Dabeli

Like vada pav is a quintessential Mumbai street food, dabeli is Gujarat’s or more so Kutchh’s. It’s a smorgasbord of flavors – spicy, sweet, tangy with textural contrasts – the chewy pav, soft potato filling, crunchy nuts and juicy pomegranate. But enough with the description, lets make one!

The quantities below are approximate – you can adjust portions as you like. A rule of thumb is a heaping tablespoon of filling per pav and then as many toppings as you can fit in. Portion below makes about 10-12 dabelis.

Ingredients:

10 pavs

Green coriander chutney

Tamarind chutney

Butter or ghee to shallow fry

1 teaspoon oil (to sauté peanuts)

Salt

For filling

½ kilo potatoes (1 pound)

2-3 tablespoons kutchhi dabeli masala (2 for paste and 3 for dry powder)

1 tablespoon oil (any except mustard and coconut)

Salt (if needed)

 For topping

1 cup finely diced onions

1 cup peanuts

1 cup masala chana daal

1 cup sev

1 cup pomegranate

Heat oil in a wok (for the peanuts). Add the peanuts and sauté till the color on the skin changes and there a few darker spots. Add little salt. Keep aside.

Boil, peel and mash the potatoes. In the same wok, heat the oil and add the potatoes. Mix the dabeli masala in 1/3 cup of water and add to the potatoes. Mix well and add salt if required (dabeli masalas in paste form do have salt in them).

Slice open a pav keeping one side attached. Apply green chutney on one side and tamarind on the other. Put a tablespoon of filling on the bottom pav and spread it to the edges. Next put the peanuts and the chana daal and press down. Next layer on the onions, sev and pomegranate. Close the dabeli trying to keep all the toppings inside.

Heat a non-stick pan and put a dab of butter on it. Place the dabeli in it and cook till it crisps up. Now repeat on the top side as well. Try to cook the sides as well keeping the dabeli intact.

Serve hot!