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misal recipe | spicy Kolhapuri misal | how to make Maharashtrian misal

Tarla Dalal
06 December, 2024


Table of Content
About Misal
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Ingredients
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Methods
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Like Misal
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For cooking safed vatana
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How to make misal
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Assemble misal pav
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Mumbai roadside Misal Pav
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Tips for misal
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Nutrient values
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misal recipe | spicy Kolhapuri misal | how to make Maharashtrian misal | with 43 amazing images.
misal recipe | spicy Kolhapuri misal | how to make Maharashtrian misal is a traditional recipe made very commonly in Maharashtrian households. Learn how to make spicy Kolhapuri misal.
To make misal, combine the safed vatana, soda, salt and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker, mix well and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid. Keep the safed vatana and the water aside. Do not drain. Heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds. Add the onions, ginger paste and garlic paste and sauté on a medium flame for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds powder, chilli powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, garam masala, goda masala and 1 tbsp of water, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 3 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Add the cooked safed vatana with its water, salt, and 1 more cup of water, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Just before serving pour ¼ of the misal in a serving bowl, sprinkle 2 tbsp of mixed farsan, 2 tbsp of onions and 1 tbsp of coriander evenly over it. Repeat step 7 to make 3 more servings. Serve immediately with laddi pavs and lemon wedges.
One of the best-ever favourite recipes served by Mumbai’s roadside eateries, misal can even be considered a trademark dish of the city’s food scene! It is nice and spicy, and delivers the perfect pick-me-up effect. We have used only safed vatana here, as done by most eateries in Mumbai, but if you wish you can use mixed sprouts too.
The cooked vatana is combined with a tongue-tickling gravy of tomatoes, onions and spice powders like garam masala and goda masala, and a topping of assorted savouries to give it an exciting crunch to spicy Kolhapuri misal.
Served with laddi pav, Maharashtrian misal can be enjoyed for breakfast, dinner or as a snack at any time of the day. You can also try other misal and usal recipes like Moong Dahi Misal, Farali Misal, Malvani Vatana Usal and Sprouted Vaal ki Usal.
Tips for misal. 1. The vatana has to be soaked overnight. So plan for it in advance. 2. Garam masala and goda masala can be made at home to get an authentic flavour. 3. We have used a blend of Kashmiri chilli powder and chilli powder. Kashmiri chilli powder lends a nice red colour to the misal. But if you don’t have Kashmiri chilli powder, you can substitute it with chilli powder. 4. You can make the misal in advance, but assemble it just before serving.
Enjoy misal recipe | spicy Kolhapuri misal | how to make Maharashtrian misal | with step by step photos.
Misal recipe - How to make Misal
Tags
Preparation Time
10 Mins
Cooking Time
33 Mins
Total Time
43 Mins
Makes
4 plates
Ingredients
For Misal
2 cups soaked safed vatana (dried white peas)
a pinch baking soda
salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp ginger (adrak) paste
1 tsp garlic (lehsun) paste
3/4 cup finely chopped tomato
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp coriander (dhania) powder
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera) powder
1 tbsp chilli powder
1/2 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp goda masala
1/4 cup finely chopped coriander (dhania)
salt to taste
For The Topping
8 tbsp mixed farsan
8 tbsp finely chopped onion
4 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
For Serving With Misal
8 ladi pav
Method
For misal
- To make the misal, combine the safed vatana, soda, salt and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker, mix well and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
- Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid. Keep the safed vatana and the water aside. Do not drain.
- Heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
- Add the onions, ginger paste and garlic paste and sauté on a medium flame for 3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds powder, chilli powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, garam masala, goda masala and 1 tbsp of water, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 3 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
- Add the cooked safed vatana with its water, salt, and 1 more cup of water, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
- Just before serving pour ¼ of the misal in a serving bowl, sprinkle 2 tbsp of mixed farsan, 2 tbsp of onions and 1 tbsp of coriander evenly over it.
- Repeat step 7 to make 3 more servings.
- Serve the misal immediately with laddi pavs and lemon wedges.
misal recipe | spicy Kolhapuri misal | Mumbai Misal | how to make Maharashtrian misal | Video by Tarla Dalal
Misal recipe with step by step photos
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- To prepare Mumbai roadside misal pav, wash the white peas very well.
- Submerge ¾ cup of dried white peas in enough water. You can make use of green peas alternatively or a mix of legumes like moong, matki, chawli, chana. There are several ways to make misal. Many people even add boiled potatoes or curd and use mixed sprouts for the misal recipe. You can check out this recipe Misal Pav of made using mixed pulses in a pressure cooker.
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Cover them with a lid and soak them overnight.
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For preparing the misal, drain the peas using a strainer and discard the water. After soaking, the peas will look like this.
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Put the soaked and drained peas in a pressure cooker.
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Add a little soda to give them a soft texture.
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Add approximately 2 cups of water.
- Mix well and pressure cook for 3 whistles or until the peas are soft. It is very important for the peas to be soft or else there will be indigestion and stomach issues.
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Allow all the steam to escape before opening the lid. This is called the natural release method and is done by removing the pressure cooker from the hot burner and let the pressure drop by cooling down naturally.
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This is how it looks after cooking. Keep the safed vatana and the water aside. Do not drain.
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- To prepare misal, measure and assemble all the ingredients required for misal.
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Start making the misal by heating the oil in a deep non-stick pan. To make an authentic misal pav, add more oil and cook till oil floats on top.
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Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds.
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Add mustard seeds.
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Add asafoetida.
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Add curry leaves and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
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Add onions.
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Add ginger paste. For this particular misal recipe, we would suggest you to freshly pound the ginger and garlic.
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Add garlic paste and sauté on a medium flame for 3 minutes or until the onions are translucent and the ginger-garlic doesn’t have a raw aroma.
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Add tomatoes.
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Add turmeric powder.
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Add coriander powder and cumin seeds powder.
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Add chilli powder and kashmiri red chilli powder. While regular chilli powder imparts the spice, kashmiri red chilli powder helps in achieving that bright red coloured tari. Add more or less as per your preference.
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Add garam masala. I have used Punjabi Garam Masala for this misal recipe.
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Add goda masala. Check out this recipe with detailed step by step photos to learn aromatic.
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Add 1 tbsp of water. This will prevent the masalas from burning and sticking to the pan.
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Mix well and cook on a medium flame for 3 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
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Add the cooked safed vatana with its water.
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Add salt and 1 more cup of water.
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Mix well and cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Our misal pav is ready. Sprouts Misal, Farali Misal, Moong Dahi Misal are some other versions of misal from our website which you might love to try.
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Just before serving the misal pav, pour ¼ of the misal in a serving bowl.
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Sprinkle 2 tbsp of mixed farsan evenly over it. We do not put it prior as it will not become soggy and lose it’s crunch.
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Sprinkle 2 tbsp of onions evenly over it.
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Garnish with 1 tbsp of coriander.
- Repeat step 1 to 4 and make 3 more servings of misal.
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Serve misal immediately with ladi pavs and lemon wedges. I usually make whole wheat ladi pav to serve along with Maharashtrian misal pav, but you can also serve regular ladi pav with misal. You can relish it for breakfast, lunch or brunch.
- Many restaurants or roadside stall even serve a rassa/ tarry/kat along with misal pav. This is nothing but a spicy liquid from the misal only. To make some as a side-dish, simply add more water and spices the misal recipe and scoop out the liquid.
- Other Mumbai street side recipes you may like are: Sabudana Vada, Spring Dosa, Sada Uttapa.
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Just before serving the misal pav, pour ¼ of the misal in a serving bowl.
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We are showing you how Mumbai roadside Misal Pav is packed and looked. As in 2019, the cost of Misal pav is Rs 50. Misal costs Rs 10 and Rs 10 for the 2 single ladi pav.
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The Mumbai roadside Misal Pav constists of 4 items of which 3 items are packed in small plastic bags. The ladi pav, onions and cut lemon, usal and the toppings which are sev, ghatiya and papadi
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This is how the Mumbai roadside usal looks.
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This is how the Mumbai roadside misal looks with the topping of sev and gathiya.
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This is how the Mumbai roadside misal looks with usal, sev, gathiya, chopped onions and sliced lime.
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This is how the Mumbai roadside misal looks with usal, sev, gathiya, chopped onions and sliced lime and ladi pav. See recipe to make ladi pav.
- We are showing you how Mumbai roadside Misal Pav is packed and looked. The Mumbai roadside Misal Pav comes backed in a brown paper bag.
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We are showing you how Mumbai roadside Misal Pav is packed and looked. As in 2019, the cost of Misal pav is Rs 50. Misal costs Rs 10 and Rs 10 for the 2 single ladi pav.
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The vatana has to be soaked overnight. So plan for it in advance.
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Garam masala and goda masala can be made at home to get an authentic flavour.
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We have used a blend of Kashmiri chilli powder and chilli powder. Kashmiri chilli powder lends a nice red colour to the misal. But if you don’t have Kashmiri chilli powder, you can substitute it with chilli powder.
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You can make the misal in advance, but assemble it just before serving.
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The vatana has to be soaked overnight. So plan for it in advance.
Nutrient values (Abbrv)per plate
Energy | 379 cal |
Protein | 12.4 g |
Carbohydrates | 38.7 g |
Fiber | 5.4 g |
Fat | 19.4 g |
Cholesterol | 0 mg |
Sodium | 28.8 mg |
Click here to view Calories for Misal
The Nutrient info is complete

Muskan
March 13, 2025, midnight
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Foodie #606549
March 13, 2025, midnight

Janvi K
March 13, 2025, midnight
WOW! Misal is my favorite streetfood and I always wondered how they made. Thank you so much for the this. It tastes very yummy!

Foodie #679283
March 13, 2025, midnight
Tastes good. Liked it.