dabeli – mumbai street food

finally here comes a recipe for which i have got maximum requests: dabeli.  so friends, here is the dabeli recipe.

dabeli is a street food which originated in kutch. dabeli is also called as kutchi dabeli or kachchhi dabeli. its a very popular street snack and can be easily found in mumbai as well as gujarat.

basically dabeli is a spicy, tangy and sweet potato filling inside a bun – more specifically the indian bun – called as pav, drizzled with a spicy and sweet chutney and some pomegranate, grapes, onions and sev/fried gram flour vermicelli. even though there were many dabeli stalls near my home in mumbai, i never ever brought dabeli from these stalls.

its something i would indulge once in a blue moon. i was not much fond of it. i would always prefer two of mine fav mumbai street foods with bread- pav bhaji and vada pav over dabeli.

the recipe is a breeze if you have everything ready. or else spend some time in making the dabeli masala and the chutneys.

everything for the dabeli, i made at home except for the fine sev and tamarind dates chutney. so it took me some time. i used ready made tamarind dates chutney. if you wanna make it at home you can have a look at the tamarind dates chutney here on my website.

i made the whole wheat bread at home and had made the dough a day earlier. so it was just baking the bread whilst i was preparing the other stuff for dabeli.

i have not mentioned the bread recipe in this post. you could use ready made burger buns or pav.

this recipe is adapted from tarla dalal’s dabeli recipe. its a very good recipe and all you dabeli lovers must try this one. you are going to love it.

this is a step by step recipe for making dabeli.

i have categorized each part so that it is easy to follow and understand.

a: making the dabeli masala:

1: dry roast the red chili, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and coriander seeds. you cannot see the coriander seeds as i have used my homemade roasted coriander powder while grinding the masala.

2: add all the ingredients in a dry grinder.

3: grind to a fine powder. you will have some powder left even after adding it in dabeli. you can use it in some veggies or rice recipes.

b: making the red garlic chutney for dabeli:

1: soak the red chilies in warm water for 30-40 mins. in a wet grinder add the soaked red chilies, garlic, lemon juice.

2: grind to a smooth paste. add water if required while grinding. keep this red garlic chutney aside.

c: making the potato filling for dabeli:

1: boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker or microwave oven. peel and mash them and keep aside. don’t have a pic of this one. in a pan or kadai, heat oil. add cumin. then add chopped onion. fry the onions till they become soft.

2: add asafoetida/hing and fry for a minute on a low flame.

3: add the tamarind dates chutney to the onions and mix well.

4: add the mashed potatoes and again mix well.

5: add the dabeli masala powder to the mashed potatoes.

6: mix well and add salt.

7: cook for 2-3 minutes stirring the mixture. if the mixture looks a little dry then add 1 or 2 tbsp of water. i did not have to add any water to the potato mixture.

8: when done, spread the potato filling on a plate….. not sure why it is looking so orangish… i guess me playing with the camera settings has resulted in such a weird photo…..

9: sprinkle some grated coconut on the potato filling.

10: add some chopped coriander.

11: now add pomegranate seeds or grapes or both. i did not have grapes at home.

d: frying the slices of bread:

1: while all of the above was happening my wheat flour buns were ready and hot from the oven.

2: slice the bun or pav into two. on a tava or griddle, melt some butter and lightly roast the buns or pav in butter. keep aside.

e: serving the dabeli:

1: assemble all the ingredients required for making dabeli in one place. the pic below says it all.

2: apply the sweet chutney on one slice of the bun and the red garlic chutney on the other side.

3: take a slice of the prepared potato filling and put it on top of one of the slices of bread. this one has a little extra of the coriander leaves.

4: add some chopped onion and coriander.

5: top it up with some roasted peanuts and pomegranate seeds. sprinkle some dabeli masala also.

6: the last topping is of sev. you can also roll the stuffed buns in the sev.

7: cover with the other slice of bread. in the same way make all the dabeli pav and serve these beautiful, yummy and gorgeous street food snack to your loved ones.

dabeli recipe details below:

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dabeli recipe

 

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Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

dabeli is a mumbai street food also popular in gujarat.

Author: dassana

Recipe type: snack

Cuisine: north indian

Serves: 5-6 portions

Ingredients

for the dabeli masala:

• 1 red chili
• 1 tsp coriander seeds or coriander powder
• ½ inch stick of cinnamon
• 2-3 cloves
• ½ tsp cumin/jeera

for the red garlic chutney

• 1-2 red chilies – soaked in warm water for 30-40 minutes
• ½ cup garlic, chopped
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• salt to taste

for the potato filling

• 3 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp dabeli masala
• a pinch of asafoetida/hing
• ½ tsp cumin/jeera
• 2 tbsp tamarind dates chutney
• ¼ cup grated coconut
• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds/anar
• ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp water – optional
• salt

for serving

• 4-5 buns or pav sliced and lightly roasted in some butter or oil
• ½ cup roasted peanuts
• ½ cup chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
• ½ cup nylon sev
• ½ cup pomegranate seeds/anar
• garlic chutney as required
• sweet tamarind dates chutney as required

Instructions

preparing the dabeli masala powder

1. dry roast the red chili, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and coriander seeds.
2. add all the ingredients in a dry grinder.
3. grind to a fine powder.
4. keep aside.

preparing the red garlic chutney:

1. in a wet grinder or blender, grind the soaked red chilies, garlic, lemon juice and salt to a smooth paste.
2. add water if required.
3. keep aside.

preparing the potato stuffing:

1. boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker or microwave oven.
2. peel and mash them and keep aside.
3. in a pan or kadai, heat oil. add cumin.
4. then add chopped onion and fry the onions till they become soft.
5. add asafoetida/hing and fry for a minute on a low flame.
6. add the sweet tamarind dates chutney to the onions and mix well.
7. add the mashed potatoes and again mix well.
8. add the dabeli masala powder to the mashed potatoes.
9. mix well and add salt.
10. cook for 2-3 minutes stirring the mixture.
11. if the mixture looks a little dry then add 1 or 2 tbsp of water.
12. when done, spread the potato filling on a plate.
13. sprinkle some grated coconut on the potato filling.
14. add some chopped coriander on top.
15. now add pomegranate seeds or grapes or both.
16. keep the potato stuffing aside.

serving the dabeli:

1. assemble all the ingredients mentioned under serving in one place.
2. apply the sweet chutney on one slice of the bun and the red garlic chutney on the other side.
3. take a slice of the potato filling and put it on top of one of the slices of bread.
4. add some chopped onion and coriander leaves
5. top it up with some roasted peanuts and pomegranate seeds.
6. sprinkle some dabeli masala also.
7. lastly top it with sev.
8. cover with the other slice of bread.
9. prepare the remaining dabeli pav in the same way and serve warm.

Notes

1: instead of the red garlic chutney you can also use mint coriander chutney. 2: dabeli masala powder is easily available in the indian metros. so you could use ready dabeli masala. 3:other variation is to add pav bhaji masala instead of dabeli masala. the dabeli will still taste good. 4: lastly to add more spice, add spiced or masala peanuts instead of plain peanuts.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2-3

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