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| Chatpati Dabeli !! |
Dabeli or Kutchi dabeli or Kachchhi dabeli is a snack food of India, originating in the Kutch or Kachchh region of Gujarat - located in the western part of India. Dabeli literally means "pressed" in Gujarati language. It is a spicy snack made by mixing boiled potatoes with a dabeli masala, and putting the mixture between pav (burger bun) and served with chutneys made from tamarind, date, garlic, red chillies, etc. and garnished with pomegranate and roasted peanuts. I didn't find pomegranate so I used raisins instead. Dabeli masala is readily available in any Indian store. Recipe serves 2-3 people, let's look at what we need :-
Ingredients :-
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2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 medium onion, chopped fine - divide it into half
2 tsp oil + more for sautéing
Salt to taste
2 tsp dabeli masala
handful of coriander chopped fine
fine sev (optional)
tomato ketchup (optional)
1 pack (8) burger buns
1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds / raisins
masala peanuts, recipe follows
tamarind chutney, recipe follows
garlic chutney, recipe follows
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1. Heat oil in a pan on medium high, add half of the chopped onions and saute them for about 2 mins. till they turn translucent. Now add 2 tbsp tamarind chutney.
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| Sautéed onions with tamarind chutney in it |
2. Next add dabeli masala, saute for 30 secs. till it perfumes the oil. Now add salt, mashed potatoes and water to thin out the mixture till it comes to a spreadable consistency.
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| Dabeli masala perfumes the oil |
3. Spread it on a plate with about an inch of thickness. Decorate it with rest of the onions, masala peanuts, pomegranate seeds/raisins and coriander. I have added raisins to just half of the dish so if one doesn't like raisins then they can omit it.
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| Dabeli masala ready with masala peanuts and raisins |
4. For serving, heat a non stick griddle on medium high. Apply 1/2 tsp of tamarind chutney, garlic chutney (adjust the quantity acc. to your taste) on the lower bun. Spread a little ketchup on the remaining bun if you like. Spread around 2 spoonfuls of potato mixture, a tbsp of sev, cover it with the top.
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| Dabeli ready to go on the griddle |
5. Add little bit of oil on the pan and saute the bun on both sides for couple of secs. till it gets a nice golden color and the mixture inside is heated through. Cut it in half and serve hot !! Though this is a snack food, we love it for lunch / dinner when we want to have something light but super tasty !
Masala Peanuts :-
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1/4 cup raw peanuts
salt
1/8 tsp red chili pwd.
1/8 tsp garam masala
2 pinches of sugar
squirt of lemon juice
1/4 tsp oil
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| Masala peanuts ! |
Heat oil on medium high, add peanuts and rest of the masala. Saute for 2-3 mins. till peanuts are fried through and crunchy on the outside. Make sure they are well coated with the masala. Turn off heat and let them cool.
Tamarind chutney :-
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3 golf sized balls of tamarind soaked in warm water for 2-3 hrs
salt to taste
1/4 tsp red chili pwd. / to taste
1/2 tsp roasted cumin-coriander pwd.
3 golf sized balls of jaggery
Mash the tamarind with your fingers so as to form a pulp. Pass it through a strainer to remove any seeds / fibres. In a small pan add the strained tamarind pulp, water to thin out and the rest of the ingredients. Let it boil for few mins. till the jaggery melts and a semi thick concoction is formed. Turn off heat and let the chutney cool. Chutney stays fresh in the refrigerator for 15-20 days when stored in an airtight glass bottle.
Garlic chutney :-
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1 whole garlic bulb, cloves removed, peeled
salt to taste
1 1/2 tbsp red chili pwd / to taste
1/2 tsp oil
pea sized ball of fresh tamarind (optional, for the tang)
handful of plain roasted peanuts (optional)
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| Spicy hot garlic chutney |
Grind all of the ingredients into a dry paste. Spicy garlic chutney is ready !
