Why this recipe works
The heart of misal is usal, a curry of sprouted beans (moong or matki), and that is genuinely good for you: sprouting boosts the beans’ protein and vitamin C, cuts the compounds that cause gas, and makes them easier to digest. A spicy kat gravy and a squeeze of lemon lift it. The crunchy farsan on top and the pav are the street-food flourish.
Ingredients
- Sprouted moong or matki2 cups
- Misal / goda masala2 tbsp
- Onion, tomato, ginger-garlic1 + 1 + 2 tbsp
- Tamarind or kokum1 tbsp
- Farsan (sev/mixture), pavto top + 4
- Lemon, coriander, oil, saltto taste
Method
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1
Cook the sprouts with ginger-garlic, onion, tomato and misal masala into a spiced usal.
Why sprouted: sprouting the beans raises their protein and vitamin C and lowers the gas-forming sugars, so the base is both more nutritious and easier to digest than plain beans.
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2
Make a thin, spicy kat gravy from the masala and a little of the usal stock.
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3
Assemble: usal in a bowl, spicy kat poured over, then farsan, chopped onion, coriander and lemon.
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4
For a better everyday version, go easy on the farsan and use a whole-wheat pav.
A better version: the fried farsan and refined pav are the heavy part, so less farsan and a whole-wheat pav keep the protein-rich usal as the star.
An honest word
Misal is a case of a brilliant, nutritious base with an indulgent topping. The sprouted-bean usal is high in protein and fibre and genuinely healthy; the fried farsan and white pav are the treat part. Eat it with a lighter hand on the farsan, or a whole-wheat pav, and it becomes a properly good high-protein meal rather than just a spicy indulgence. It can also be very spicy and oily out, so home is where you control it.