Pune's 'Misal Pizza' is the New Bizarre Combo Giving Trust Issues to Foodies

What is ‘misal pav’ to Maharashtrians is ‘pizza’ to Italians, and playing with the blend of it is certainly not what any of the cultures would expect, let alone accept! However, a Pune food stall ventured into this bizarre territory, introducing what they proudly call ‘Misal Pizza.’ Yes, it’s everything in ‘misal’ that’s placed on the pizza bread, until some grated cheese and sauces come in to complete the bizarre food combo, further fueling trust issues among foodies who are just exhausted with this trend of peculiar food combinations.

In a recently surfaced video on the internet, the process begins with the vendor spreading some sauce on the pizza bread, followed by toppings such as namkeen, matki, chopped onions, and coriander—all the ingredients that go into ‘misal.’ Then comes the pizza twist, as he adds mozzarella cheese and red paprika to complete the recipe before placing it into the oven for baking.

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But the drama doesn’t end there. The ‘misal pizza’ is served with a generous pour of ‘tari’ or misal ka rassa, the liquid gravy of the authentic Marathi dish. Now, imagine the taste buds grappling with a flavour identity crisis – it’s neither the hearty satisfaction of misal pav nor the familiar comfort of pizza. What’s the culinary logic behind it all?

Public reactions were a mix of bewilderment and outright revolt, with comments ranging from, “This thing here muted my cravings for two of my favourite things,” to the sarcastic, “Pizza k sath toh atyachar ho rha hai.. kuch bhi bnao.. bas pizza daal do beech mein…” A third, with a touch of existential humour, exclaimed, “I don’t want to die at the hands of 2 Cultures at the same time.”

In a similar vein, a dry fruit pizza earlier made its way onto the internet, leaving foodies cringing. The video from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad showcased the vendor spreading pizza sauce on the base and topping it with a variety of dry fruits, including walnuts, cashews, and raisins. As if that wasn’t enough, the vendor grated lots of cheese before serving it to a customer.

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Really, as we ponder these culinary experiments, one burning question remains: Who on earth would want to try these?