I grew up in Mumbai (Maharashtra, India). Being Marathi Mulgi (Desi Girl), I love Mumbai street food which originates from different parts of the state . Be it Batata vada, Pav Bhaji, Dabeli or misal pav; Mumbai street food can never disappoint you. Misal Pav is a famous street food of Maharashtra. I think the word came from Mixture+Usal = Misal. Usal is a semi-dry curry of sprouted or non–sprouted pulses. Mixture or Farsan is a combination of dry salty and spicy snacks.

You can find the Usal recipes here:

• Matki Usal
• Moong Usal

Misal has various components all of which have their own importance. It contains usal, rassa, tari, mixture, onions and lemon. It’s a one pot dish which can be served for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner.

Rassa/Kat is a thin gravy made with onions and tomatoes and misal masala. The spice level can be adjusted to suit one’s taste buds. To assemble misal, take a spoonful of usal in a bowl. Add rassa and tarri. Top it with mixture, chopped onions and lemon. Serve hot and delicious Misal with pav (bread). It may seem unhealthy due to the excess oil, chili powder and spices but trust me it’s absolutely flavorful and scrumptious.

This is my take on famous Misal Pav. Hope you like it.

Step by Step Recipe of Misal Pav:

Below is the step by step recipe of making Misal Masala, tarri and assembling Misal Pav.

To make Misal Masala:

• Dry roast below spices on a medium flame:
  • 12-15 black peppers, 8-10 cloves, 1 piece cinnamon, 10-12 dry red chilies, 2 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 tsp shahjeera
• Once cooled, transfer them to a grinder jar and grind to a fine powder.
• I use this masala while making Rassa/Kat. Any ready made misal masala can also be used. (I don’t add dry coconut but it’s usually added in store-bought spice-mix.)

To make Usal:

• The first step is to sprout moth beans and prepare usal. You can find the recipe of Matki Usal here – Matki Usal.
• Any sprouted beans curry can be used as a base for Misal such as moong usal, vatana usal or mixed pulses usal.
• Once usal is ready, we need following to make Misal.

To make Rassa/Kat:

• Heat oil in a kadhai. Add chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and saute.
• Add chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric, red chili powder and cook for 5 minutes.
• Switch off the gas and cool the mixture completely. Then transfer into a blender jar.

• Blend everything into a smooth paste.
• Now heat a tablespoon of oil in the same kadhai and add the puree.
• Cook until it starts to leave oil from the sides.

• Add misal masala and mix well. One can add more chili powder as well to increase the spiciness.
• Add water and bring it to a boil. Rassa/Kat is ready.

To make Tarri:

• Heat oil in a small pan. Once hot, add sugar and red chili powder.
• Switch off the gas and add water. Tarri is ready.

To assemble Misal Pav:

• In a bowl, add a spoonful of Usal of your choice.
• Pour Kat/rassa. Then add tarri as desired.
• Add farsan/mixture.
• Garnish with chopped onions, coriander leaves and lemon.
• Serve with pav.

Relish this absolutely flavorful and fierce misal pav 🙂 Let me know how did you like it in the comments below!

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