Misal Pav

Misal Pav is a Maharashtrian chat. As a kid, I was always confused between Misal and Usal and like me many are still confused and would like to know the difference. Well, there is no significant difference in both of them. 'Usal' is a rasa (curry) made of dried peas or sprouted moth beans and an oil based layer called 'Kut' and 'Misal' is, Usal garnished with Farsan Mixture (Savoury Mix), Lemon wedges, Coriander, Chopped Onions and Tomatoes. Misal means 'Mixture' in Marathi language. There are different versions of Misal like Puneri Misal, Kolhapuri Misal and Bombay Misal.
Rainy season has set in Mumbai and the best break away destination during rains is Lonawala-Khandala. I had never missed stopping by at a roadside joint on Mumbai - Pune highway near manor, for their delicious misal pav.

Ingredients:
11/2 Cup of Dried Green Peas (Dried Marrow fat peas)
2 Chopped Onions
2 Chopped Tomatoes
1 Cup of Mix Farsan (Gathia and Peanut / London Mix / Bombay Mix)
1 Tablespoon of Ginger-Garlic paste
1 Tablespoon of Tamarind pulp
1/2 Cup of shredded dry coconut
1 Tablespoon of Jaggery powder
1 Tablespoon of Chilly Garlic Chutney
1 Teaspoon of Cumin seeds
1 Teaspoon of Coriander-Cumin powder
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon of Red Chilly powder
1 Teaspoon of Garam masala powder
3-4 Curry leaves
Pinch of soda-bi-carbonate
Lemon wedges
Chopped Coriander
Pav (Bun Bread)
Oil
Butter
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Soak dried green peas overnight or for 5-6 hours.
2. Take a pressure cooker, add oil and cumin seeds. Once cumin seeds starts spluttering add ginger-garlic paste and half portion of chopped Onions. Keep other half portion for garnishing. Saute Onions till they are transparent and light pink in colour.
3. Add half portion of chopped tomatoes, and keep aside other half for garnishing. Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander-cumin seed powder and curry leaves. Cook till oil starts leaving the side of the cooker.
4. Add soaked and drained dried green peas, salt, garam masala, jaggery powder, shredded coconut, soda-bi-carbonate and tamarind pulp, mix properly.
5. Add water and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
6. Once the usal is ready, garnish it with Farsan mix, one can get London mix or Bombay Mix which are easily available in all supermarkets or Indian Grocery stores.

7. Add chopped onions, tomatoes, lemon wedges and coriander on top.

7. On a hot griddle, add butter and toast pav.
8. Serve it with Pav.