Family Recipe: Misal Pav - Bread soaked in spicy curry, Need I say more!

Image Source: Ajay Awtaney's Flickr Photostream

Misal Pav is a common man's lunch in Mumbai. We are addicted to it just because of its a simple yet flavorful meal. It is basically eaten by breaking morsels of bread, dipping it in the curry (usal) and grabbing as many lentils and fried snacks as possible before stuffing it all into your mouth. This one's a family recipe and has been tweaked to suit our tastes. Messy eaters, grab an apron!

Ingredients

1. Laadi Pav/Bread rolls - 3 rolls per person
2. Dried green peas - 1 cup per person
3. Potatoes - 1/2 potato per person
4. Water, to boil - 2 cups per cup of peas, per potato 
5. Oil - 1 teaspoon per person
6. Garlic paste - 2 teaspoons per person
7. Onion - 1/2 onion per 1 person
8. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon per person
9. Ground coriander seeds (Dhania) - 1/2 teaspoon per person
10. Ground cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 teaspoon per person
11. Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon per person
12. Salt - 1 teaspoon per person
13. Grated coconut- 1 teaspoon per person
14. Fried snack mix (preferably containing Paapri, Tikha Gaathiya, Ratlami sev) - 1 cup per person
15. Cilantro - 1 teaspoon of cilantro leaves per person
16. Lemon juice - 2 teaspoons per person

Making the Usal

1. Boil the peeled potatoes in a microwave or an electric cooker. Cut them into medium sized cubes. Do not drain the water off.
2. Boil the dried peas in an electric cooker. Use 1 cup of water per cup of peas. Do not drain the water off. Add the boiled potatoes along with its water.
3. Dice the onion
4. Heat oil in a pot. Add the diced onion. Saute till the onions are transparent.
5. Add the garlic paste, red chilli, coriander, cumin, garam masala, salt and grated coconut. Mix well for a 2 minutes. The usal mix is ready.
6. Add the boiled peas, diced potatoes and their water into the usal mix. Boil until the peas get easily mashed when pressed against the wall of the pot. Add water if necessary. Target having a watery-soup consistency. It should take about 10 minutes. The usal is now ready.

Transforming the usal into a misal

1. Take a bowlful of the usal. Add 2 spoons of the fried snack mix.
2. Add a few drops of lemon juice.
3. Garnish with cilantro.  The usal is now a misal.

How to relish the Misal

1. Tear off a morsel of the bread roll. Dip in, grab all you can and relish the spicy, garlicky flavor.
2. If the misal is too spicy for you, add some plain yoghurt to the mix.

Recommendations

Once you have the recipe tailored to your taste, experiment with different lentil mixes. Black-eyed peas and black gram are great options. Also, instead of using boiled potatoes, you can make a "Sukhi Aloo Bhaaji" similar to the stuffing that goes into a masala dosa or a batata wada. You can then top your bowl of usal with the potato bhaaji when you are ready to eat it. 

Misal places we love: Mamledaar Misal (Thane), Prakash (Shivaji Park, Mumbai), Swati Snacks (Tardeo, Mumbai), Popular (Ghatkopar, Mumbai)

More about Misal