Usal

If there’s one Maharashtrian street snack that captures the pulse of the state's food culture, it has to be Misal Pav. This vegetarian speciality is a must-try for anyone craving a fiery hot teatime snack. It consists of a spicy chickpea and moth bean curry with a side of buttered, slightly sweet pav (bread), a few discs of papad, and a glass of Chaas (flavoured buttermilk).

Usal is a specific variant of Misal made exclusively with sprouts, which means Usal curry is an excellent source of protein. Therefore, Usal can keep hunger pangs at bay for longer hours. Furthermore, the dietary fibres of sprouts help to maintain good gut health. It’s also a storehouse of minerals and vitamins, which are essential to keeping the organs in their best form. This is also considered a superfood for pregnant and lactating women as it regulates hormone production in our bodies. It’s the kind of food that promises to be healthy and tasty and lives up on both accounts.

It is no wonder that Usal Pav is one of the most popular and affordable breakfast options in Pune, Nashik and Mumbai.

Usal uses bean sprouts to make this watery curry. The mixed beans are boiled inside a pressure cooker until they’re soft. In a separate pan, chopped onion, ginger, garlic, and coconut are fried till they become golden and crispy. This masala is then mashed into a thick paste, which is used to make the base of the curry or Rassa. In order to make the curry, the paste is fried with onion, tomatoes and coconut paste. As the final step, the bean sprouts are added to the mix and boiled in water.

Usal can also be made as a dry bean curry, which effectively captures the tangy, punchy spirit of the gravy. This kind of Usal is an ideal snack for casual munching and is sold by street vendors in makeshift sal leaf bowls with a sprinkle of sev (thin fritters) on top.