Misal is a specialty dish of the Indian state of Maharashtra, its name literally translated to a mixture of everything, so the ingredients vary from cook to cook. However, a combination of these ingredients is the most common in a typical misal: curd, moth bean or pea curry, gravy, spiced potatoes, and garnishings such as onions, coriander, and tomatoes.
It is mandatory for a true misal to be spicy, while the base needs to be crunchy. Visually, it should look like a work of art, with lots of colors - typically red, brown, orange, and green. The earliest mention of the dish appeared around the early 20th century.
MOST ICONIC Misal
View morePav bhaji is a popular street snack originating from the Indian state of Maharashtra. It consists of a vegetable curry that is typically served with a soft bread roll known as pav. The dish was invented in the 1850s as a midnight meal by street vendors who prepared it with all the leftover vegetables from the day, which were then mashed and combined with spices and ghee butter.
Originally, it was a quick and easy meal for Mumbai's textile mill workers, but today it is a favorite street snack that is also served in some restaurants in Mumbai. There are a lot of varieties of the basic pav bhaji, with added cheese, paneer, mushrooms, plantains, and even dried fruits thrown in the flavorful curry mix.
MOST ICONIC Pav bhaji
View moreMisal pav is a traditional dish originating from Maharashtra. Its two main components are misal – a curry made with sprouted moth beans, usually topped with chivda, onions, chilis, and potatoes – and pav, bread rolls used to mop up the flavorful curry.
Misal pav can be served for breakfast, as a snack or a main dish. It is commonly found in roadside stalls, breakfast joints, and office canteens.
MOST ICONIC Misal pav
View moreUsal is a traditional dish originating from Maharashtra. The dish can be prepared with sprouted beans, dried beans, or lentils as the main ingredient, but in Maharashtra it's usually made with sprouted moth or matki beans. A combination of coriander seeds, sesame seeds, cloves, cardamom, coconut, cinnamon, bay leaves, and peppercorns is roasted until fragrant, and the combination is then added to sautéed onions, garlic, tomatoes, chili powder, and turmeric powder.
The sprouted beans are then added to the pot, and the mixture is cooked in water or coconut milk until tender, but not mushy. If desired, potatoes can be added to the dish for extra texture and flavor. Once done, usal is often garnished with coriander leaves, and the dish is typically served piping hot.
Malvani chicken is a traditional curry hailing from the Konkan area in Maharashtra. The dish is prepared with a combination of chicken pieces, lots of coconut, and a slew of herbs, spices and vegetables such as ginger-garlic paste, green chili peppers, coriander leaves, sesame and poppy seeds, dry red chili peppers, onions, fennel, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, mace, cardamom, black pepper, star anise, and bay leaves.
Once the aromatic sauce has thickened, the dish is usually garnished with coriander leaves, then served hot with rice, kombdi vade fried dumplings, or roti flatbread.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
This traditional Maharashtrian curry is made with a batter of gram flour, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and water, which is then cooked with a blend of spices, curry leaves, garlic paste, onions, and green chilis until it reaches the desired consistency.
Typical spices include mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and asafetida, which are tempered in oil before they are combined with the rest of the ingredients, and then stir-fried together. Pitla can optionally be enhanced with finely chopped vegetables such as spinach, fenugreek leaves, pigweed, or even tomatoes.
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