"Spicy Kaala Vatana (Black Peas) -Potato Usal (Misal)" served with Bombay Pav /Bread, Farsan, Finely Chopped Onions + Lime and sweet ripe mango ... My today's lunch, just one dish, Just add on the farsan and onions to the curry, add in a few drop of lime juice, mix and enjoy pav/bread/roti dunked in it ... You can fry the pav with butter, I did not .... Yummilicious .......
** Usal pav or misal pav is almost a similar to each other served in slightly different manner (according to me). One is served only with pav with a little bit of finely chopped onions while the other is served topped with farsan, finely chopped onions, sometimes tomatoes etc. Again misal is spicier than usal and I have already posted this dish before prepared using sprouted moth beans/kirlailile matki. There is always a confusion between the two and frankly I have no much knowledge as they serve differently in different restaurants each one vouching its authenticity. Even my friends many a times confuse me. Anyways, hubby loves this dish very spicy and me, well I cannot tolerate high spice level. So, I have usually made my own concoction of medium spiced and serve the onions and farsan alongside so that to each one their own combo. Hubby loves eating in dunked in pav, while I add on the farsan so that the spice level cuts down. So in my home its always a Usal~Misal Pav combo and we love it that way. I have already posted the misal pav recipe before prepared from scratch in my Blog before, of which I will share the recipe link at the bottom of this recipe. Again, I would like to tell here that it may not be the traditional method as I always adapt dishes to suit our palate as we do not like much of garam masala in our dishes.
** Coming to misal or usal both spice powders are available in the market, but frankly I have never bought them as I hardly prepare this dish, may be once a year, that’s it, so I prefer making it from scratch to avoid wasting the excess powder. But, hubby bought usal powder this time and gave it to me asking me to try it. First I thought, Ahhhaaa, he wants to eat misal so he is going round about giving me powder of the same, but then I came to know, it was passed on to him by his friend at a meeting, as someone had given him that powder saying they do not do it. Also, I believe he said, Your wife is sure to put it to use, so give it to her. Well, I tried out for the first time usal using this powder, though I did add other powder a little bit as I was not at all sure what was added into the ready powder. But, what a spicy and lovely usal I got, Yummy, we loved it very much, though it was a little but spicy for me. I added on a lump of butter for my serving, loaded it with finely chopped onion pieces and a large bowl of farsan and relished it that way to cut down the heat as I was worried I may get acidity if not done so. By the way, I am not scaring anyone here, I am just explaining the dish, as and how it is. You can always cut down on the spice level when adding it to the curry itself and there will be no issue at all.
** Here is my fast and quick method of preparing "Spicy Kaala Vatana (Black Peas) -Potato Usal (Misal)" using store bought usal powder …. My Style …
** I prepared this with Black Vatana / Peas, you can use, green peas, white peas or even any other sprouted pulses. I have added potatoes which is optional, you may or may not add in the same.
** Soak 2 cups of Black Vatana / Peas in plenty of water overnight or for 8 hours. Wash well, drain excess water and put it in pressure cooker with water. The level of water should be about an inch above the level of peas. Now pressure cook this to 4-6 whistles or till done. Once you are able to open the lid pour it into a thick bottomed vessel and add in 2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped to ½ inch square sizes and cook on medium heat till the potatoes are 75 % cooked.
** In a kadai, heat 2 tblsp of oil, when hot add in one onion (piyav/kanda) cut into pieces, 3-4 garlic (losun) cloves chopped, ½ inch ginger pieces also chopped into pieces and fry for 5 minutes on medium heat. Now add in 1 tsp of coriander (dhania/kothimbir) powder, ½ tsp of cumin (jeera) powder, ½ tsp of garam masala powder, 1 tsp of Kashmiri Red Chilly powder and fry for just one minute.
** Add in 1 cup of dried coconut gratings (Khobre) and continue frying till slightly browned. Lastly add in 3 tblsp of usal/misal masala powder (I used readily available ones), mix well and fry for 1 minute and remove from fire. Add all the fried ingredients into a mixer grinder along with a small marble sized tamarind and grind to a smooth paste with water. The paste should be ground very smooth.
** Add the ground masala to the vessel in which the black peas and potatoes are cooked and mix well. Add in enough water to bring to a semi thick consistency and bring to a boil on medium heat. Once it boil for 2-3 minutes, lower the heat and let it simmer for another good 5-10 minutes. If you find the gravy getting thicker you can add in more water. This is a thin textured gravy consistency dish. Add salt to taste and one handful of finely chopped coriander leaves.
** In a small pan heat 1 tblsp of ghee, when hot, lower the heat and add in 1 tblsp of misal/usal powder along with 8-10 curry leaves. Immediately pour this over the simmering curry and mix well. Do not allow the masala powder to get burnt, you should just add to the hot ghee mix and remove to get a good deep red color for the masala. Remove and keep it aside covered for 5-10 minutes for the flavors to get infused properly.
** "Spicy Kaala Vatana (Black Peas) -Potato Usal (Misal)" is done and ready to be served. This is a very spicy famous Maharashtrian dish that is served with Mumbai pav which is available at every nook and corner of the streets in bakeries or stores. The curry tastes fiery spicy and yumz when the pav is dunked in the gravy and savored. For those who like to eat it the misal style, serve the same along with finely chopped onions and farsan and a smal lemon piece. You can assemble it in a bowl and serve it too or serve it separately as shown in the picture and the person themselves can add in little by little and enjoy the same.
** This is not the traditional style of misal/usal and I have made my own little changes as I do not like too much of garam masala in my dishes. Try this variation, it is very tasty and if you do not like much of spice you can cut down the amount of misal/usal powder added to the curry, though it may taste a little off mark when you add in the onions and farsan. Whatever your choice is do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends. I am sharing in the link to the misal I posted earlier in the Blog below where I have used sprouted matki / moth beans, you can check out on the same and try that also.
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