Makes: 6-8
Ingredients:
- Moth beans/Mat bean/Matki – 6 cups, soaked, sprouted and boiled with a teaspoon of salt until almost done. Save the water from cooking the sprouts for later.
- Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
- Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon
- Hing – a pinch
- Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon
- Red chilli powder – 1 tablespoon
- Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
- Jaggery powder/sugar – 1 teaspoon
- Onion -1 chopped fine
- Salt to taste
- Tamarind – Cherry-sized ball soaked in water
- Oil – 2 tablespoons
- Coriander leaves for garnish
- Onion – 2-3 chopped fine for garnish
- Boiled mashed potato – 1
- Lime wedges
- Farsan/spicy crisps to garnish
- Pav as required
Ingredients to roast and grind to a fine paste:
- Grated coconut – ¼ cup
- Onion – 1 small, sliced thin
- Garlic cloves – 5
- Ginger – 1″
- Cinnamon stick – ½”
- Coriander seeds – 2 tablespoons
- Sesame seeds – 1 teaspoon
- Poppy seeds – 1 teaspoon
- Star anise – 1 petal
- Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
- Pepper corns – 1 teaspoon
- Cloves – 2
- Mace – 1 blade
- Bay leaf – 1
- Tomato – 1 chopped small
- Hing – a pinch or two
- Roughly chopped coriander leaves – 1 tablespoon
Method:
- First make the masala for the Misal.
- Begin by roasting the coconut until brown, add in the cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, star anise, cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves, mace and bay leaf. Fry everything well, stirring all the while, until fragrant.
- Next add the tomato, hing, coriander leaves and fry until the tomato bits turn squishy.
- Cool the roasted spices and coconut and then grind it with the tamarind to a fine paste. Set aside for later.
- On low flame, heat a large, heavy-bottomed casserole with a lid. Add oil followed by mustard, let it pop, and then add cumin seeds, hing, finely chopped onion. Stir around and fry for a minute or so, then add in the coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder. Fry until fragrant.
- Slide in the roasted ground masala paste and continue frying until it turns a deep brown.
- Next add the sprouts, mix well and add in 4-5 cups of the water (use the water saved from cooking the sprouts). Turn up the heat to maximum and bring the sprouts curry to a boil.
- Turn down the heat, stir in the boiled mashed potato and cook covered for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Serve Misal in bowls with farsan/spicy crisps, finely chopped raw onion, chopped coriander leaves, topped with a generous squirt of lime and pav on the side, for a tangy spicy misal pav.
