Misal Pav (Street food)

Another  tried and tested recipe of the weekend. We had it for dinner with some cozy dinner rolls. It surely is a comfort food. Even though I am from India, I had never had it earlier nor heard of it. While reading an article recently, I happened to come across this and then after some research on it, I made it at home. It surely was a protein bombshell and I was pleased that my little one also loved it.

You might think this is just a street food dish, with a lot of noticeable protein source. Potatoes itself contain a reasonable amount of starch but the protein superstar here is the bean sprouts. Two handfuls of bean sprouts wilt down to maybe a cup or so after pressure cooking, but it packs a serious punch of protein along with an abundance of  vitamins and nutrients .All that in one serving!

The final Misal Pav

INGREDIENTS:

For the sprouts curry:

3 cups moth mean sprouts or bean sprouts or green gram sprouts 

2 small to medium potatoes, cubed

1 large or medium onion, finely chopped

1 or 2 green chilies, chopped

3 to 4 garlic/lahsun + 1 inch ginger/adrak - crushed in a mortar-pestle to a fine paste

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

10 to 12 curry leaves

1 to 1.5 tbsp goda masala

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chili powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1.5 tsp seedless tamarind soaked in 1/2 cup water

¾ to 1 cup water or as required

3 tbsp oil

A pinch of black salt

Salt as required

 

Dried Moth bean

For Serving:

8 to 10 dinner rolls or bread buns or bread slices

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped tomatoes (optional)

1 cup thick snack mixture

1 lemon, quartered or diced

⅓ cup coriander leaves

 

HOW TO MAKE:

 

For the Bean sprouts curry:

1) Pressure cook the sprouts, cubed potatoes, ¼ tsp turmeric powder, salt for 2 to 3 whistles only.


Moth Bean sprouts


2) Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Then add the chopped onions and the curry leaves and sauté till onion is translucent.

3) Add the ginger-garlic paste and the green chillies. Saute for a minute.

4) Add the remaining ¼ tsp turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder and goda masala. If you do not have goda masala, you can replace it with garam masala.

5) Add the tamarind water and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

6) Add the sprouts and the potatoes, salt and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes . Garnish with coriander leaves.
 

Serving the Misal Pav:

1)  Finely chop the onions and tomatoes.

2) Take the steaming usal in 4 to 5 bowls and in each bowl of usal, first add the chopped onions and tomatoes. Then top usal with chopped coriander leaves. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice. Then top it with the snack mixture.

3) Serve the misal bowl in a plate with pav buns and slices of lemon, chopped onion and mixture.