Misal meaning "mixture", is a delicacy in the western Indian state of Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

. The dish is eaten for breakfast or as a midday snack or meal. It remains a very popular snack since it is easy to make, is relatively cheap and has good nutritional value. The taste of misal ranges from mildly to extremely spicy. Misal is also a popular street food.

The dish originates from the area of Desh, Maharashtra.

Ingredients

The ingredients of misal vary widely, and consist of a combination of the following:

• Usal
  Usal
  Usal/Oosal is Maharastrian dish made of beans such as Matki, Moong or Waal etc. Generally the beans are soaked in water and allowed to sprout. The sprouted beans are stir fried along with onions, spices and curry leaves in oil. Little water is put to cook the sprouts. It usually has a thick gravy....
  
  , a curry made from matki (moth bean
  Moth bean
  Vigna aconitifolia, called the moth bean , mat bean, Turkish gram, or ' maṭki in Marathi, is a small, drought-resistant, annual, trailing herb with small yellow flowers and deeply lobed leaves, grown especially in dry parts of South Asia for its tiny edible beans, which range in color from light...
  
  ) or watane (dried pea
  Pea
  A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
  
  )
• Tarry/kat/sample, a spicy gravy
• Batata Bhaji (boiled, diced potatoes, spiced with turmeric, chilies, ginger & mustard)
• Curd called dahi in Marathi
  Marathi language
  Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
  
   (optional)
• Chivda
• Farsan
• Garnish of onions, tomatoes, coriander

The ingredients are arranged in multiple tier fashion and served. The first ingredient to be served is matki or moth bean usal. Usal is sprouted beans cooked with tomatoes and onions. The nutritional value comes from the sprouted beans. Misal is served with sliced bread or a small loaf, in the dish misal-paw. The main part of the misal is the spicy curry, called tarry, kat or poruri. The Kolhapuri version of misal does not contain pohe. Phadtare misal is famous in Kolhapur., and is usually more spicy. Puneri Misal is less spicy version of Misal.

Dahi misal is also one of the widely eaten forms, where curd is added to enhance the taste.