Kat Misal Pav Recipe
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Kat Misal Pav Recipe

By October 19, 2021

Kat Misal Pav is a famous snack of Maharashtra. Misal is a curry made with seasoned sprouted moth or matki beans that is garnished with some 'bhel' like toppings and eaten as a single dish of street food. This curry, without any toppings, is often served with roti as part of the main meal and is called 'matki chi usal' in Marathi. But when it is garnished with some chopped onions, tomatoes, green and sweet chutneys, and some chiwda/farsan snack, the dish is called 'Misal-Pav'. Sometimes 'misal' is topped with a very spicy decoction called 'Kat' that has a strong flavor of onion, garlic and Maharashtrian Kala or Goda Masala. However this spicy 'Kat' is only for spice-lovers and can be completely omitted  who like to eat it simple and non-spicy. Sprouted moth beans being extremely rich in proteins, are very healthy to eat (..and I guess this makes 'Misal' the only street food that is protein rich and healthy to eat if of course it is prepared in a hygienic way..:)) All the seasonings, the spices, and the garnishing added to this preparation make it a very delicious, mouth watering and a meal-equivalent tummy-filling recipe..:)

Ingredients

Instructions

For sprouted matki : (1 & 3/4 cups of Matki beans will make about 4 & 1/2 cups of sprouts)

  1. Soak matki or moth beans in water for 8-10 hours.
  2. Transfer to a colander let stay for 5 minutes till all the water is drained out.
  3. Spread the beans on a muslin cloth and let stay for 1/2 hr to 45 minutes turning them around couple of times in between. This is to air dry them so that they are no longer wet on the surface.
  4. Now wrap them completely with the same muslin cloth and keep in the colander. Let the colander now stay in sun or a warm place for 24 hours.
  5. After 24 hours the matki beans would get nicely sprouted. (During winter months, it might take a little longer to get the sprouts. In that case, unwrap the beans after 24 hours, wash them in gently in running water, spread to air-dry the surface and wrap again to keep in a warm place for 6-8 hours more to get the sprouts.)
  6. Unwrap and wash them again in running water and use them right away for making 'misal or spread on a towel to air dry them fully and then store them in the refrigerator.
  7. These sprouted beans can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

 

For Usal :

  1. Add some raw peanuts to the sprouted beans and then add water, enough to cover all the sprouted beans.
  2. Keep in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Turn off the gas after 1 whistle and allow the pressure cooker to cool before opening to remove the matki.
  3. Heat oil in a pot and add mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add asafoetida (hing), and turmeric powder. Pour the cooked moth/matki and mix.
  4. Add the crushed garlic and green chilies, salt and mix again.
  5. Add Kala/Goda Masala, jaggery, and cumin powder.
  6. Add little more water if needed to get the desired consistency.
  7. Bring to boil.
  8. Garnish with finely chopped coriander. This preparation is called Matki/Moth Usal that can be eaten with chapati or rice.

For 'Kat' :

  1. Heat oil and add the onion and garlic paste.
  2. Add the red chili powder and kala/goda masala and stir fry till it is brown and gets nicely roasted.
  3. Add 2 cups of water, tomato puree (or tamarind pulp) and salt.
  4. Bring it to boil and continue to boil for 2-3 minutes before turning off the gas.

For Misal (quantities of all the toppings can be adjusted to suit your taste) :

  1. To a serving bowl, first add about 1 tbsp farsan/ chiwda.
  2. Then add the 'usal'.  Now add some finely chopped onion and some finely chopped tomatoes.
  3. Spread some sweet chutney and some green chutney.
  4. Add the spicy 'kat'(Optional).
  5. Lastly garnish with some more chiwda / farsan and thin sev and serve immediately.

For serving misal pav -

Cut the pav (bread bun) horizontally into halves. Spread some butter  (optional) and heat on a hot griddle till golden brown on both sides and serve with hot 'misal.