DABELI

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

Process :-
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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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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

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)

Spicy hot garlic chutney

Grind all of the ingredients into a dry paste. Spicy garlic chutney is ready !