Kolhapuri Missal Pav

Missal Pav is one of my favourite Maharashtrian snacks as is vada pav, thalipeeth, sabudana wada, sabudana khichdi...ok ok I love Maharashtrian snacks :-).

I have had Missal Pav many times at restaurants and made it myself too, but I have never had nor made Kolhapuri Missal Pav. The difference I understand is the inclusion of kat or a spicy broth along with the entire dish. I had heard hubby talking about this, so this time I decided to do some research before making Missal Pav and the recipe I followed is an amalgamation of two recipes I found on the blogosphere. What I found however was that the recipes were very long winded and a bit complicated, I have tried to keep it as straightforward as possible.

Missal when made with sprouted matki or moth beans has a distinct taste and is the most preferred sprouts for Missal. You can also use mixed sprouts.

Ingredients

Spice Mixture

½ tsp oil,

6 cloves,

8-10 peppercorns,

1 inch of cinnamon,

1 tbsp cumin seeds,

½ tsp sesame seeds,

1 tbsp coriander seeds,

¼ tsp fennel seeds,

3-4 garlic cloves,

1 inch piece of ginger,

1 bay leaf

For the Kat or Spicy Broth

 2 tomatoes,

1 small onion,

4 Kashmiri chillies,

A small piece of tamarind or 3-4 kokums,

2 tbsp well roasted dry coconut,

3 tbsps oil,

2 tbsp spice mixture,

½ tsp garam masala powder,

1 tsp spicy chilli powder,

½ tsp powdered turmeric,

1 tsp jaggery,

Salt to taste

For the Sprouts

4 cups of sprouted matki or moth beans (you can use any sprouts too),

2 tsps oil,

1 tsp mustard seeds,

1 tsp cumin seeds,

A pinch of asafoetida,

7-8 curry leaves,

½ tsp powdered turmeric,

Salt to taste,

1 tsp red chilli powder

For Assembling

1 big chopped onion,

2-3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves,

Lemon wedges,

Spicy farsan/namkeen,

Spicy peanuts

To Serve

Pav or Soft Non-sweet Buns

Method

To Make the Spice Mixture

Heat the oil and add the sliced ginger and garlic and fry on a low heat till brown in colour. Remove and keep aside. In the remaining oil add all the other ingredients and fry till they all turn light brown and the cloves swell up. Cool and powder all these fried ingredients to a powder.

As this mixture contains some wet ingredients like the ginger and garlic, you will not be able to make it into a very fine powder and that is ok.

To Make the Kat or Spicy Broth

Grind the tomatoes, onion, red chillies, tamarind/kokum and the roasted dry coconut into a fine paste.

Heat the oil and add this paste and fry till the oil separates. Now add the spice mixture, garam masala powder, chilli powder, turmeric, jaggery, salt and 3 cups of water.

Boil this for 3-4 minutes. Keep aside

To Make the Sprouts Mixture

Cook the sprouts with salt and enough water till almost done.

Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they stop popping add the asafoetida, curry leaves, turmeric powder and chilli powder. After a minute add the salt and cooked sprouts. Saute for a minute.

Next add about 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil. Lower heat, cover with a lid and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

To Serve

Pour a ladle full of sprouts mixture into a serving dish. Top with the onions, coriander leaves, spicy farsan and spicy peanuts.

Serve this with a small serving of kat or spicy broth and pav.