Misal Pav

Misal pav is a fiery curry of sprouted lentils topped with crunchy sev, onion and lime, eaten with a soft bread roll for scooping. It's Maharashtra's spicy breakfast, often eaten alongside pav bhaji at the same stalls, but the two are built on entirely different bases — misal pav on sprouted moth beans in a thin, chilli-hot gravy, pav bhaji on mashed vegetables cooked down thick.

What it really is

Moth beans, or sometimes moong, sprout for a day or two before cooking, then simmer in a thin, intensely spiced gravy built on a generous amount of red chilli — misal is genuinely one of the spicier everyday dishes in Maharashtrian cooking, and the heat is meant to be felt, not just present. It's served topped generously with crunchy sev, raw chopped onion, coriander and a squeeze of lime, with a soft bread roll alongside for scooping up the beans and gravy together, and sometimes a spoonful of curd stirred in to cut the heat.

The sprouted beans, not mashed vegetables, are what separates misal pav from pav bhaji. Pav bhaji is built on a thick vegetable mash cooked down until smooth; misal pav keeps its sprouted beans whole and swimming in a thin, fiery gravy — the two share only the bread roll and the region, and a kitchen serving one shouldn't be assumed to serve the same dish under the other's name.

How it's served

• Hot, in a bowl, topped with sev, onion and lime, bread roll alongside.
• With curd offered separately, to cut the heat if needed.
• As a spicy breakfast or brunch dish, especially popular in Maharashtra.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the wheat from the bread roll.
• It's naturally vegan and vegetarian.
• Say how spicy it runs, since misal is genuinely one of the hotter everyday dishes and guests should know what they're ordering into.