Misal Pav for SNC

Misal Pav is yet another scrumptious street food from Maharashtra. Around my place, here in South India, Pav Bhaji is very famous and this Misal pav is hardly seen in the Chaat corners.I got a chance to make this at home as a part of the South Vs North Challenge..

South Vs North Challenge or SNC is a fun cooking group started by Divya . In this group the members are divided into the North or South team based on where they hail from. The members of the South team challenges the North team with authentic South Indian dishes and vice versa. So we get to learn and create a lot of authentic dishes from the other half of the country whose cuisine we may not be familiar with…

This month’s challenge for the South Team was put forward by Meena of Random Ramblings. Though I have a few versions bookmarked earlier,I found this one very easy and sounded yum too.So it is Meena’s version that I have prepared and posted here. We had it for dinner last night and all of us enjoyed it. The reason I say ‘ enjoyed’ is that we prefer a regular South Indian dinner and chaats like this are meant for weekend tea time snacks and this is the first time we had a chaat for a meal time! With the pav buns and the peas gravy, it was a very filling meal.

Dried white peas are used in this recipe and if it is not available I guess dried green peas / moth beans can be used .Using the authentic ingredients does give the authentic taste and hence it is better not to look for substitutes.

Through Meena’s post, I learnt that usal and misal are the almost the same. Usal is the peas gravy and misal is the same peas gravy with a garnish of cruncies called mixed farsan that add an extra zing and flavor to the gravy.I learnt through Tarla Dalal’s site that Mixed Farsan is a mixture of roasted / fried ingredients like rice flakes, papdi / fried gram discs, cornflakes, peanuts,dried fruits with salt and spices.

 Here is how we prepare this delicious chaat….

I used:

Dried White peas – 100 grams


For the gravy

Tomatoes- 2 chopped
Onion- 1 , chopped
Green chillies- 2
Garlic- 3 large pods, chopped
Ginger – 1″ piece
Coconut – 3 tablespoons, grated
Oil – 1 teaspoon

Masala powders :

Turmeric powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder- 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder- 1 teaspoon
Amchoor powder – 3/4 teaspoon
Garam masala – 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste
Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
Oil -2 teaspoons

Coriander leaves to garnish
Finely chopped onions
Mixed Farsan

Pav Buns

1. Soak the white peas over night or 8 hours. Rinse out the water and pressure cook with enough water for 1 whistle or till just done. The peas must not get mushy. Keep aside with the water used to cook it.

 2.Now we are going to saute the ingredients for the gravy. Heat the oil  and put in the onion.

3.When the onion is soft add the ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute for a few minutes.

4.Put in the tomato and cook till soft.

5. Add the coconut and mix well. Remove from heat and let it cool on a plate. Grind to a fine paste adding a little water. Keep aside.

6. Now to make the gravy, heat oil and add the cumin seeds.

7.Add the ground paste and cook for a few minutes.

8. Add the masala powders and mix well.

9. Put in the cooked peas.

10. Add enough water to bring it to a gravy consistency and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Serve with toasted pav buns garnished with chopped onions, mixed farsan and coriander leaves.

The best part of this was the crunchiness of the mixed farsan and onion complimented the soft peas in the gravy. It was an absolute delight to savor the gravy!!!

And here is how I enjoyed my share of the Misal Pav…..

I poured a large ladle full of misal over pav buns that were toasted with butter and garnished it with lots of mixed farsan, a little onion pieces and coriander leaves. Loved to eat it with a spoon!!!

Bon Appetit…