Mouthwatering Misal !

Friday evenings at our house have long been designated the ‘snacks for dinner’ evenings. When the children were little, they called it Family time Fridays….yes no surprise there…. our family always bonds over food 🙂  With the wide array of mouth watering, tantalizing and tempting snacks from around the world to choose from, making the snacks our main course, made sense.  Just in India alone, the different states have their own special tea time and tiffin snacks, and the aroma drifting from the street food carts tempt your taste buds at every city corner.

One such dish is the Misal in the state of Maharashtra. The word Misal literally means mixture. There are many versions of Misal, like the super hot and spicy Kolhapuri Misal paav and the milder Puneri Misal. No matter which version you make, it is a great party dish where guests can help themselves to the toppings.

I have stuck to a recipe that my family has enjoyed over the years and one that was the simplest for me to make. I make the Misal in a pressure pan or an Instant Pot, where the pulses cook with all the spices, incorporating their flavors.

This Misal is  a scrumptious mixture where the hot and deliciously spiced sprouted pulses are combined with the cool coconut, tomatoes and onion and the crunchy toppings like chivda and sev. I use the Kashmiri or Bedgi red chili powder for this to give it a red hot color, without it being insanely spicy hot. Traditionally Misal is served with bread to soak up the ‘kut’ or the sauce but we did not care much for the bread with our Misal …..hmmm makes me think…..maybe we just slurped our misal at fun family times 🙂

On the plus side, I got the children and my husband to eat sprouted pulses which they normally refrain from! A variety of dried pulses like Moath/matki, black eye peas, white peas etc.. are soaked and sprouted for Misal. The sprinkling of chivda adds the crunch and the diced onion, tomatoes, cilantro, coconut and yogurt add layers of flavors and textures.

Ingredients-

• 1 cup sprouted moath/matki (1/2 cup dry matki)
• ½ cup sprouted red chori /small red kidney beans ( ¼ cup dry chori)
• ½ cup white peas (¼ cup dried white peas)
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
• 7~8 fresh curry leaves
• ¾ teaspoon black mustard seeds
• ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida/hing
• 1½ teaspoons Kashmiri or Bedgi red chili powder, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 3½ cups water
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup tamarind pulp
• 1½ tablespoons jaggery
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder
• 1½ teaspoons roasted coriander seed powder
• 1 teaspoon kala/goda masala such as KPra or Bedekar brand

Toppings-

• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 cup boiled and peeled potatoes, cubed
• a handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
• 3/4 cup of grated coconut
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• Thin sev
• Chivda
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts

To make the Misal-

1. Soaking the dried beans and peas- Pick, wash and soak the moath/matki, chori and white peas for 6 to 8 hours. Drain, cover with a cheesecloth and let it sprout. I usually soak it in the morning, drain it at night and let it sprout overnight in a warm, draft free place in the kitchen, especially during the winter time.
2. Heat the oil in a pressure pan. Turn heat to low, add the garlic, curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, chili powder and  turmeric powder/haldi and stir until the mustard seeds sputter, the garlic is roasted and the hing and chili powder have bloomed, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the sprouted beans and peas. Stir.
4. Add the water and salt. Close the lid of the pressure pan and raise the heat of the stove to high.
5. The pressure pan cooker timing is one whistle plus 5 minutes on low.
6. After opening the lid, add the tamarind pulp and jaggery, stir, and add the cumin and coriander seed powders and the goda masala.
7. Let the Mouthwatering Misal  simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Check for salt and serve with the toppings!

Instant Pot Method- 

1. Soaking the dried beans and peas- Pick, wash and soak the moath/matki, chori and white peas for 6 to 8 hours. Drain, cover with a cheesecloth and let it sprout. I usually soak it in the morning, drain it at night and let it sprout overnight in a warm, draft free place in the kitchen, especially during the winter time.
2. Turn on the IP in saute mode. Turn the heat to low with the adjust button and add the oil, garlic, curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, chili powder and  turmeric powder/haldi and stir until the mustard seeds sputter, the garlic is roasted and the hing and chili powder have bloomed, about 1 minute.
3. Add the sprouted beans and peas. Stir.
4. Add the water and salt. Stir and close the IP with the float Valve set in pressure mode, and set it to ‘Beans’  setting.
5. After the natural pressure release, open the lid, add the tamarind pulp and jaggery, stir, and add the cumin and coriander seed powders and the goda masala.
6. Let the Mouthwatering Misal  simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Check for salt and serve with the toppings!

This is a perfect party dish, made super easy by  Instant Pot!

Enjoy the weekend!

Love,

❤

Sandhya