missal – CafeGarima

I am in love with baking! To see the yeast bloom and the dough prove well and the bread brown- such joy!

The weather is beautiful and it seemed like a good time to make the famous spicy breakfast/brunch from Maharashtra this drizzly morning- Missal Pav.And it gave me a chance to bake!

Pav is just like dinner rolls, baked close together in the baking pan so that they join to make a ‘ladi’ or a batch of usually 12 buns, hence the name Ladi Pav. Here is my step-by-step post on making a perfectly soft ladi 🙂
Missal is mixed sprouts curry with some aromatic spices and the tang of tamarind. This is such a smart way of getting the guys of the house to eat sprouts, which they usually balk at! Saw my family gobble down sprouts so willingly for the first time ever!! Will be a weekly fare from now on 🙂

MISSAL/MIXED SPROUTS CURRY

Ingredients

Mixed Sprouts- 2 cups
Potato- 1 large, bolied and mashed
Onion- 1 large chopped fine
Garlic (lehsun)- 6-7 cloves minced
Ginger (adrak)- I tbsp grated
Green chilly (hari mirch)- 2 chopped fine
Tamarind chutney (Imli ki chutney)- 2 Tbsp (you may use tamarind pulp in case chutney not at hand)
Salt- 1 tsp
Kashmiri red chilly powdered- 1 tsp (you may use regular red chilly powder but ½ tsp to lessen the heat)
Mustard seeds (rai)- 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) – ½ tsp
Curry leaves (kadi patta)- 10-12
Goda Powder- 1 Tbsp *
Coriander powder(dhania powder)- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder(Haldi powder) ½ tsp
Cumin powder (jeera powder) 1 tsp
Oil- 2 Tbsp
Farsan- for topping

Boil the mixed sprouts till just tender. Do not over-boil.

Heat the oil and splutter the mustard and cumin seeds. Add in the onions, ginger and garlic and cook till the onion begins to change colour.

Add the curry leaves, salt,red chilly powder,goda powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and stir for a minute. Add the boiled sprouts and mix well.

Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil.Add the mashed potato and boil for another 5 minutes.Add the tamarind chutney/paste and give it a boil.

The curry needs to have a lot of liquid so add 2 cups of water and bring to boil.

Served the Missal topped with farsaan and chopped onion and coriander leaves.

Add a dash of lemon for an extra bit of tang, if desired. Serve with fresh pao/pav.

*Goda masala powder is a maharastrian spice . If not available, garam masala with an extra 1/4 tsp of cinnamon may be used
* This curry needs to be watery as pav is dipped and eaten, so ensure there is enough water.
The misal recipe is adapted from here.

The Pav/ Pao is believed to have been introduced to erstwhile ‘Bombay’ by the Portuguese during their short sojourn there, but Mumbaikars have now made it their very own. In fact, it is loved all over 🙂

Though available readily, it is fun baking your own ladi pao at home. Here is a step-by-step pictorial to baking soft pao buns. I made these following the young wonder-boy Yaman Agarwal’s recipe here

LADI PAV/PAO/PAO BUNS

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour / Maida – 2 Cups
Milk – 1 Cup
Salt – 1 Tsp Butter – 4 Tsp
Milk Powder – 1½ Tbsp
Instant Yeast – 2 Tsp
Sugar – 1 Tbsp
Milk & Butter – For Brushing

Prove the yeast- Warm up half a cup of milk, add in the sugar,and stir well. The milk should feel warm on the underside of your wrist. Not hot, not cool- a high warm, if I may call it that. Stir in the yeast and leave to bloom for 10-15 minutes till it is all frothy. This is how it should froth and bubble up. If it does not froth, throw it away and start again or try different yeast. Add the salt and milk powder to the maida and mix well.Add the yeast mix to the flour mix and start kneading. Add more milk very gradually as you knead, only if required. The dough will be very sticky and a little difficult to handle. Don’t worry! That is exactly how it is meant to be! Add the butter and knead well till it becomes a soft and pliable dough, easy to handle. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Do not add flour or oil, just kneading it well will make the dough non-sticky and springy. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with cling film, or a kitchen towel and rest for 1 ½ to 2 hours. The dough should double up. The time actually depends on the weather conditions-if very hot, it doubles sooner than the 1 ½ hours. This is the first prove. Divide the dough into equal portions, shape them as roundels or slightly elongated and arrange in a greased baking dish close together so that they touch each other. This ensures the ladi forming else they will bake like separate buns. No harm in that- it is just a matter of choice how you want them. Cover with cling film or a kitchen towel taking care to that they do not touch the top of the bread. Leave to rise again for about 45 minutes. This is the second prove. Preheat the oven at 200C for 15 minutes.
Brush the pao buns with milk and bake at 200C till they brown. Once browned, remove and brush the ladi pao with butter. Your ladi pao is ready! Enjoy with Missal or Bhaji 🙂