Matkichi Usal

This is very very Marathi! Maharashtrians love sprouted beans- very good source of protein- and especially CKP's will cook these on the meatless days!
A very famous Marathi snack food is Misal Pav...basically Usal served with pao (bread) and sides like chopped tomatoes, onion etc...with amti- made with misal masala...details follow at the end of the recipe.

 

This is what matki (or moth or math) beans look like.

you need to soak the beans overnight- then pour out the water and place them- covered- in a warm place to sprout. So making this dish takes a bit of planning. 1 cup of dry beans will yield about 3 cups of sprouted beans.

This is what the sprouted beans look like. 

1 cup of matki beans (sprouted so you get 3 cups of beans)

1 cup chopped onion

8-10 curry leaves

4 TBS oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp hing

3/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin coriander powder

1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 TBS gur (jaggery)

3-4 kokum

1/4 tsp garam masala

2 TBS chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil and temper with mustard seeds, hing and turmeric. Add the onion and curry leaves and saute till onion turns translucent. Add the sprouted beans, chili powder, cumin/coriander powder and salt. Add a cup of water and cover and cook till done adding more water if needed. 

When the beans are soft- NOT MUSHY- add the jaggery, kokum, garam masala and stir till the jaggery is melted. Stir in the coriander leaves. 

At this point you have the basic usal ready. Can be eaten as it is with chapati or pav- or with dal and rice- whatever takes your fancy.

If you want to serve usal pav...here you go

For the toppings

Finely chopped tomato

Finely chopped red onion

Chopped coriander leaves

Green chili chopped

Yogurt

Fresh grated coconut

Shev or farsan (only Indian will understand this ingredient- feel free to omit it :) )

Pav or dinner rolls

Serve the usal topped with whatever toppings you like....way better than a Big Mac!

Enjoy

Here is what shev looks like - seasoned chick pea flour is made into a dough and deep fried into crunchy sticks!