Mumbai Misal Pav

Misal Pav is the quintessential street food in my home state of Maharashtra, India. Misal is a spicy gravy of sprouted beans, and pav refers to a crusty bread roll that makes for the perfect accompaniment to the curry. The gravy is served hot, topped with crunchy farsan (Indian deep-fried snack), with a side of bread whose sole purpose is to temper the spiciness of the gravy. Traditionally, it is served as a breakfast dish, and it became a favorite with many day-laborers who headed on to their gruelling routines having satiated their stomachs with this hearty and filling dish.

At the heart of this dish are sprouted “moth beans” or “matki” (also known as Turkish gram). The beans are first sprouted and then cooked in a spicy onion-tomato gravy. Sounds like a healthy no-brainer, right? But as with most street foods, this traditional dish has morphed over time into an unhealthy version. Today’s version of this popular street food is usually very spicy and brimming with oil, not to mention the amount of  white bread you’ll need to consume to tone down the spiciness.

My version of misal is less spicy and uses very little oil. You can make it as healthy as you want by limiting (or skipping) the amount of farsan added as topping, and by pairing it with whole wheat bread. My family enjoys this dish with crusty sourdough rolls – which we enjoy by dunking small pieces in the gravy. And no, none of us can stomach this dish for breakfast. Instead, it becomes a full meal at either lunch or dinner.

If you’ve never sprouted beans before, follow this easy method. You can use mung beans instead of moth beans, or use a combination of the two. I like to add some sprouted brown or green garbanzo beans as well in the recipe.

Mumbai Misal Pav

Recipe by theplantpaletteblogCourse: Food, Breakfast, MainCuisine: Indian

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

A traditional spicy gravy from Western India, made with sprouted moth beans and served with soft dinner rolls.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of sprouted moth beans OR 3 cups moth beans and 1 cup of mixed sprouted beans (see notes)

• 2 red onions, finely chopped (reserve 1/2 onion for garnish)

• 2 tomatoes, quartered

• 1 inch piece ginger

• 8 cloves garlic

• 1 serrano peppers OR 2 jalapenos (see notes)

• 1/4 cup freshly grated or unsweetened shredded coconut

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

• 2 teaspoons oil

• 10 – 12 curry leaves

• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida (optional)

• 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

• 1 tablespoon goda masala or garam masala (see notes)

• 1 tablespoon ground coriander

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 3 teaspoons salt

• 6 cups water

• Toppings

• 1 cup sev or farsan

• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

• 2 lemons or limes, cut into wedges

Directions

• Instant Pot Method
• Combine the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, serrano/jalapeno peppers and coconut in a blender until it becomes a smooth paste.
• Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Add oil and mustard seeds to the inner pot. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the asafetida, curry leaves and chopped onions. Saute for 3-4 minutes until the onions turn translucent.
• Add the ground paste and saute for a minute. Add all the remaining spices, salt, beans and water and mix.
• Set the Instant Pot to Manual and cook at High Pressure for 10 minutes. Let pressure release naturally.
• Open the lid, add the chopped cilantro and mix well. Add more salt to taste if needed. If the gravy is too thick, add more water since it needs to be fairly runny.
• Serve hot with the toppings and a soft dinner rolls.
• Stovetop Method
• Combine the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, serrano/jalapeno peppers and coconut in a blender until it becomes a smooth paste.
• In a large pot, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the asafetida, curry leaves and chopped onions. Saute for 3-4 minutes until the onions turn translucent.
• Add the ground paste and saute for a minute. Add all the remaining spices, salt, beans and water and mix.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes until the beans are cooked fully, but not mushy.
• Open the lid, add the chopped cilantro and mix well. Add more salt to taste if needed. If the gravy is too thick, add more water since it needs to be fairly runny.
• Serve hot with the toppings and soft dinner rolls.

Notes

• If using dried beans, soak 2 cups overnight in water, drain and sprout. The traditional recipe uses sprouted beans, but you can skip the sprouting process and simply use the soaked beans. You can also skip the soaking process and use dry beans, but increase the pressure cook time by 20 minutes.
• To make the gravy less spicy, omit the serrano peppers (or jalapenos). Kashmiri chilli powder is not very spicy and is a must, since it gives the gravy the deep red color.
• If you don’t have goda masala or garam masala, make your own by lightly toasting 1  tablespoon black peppercorns, 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, 1 tablespoon cloves, 8-10 cinnamon sticks, 2 teaspoons cardamom pods, cooling and grinding to a fine powder. Use a tablespoon of powder in the recipe and store the rest.