poha and some tarri according to your preferred spice level.

Add onions, farsan and coriander leaves.

Serve it with pav and enjoy!

Assembling The Misal

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 68

Kolhapuri Misal Pav Recipe

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Ingredients

  

For The Usal

• Sprouted Moat Beans - 2 1/2 cups use 150 gm of moat beans
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard Powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds -1 /2 tsp
• Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
• Curry Leaves - a sprig
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbs
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Jaggery - 1 tbs

For The Poha

• Poha / Beaten Rice - 1/2 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Peanuts - 2 tbs
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

For Tarri / Kat

• Grated Coconut - 3-4 tbs
• Tomato - 1
• Onion - 1
• Garlic - 2-3 pods
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1 tsp
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp
• tsp Oil - 2+ 4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Whole Wheat Pav Buns
• Farsan / Deep Fried Snacks
• Onion Finely Chopped
• Coriander Leaves

Instructions

 

For Usal

• Wash and soak moat beans overnight.
• Drain water and spread it in a sprouter or tie it in a cloth and place in a air tight box for 24 hours.
• The next day, pressure cook the sprouts in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles with enough water and turmeric powder.
• Heat oil, and add mustard seeds, hing and cumin.
• When they crackle add in curry leaves.
• Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute or two.
• Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, cooked beans and salt. Add the water used to cook the sprouts to adjust the consistency of the usal.
• Let it come to boil.
• Reduce flame and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Set aside.

For Poha

• Wash and soak poha (if using thicker poha) or wash it thrice and set aside until it is soft.
• Heat oil, add mustard and peanuts.
• When peanuts are golden, add in turmeric.
• Add poha and salt to taste.
• Mix well and set aside.

For The Tarri/ Kat

• Roast coconut in a pan and transfer to a mixer jar.
• In the same pan add two tsp of oil and add cumin seeds, onion, tomato, garlic and ginger.
• Cook on low flame until tomatoes turn mushy.
• Add it to the mixer jar with coconut.
• Add enough water and grind it to a smooth paste.
• Now heat remaining oil and add the spice paste, garam masala, red chilly powder and salt.
• Add enough water to make a thin gravy, let it come to boil.
• Reduce flame and let it boil for 3-4 minutes.
• Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Assembling The Misal Pav

• In a bowl, take some usal.
• Top it with poha and some tarri according to your preferred spice level.
• Add onions, farsan and coriander leaves.
• Serve it with pav and enjoy!