Misal Pav - A Journey Through Maharashtra's Most Beloved Dish

August 11, 2020

Craving misal pav near you? Mejwaani in Edison, NJ serves authentic misal pav — a sprouted-bean usal under a fiery house-made tarri, heaped with farsan, onions, and lemon, with soft ladi pav on the side — for dine-in and takeout. But misal deserves its full story, so let us start in Maharashtra.

It’s raining outside. There is a slight chill in the air. Maybe you have just completed one of those treks in the areas around Shivaji Maharaj’s famous forts. You’re tired to the bone and absolutely famished. You enter a tiny shack-like structure. They have only one item on their menu and they serve it to you in stainless steel plates.

The air is rife with the spicy aroma of the food. You take your first bite and the fiery flavor explodes on your tongue, softened by the delicate texture of the pav.

Did that make you miss home? We understand you!

Misal Pav is not just a dish for Maharashtrians. It is a feeling, a feeling that evokes memories of instant comfort through the discomfort of a unique blend of spices.

What Really is Misal Pav?

Originally from Nashik, Misal Pav consists of Usal which is made from matki or moth beans, watane or dried peas and moong beans and Rassa or Tarri which is a thin gravy-like mixture. Usal and Tarri come together to form Misal which is then served with a garnishing of freshly chopped onions, sprigs of coriander, a slice of lemon and loads of farsan or chivda. This hot farsan adds the perfect element of crunch to the dish and completes it.

Served with ladi pav, to say Misal Pav is just spicy would be an injustice to this flavorful, heart-warming dish. The spice comes from the Tarri but it explodes into different flavors of different spices inside your mouth. And what’s more these spices also differ depending upon the area where your Misal Pav originates. You have the original, authentic Misal Pav from Nashik. Along with this, you have Puneri Misal, Kolhapuri Misal- all with very different flavor components.

As it travels from region to region, this dish adapts to the local taste buds and ingredients. The Tarri or Rassa in Nashik Misal is green or black while Puneri Misal has a reddish Tarri and the Tarri of Kolhapuri Misal is made from a special onion and garlic masala. The spice and flavor profiles of the three Misals also differ with Kolhapuri and Nashik Misal being very spicy and Puneri Misal being relatively less fiery in taste.

Misal Pav in Edison, NJ

At Mejwaani, our Misal Pav is built the way it should be. We start with an usal of mixed sprouts, ladle over our own tarri, and finish it with a generous heap of farsan, freshly chopped onions, a wedge of lemon, and chilies on the side for anyone who wants to push the heat further. It comes with soft ladi pav to scoop and soak up every last bit of that gravy. If you’re making a morning of it, it sits naturally alongside the rest of our Maharashtrian breakfast plates — Pithla Bhaakri, Thalipeeth with loni, or a Sabudana Khichdi. One bite of the tarri and most people are right back at that little roadside stall, which is exactly the point. Find it on our dine-in menu, or make the full Mumbai street-food run with our Vada Pav and Pav Bhaji.