Pans and Needles: Misal Paav

Misal Paav

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We had been to Kolahpur which is famous for this humble yet filling dish. We had been to the famous "Fadtare Misal" at about 9 am. There was a queue of about 12 to 15 people before us. We were 4 but had to sit separately when our turn came. It is that crowded. If you wait for more seats to empty it might be past there serving time. It is a simple place with limited seating but the Misal they churn out is simply wonderful.

This is a recipe very similar to what we had in Kolhapur. Now this Misal will vary from place to place and from family to family. There is no right or wrong recipe.

Of course there is a difference between Misal from Kolahpur and Misal from Pune and Dahi Misal from Mumbai. The masalas are different and so is the proportion of the lentils and pulses But basically the recipe is the same everywhere.

Ingredients:

2 cups Mixed Sprouts (Matki/moth/moog/moong/red and green gram/white and green peas) Soaked overnight and sprouted for a whole day or you could get ready made sprouts available in the market. Matki/moth proportion has to be 2:1 That is 2 parts matki/moth and 1 part rest of the sprouts.

For tempering:

2 tblsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds/rai
1/2 tsp cumin / jeera
a few fenugreek /methi seeds
1/4 tsp asefotida/hing
1/4 tsp turmeric/haldi powder

10 - 12 curry leaves

1 tsp red chilly powder or to taste

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp goda/black masala, optional (This is available in the market)

For serving:

2 big oinions finely chopped

2 big tomatoes chopped

100 gms mixture/farsan of your choice

100 gms bhavnagri sev

100 gms fine sev

lots of fresh coriander leaves finely chopped to add to the misal and to sprinkle over the misal while serving

few limes cut into quaters

For the fresh masala:

1/2 cup grated fresh coconut

2 tblsp sesame seeds/till

1 big onion chopped

7-8 black pepper corns

3-4 cloves

2-3 green cardamom

1" piece of ginger

7-8 garlic cloves

Grind all this together to a fine paste using little water if needed.

For the potato Bhaaji :

2 large potatoes

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds/rai

1/4 tsp cumin / jeera

a few fenugreek /methi seeds

1/4 tsp asefotida/hing

1/4 tsp turmeric/haldi powder

10 - 12 curry leaves

salt to taste

juice of 1/2 a lime

Pressure cook the potatoes. Cool. Peel and chop into small pieces. Heat oil and add mustard, cumin, fenugreek, asefotida, turmeric, curry leaves and stir well. Add salt and juice of lime and give a good stir. Keep aside to cool.

Pressure cook the sprouts in plenty of water. Be careful it should be just cooked. Not under cooked nor over cooked.

In a deep pan or a wok/kadhai heat oil and add mustard, cumin and fenugreek and let the mustard crackle. Now add asefotida, turmeric and curry leaves. Add the fresh masala paste fry till the it changes colour and the raw smell has gone. Add the cooked sprouts with the water. Let it come to a boil and then add chilly powder, garam masala and goda masala if using. Add salt to taste.

Let it come to a good boil and then cover and simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

This is how it will look when done. even though we have used little oil it floats on top along with the chilly powder and garam masala.

This is called Usal. Now we make Misal.

To serve:

In a deep dish or a wide bowl put about 1 cup/ladle of the Usal and the gravy. Put some potaoes, chopped onions, The mixture/farsan, bhavnagri sev, fine sev, chopped tomatoes and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves. Serve with sliced bread of your choice or with pav and a couple of pieces of lime.