Misal Pav — Maharashtrian Sprouted Bean Curry with Usal (मिसळ पाव)

Maharashtra, with regional variations from Pune, Nasik, Kolhapur, and Mumbai; each city claims superiority in their style and each style differs meaningfully in spice level, topping type, and gravy consistency

Misal pav (मिसळ पाव) is the most complex and fiercely spiced of all Maharashtrian street foods: a bowl of usal (उसळ — sprouted moth beans or matki, Vigna aconitifolia, cooked in a robust Kolhapuri masala) topped with farsan (ফারসান — the crunchy mixture of sev, chivda, and beaten rice), fresh chopped onion, raw coriander, lemon, and served with buttered pav bread. The dish has multiple textural layers built one on top of the other, each contrasting with the next — soft beans, spiced gravy, crunchy farsan, sharp onion. Pune-style misal is different from Nasik-style and Kolhapuri-style in heat level and gravy colour.

Eaten immediately upon assembly — the farsan crunch is time-sensitive. Pav is buttered and toasted on a tawa, served alongside for dipping into the remaining gravy. A glass of chaas (buttermilk) is the traditional pairing to counter the Kolhapuri heat.