"Kutchi Dabeli" - Desi Vegetarian Hot Dog

Since the time I started absorbing 'abc' of food and cooking, I'm always fascinated by the number of #street #food varieties we have in #India, let alone the whole world. Every region has its own specialty. Although Dabeli's history takes us to Mandvi, a city of the #Kutch region, its extreme popularity in Mumbai made me believe that it originated in Maharashtra.

#Dabeli literally means pressed, so basically the idea is to press and fill the spicy, juicy potato mixture/masala to the core of a #LadiPav (burger bun similar to Hawaiian Dinner Roll) and then layering it with sweet tamarind chutney, red chili garlic chutney, peanuts and further decorating it with pomegranate seeds and sev. In short , Dabeli is a perfect combination of sweet, spicy, tangy, crunchy layers assembled all in one burger bun. What else you would need on your palate when you can make this easy recipe in no time?

This recipe will serve 4-6 people. Do try it, I'm certain that you'll love it!

List of Ingredients:

For Aloo/Potato Masala

1. 6-7 medium sized Potatoes (boiled and mashed).

2. Salt - per taste.

3. Oil - 1.5 tbsp.

4. Dry Mango/Aamchur Powder - 2 tsp.

For Dry Masala

1. Bay leaves - 2.

2. Cinnamon stick - small (Around 1-2 inches).

3. Whole coriander seeds -1.5 tbsp.

4. Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp.

5. Kashmiri Red chili whole - (6-7).

6. Cloves - 4-5.

7. Whole black pepper corn - 6-7.

8. Black Cardamom (Badi Elaichi) - 1

9. Fennel Seeds (Saunf) - 3 tsp.

10. Desiccated Coconut - 3 tsp.

Chutney's ingredients will come later as you read along so that it's easy to follow.

Easy to follow steps:

First we'll prepare the dry masala. For that, add all ingredients for dry masala (except coconut powder) in a pan and roast on medium to low flame till you smell the aroma. Switch off the flame and let the mix cool a bit. Add coconut while the pan is slightly warm to give the coconut a mild roast. Let it completely cool down. Transfer the contents to a blender and make a powder.

Next step is the sweet and tangy tamarind chutney, which, in fact, will infuse more flavor into your Dabeli.

For tamarind chutney we need:

1. Seedless tamarind - 1 cup

2. Garam masala - 2 tsp

3. Kashmiri red chili powder - 1.5 tsp

4. Sugar - 1 cup

5. Water - 1.5 cups

Soak tamarind in warm water for 30 minutes. Blend it in a blender jar to make smooth paste. Now, sieve tamarind paste to make sure it's smooth and nice. In a pan add tamarind paste, sugar and water. Give it a good mix. Bring it to a boil and lower the flame to medium until the consistency is thickened. Add garam masala and kashmiri red chili powder, and give it a stirr. Let the chutney simmer for another 5-7 minutes until desired consistency is achieved. It should neither be too runny nor too thick.

While the chutney simmers, let's make some masala peanuts/seeng dana. Dry roast handful of peanuts, I roasted in salt, but you can do it in a pan without salt too. Once cooled down, remove skin. Transfer into a bowl, drizzle few drops of oil, 2 tsp of masala that we just made, a pinch of salt, and mix well.

Don't forget to turn off the flame under your chutney pan.

Now it's time to make potato masala. In a pan on low flame, add oil. when oil is moderately hot, pour the dry masala powder and roast it (you have to be cautious here, the spice mix should not burn, so keep the flame low and keep stirring) for less than a minute. Then add 2 tbsp of tamarind chutney, and mix well. Transfer potatoes to the pan and mix. Add salt, dry mango powder and combine everything well. Spread the mixture onto a plate and garnish it with some coconut, pomegranate seeds, masala peanuts and last but not the least fresh coriander leaves.

And, look at this vibrant aloo masala ready to be filled in the burger bun.

Chilli-Garlic chutney is the next item which you can either buy ready-made from the market or make at home, the way I made it. If you prefer the latter just soak 6-7 kashmiri red chili in warm water for 10 minutes. Remove from water and put them in a blender jar, add 10-12 garlic cloves, a little bit of salt, 1 tsp lime juice, and blend to make a smooth paste. If it's too thick, add a little bit of water to thin it down. You can add water in between grinding as well to ease the process.

The only thing now left is assembling a "Dabeli"and toasting it. Lets do that real quick. Take a burger bun and make a pocket in it by separating 2 sides. Press it on both the sides to make the pocket bigger. Pour some garlic chutney on one side, tamarind chutney on the other. Squeeze in a tablespoon of potato mixture. Add a layer of finely chopped onion, repeat both the chutneys and seal in everything by applying final layer of potato mix again. Toast it from both sides by applying butter and gently pressing it. Take it out from the pan when its nice and golden and coat the sides in sev.

In the end, what we get on the plate is this lip-smacking Dabeli, which is sweet, tangy, spicy, juicy, crunchy all at the same time. Just dig in!

Happy Dabeli!

Hope you liked the recipe and didn't find it too difficult. Let me know if this got you high on flavors. Don't forget to subscribe for more updates. Leave a comment for any questions/thoughts. Talk to you in my next mouthwatering recipe!