Misal pav is a popular dish originating from Maharashtra. Street Food in Maharashtra has lots of recipes using pav like pao bhaji, vada pav, usal pav, ragda pattice and many more. The word ‘Misal’ here refers to the sprouts curry and ‘Pav’ are bread rolls. In Marathi language the word ‘misal’ means mixture (the final recipe is a mixture of lots of ingredients). Misal pav comprises of spicy moth beans sprout curry topped with fresh coriander, farsan (fried savoury mixture), served with a side of garlic curry, onions, and soft pav (Indian dinner rolls).
There are many variations of making misal pav in Maharashtra like the Kohlapuri Misal (it is the spiciest version of misal pav and served with a slice of bread), Puneri Misal(served with poha topped with sprouts curry and garlic curry), upwas misal ( prepared with potatoes), dahi misal (yogurt is used to make the curry mild), nasik misal (served with pappad) and many more regional variations. The common ingredient is the use of the sprouted moth bean that is used to make the curry. If you don’t have sprouted moth beans, then it can be made with any other sprouted beans.
This is one of my favourite dishes! Growing up in Mumbai, I have had misal pav in many places (some bad and some good experience). My mum would make misal pav at home often as not only is it a delicious recipe but also because sprouted beans are very high in nutrition and my mum found it a perfect way to feed us sprouts.
In this recipe I have used homemade moth bean sprouts. If you want to know how to sprout moth beans or mung beans, then you can check the sprouted moth chaat recipe.
Misal pav can be served for breakfast, snack or brunch.
