Misal Pav

Eight in the morning in Nashik and the misal shop is full of people who are about to go to work. The bowl arrives with the usal at the bottom, and then the kat is poured over at the table from a separate vessel, thin and blazing red, with a clear layer of oil sitting on the surface. A fistful of farsan goes on, raw onion, coriander, a lemon wedge. You have about four minutes before the farsan goes soft, so nobody talks much.

The kat is where the oil and the chilli have nowhere to hide. Wooden cold pressed groundnut oil, or wooden cold pressed safflower oil, the old Maharashtrian kardai tel, both take the hard heat the tarri needs and stay clean, and that is what gives you the ruby layer floating on top instead of a cloudy scum. Our Stone Ground Red Chilli Powder is ground slowly on stone so it holds its colour and smell rather than turning into dusty heat. A spoon of Organic Jaggery in the usal takes the edge off the tamarind.

The one thing that decides misal is the sprouts. Matki needs tails about half a centimetre long, then cooking until soft but still whole. Under-sprouted matki tastes raw and heavy right through the bowl, and no amount of good masala on top will save it.

How to make it

1. Pressure cook the sprouted matki with the potato cubes, turmeric, 1 tsp salt and 3 cups water for 2 to 3 whistles, about 10 minutes. The sprouts should be soft but still whole. Keep aside without draining.
2. Heat 2 tbsp groundnut oil in a kadhai. Fry the sliced dry coconut on medium for 3 minutes till deep brown, then add half the chopped onion and the garlic and ginger. Fry 6 to 7 minutes till the onion is properly browned, not just soft. This browning is the backbone of the flavour.
3. Cool it and grind with a splash of water into a smooth dark paste. Set half of it aside for the kat.
4. For the usal, heat 2 tbsp oil in a pot. Crackle the mustard and cumin, add curry leaves and hing, then the rest of the chopped onion. Fry 5 minutes. Add half the ground paste, 1 tbsp chilli powder, the goda masala and a little water, and cook 5 to 6 minutes till the oil separates at the edges.
5. Tip in the cooked matki with all its water, plus the tamarind, jaggery and salt. Add 1 cup hot water. Simmer uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes. Keep it loose, not thick.
6. Now the kat. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp groundnut oil in a small pan till it just shimmers. Switch off the flame, wait 10 seconds, then stir in the remaining 1 tbsp chilli powder. Off the flame, or it burns and turns bitter.
7. Put the pan back on low. Add the reserved ground paste, fry 2 minutes, then pour in 2 cups hot water and ½ tsp salt. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes. The kat should be thin, and a clear red oil layer should rise to the top.
8. Toast the split pav on a tawa with butter till the cut faces are crisp and golden.
9. Build each plate: a ladle of usal in a bowl, a ladle of kat poured over so the red oil sits on the surface, a big handful of farsan, raw onion, coriander and a lemon wedge. Serve at once with pav, before the farsan goes soft.

Tips

• To sprout matki: soak overnight, drain, tie in a damp muslin cloth and leave in a warm dark corner for 10 to 12 hours. In winter it takes closer to 20 hours.
• Make ahead: the usal tastes better the next day. The kat is best made fresh, and takes only 15 minutes.
• Control the heat by the amount of kat you pour, not by cutting the chilli in the usal. That is exactly how misal stalls serve it, one ladle for a mild plate and three for a Kolhapuri one.
• Substitution: no goda masala? Use 1 tbsp garam masala with 1 tsp of ground roasted coriander and ½ tsp of ground sesame. It is not the same, but it is honest.
• If your kat tastes bitter, the chilli powder went into hot oil on a live flame. Always take the pan off the heat first, let it cool for ten seconds, then stir the chilli in.