Kaachi Dabeli

One of the things in my bucket list is to travel to India on a food tour. My friend Deepa had organized a textile tour of Gujarat in January. My other friend who is an avid blogger was on this tour and kept us updated about the tour through her blog. She had written about Dabeli, a street food from the Kutch region of Gujarat. Kaachi means from Kutch. Dabav means to press. Kaachi Dabeli literally means pressed bun from Kutch. Dabeli was invented by Keshavji Gabha Chudanasama in the 1960's. It is still run by the family in the city of Mandvi where it was first invented. Dabeli is basically mashed potato mixed with special dabeli spices stuffed between pav (special kind of roll or bun) that is spread with sweet date-tamarind chutney and special chili-garlic chutney, and garnished with pomegranate, cilantro and roasted spicy peanuts and sev, and pressed .You can feel the sweet and spicy taste at the same time. Normally I use store bought spice and chutney. But this time I made everything at home. I did not make the pav or sev.

Ingredients:

Dabeli masala:
1/2 teaspoon pepper corn (about 12)
1/2 teaspoon clove (about 12)
1 inch piece cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
2 teaspoons sugar

Tamarind-Date Chutney (sweet chutney):
1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
1/2 cup jaggery
1/2 cup tamarind
2 cups water
1 teaspoon dry ginger powder
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
salt to taste

Chili-Garlic Chutney:
15-20 dried red chili
1 cup hot water
3 cloves garlic
salt to taste

Masala Peanuts:
1 cup raw peanuts soaked for 2 hours and drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoon chickpea powder (besan)
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1 tablespoon oil

Potato Masala:
4 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons dabeli masala powder
3/4 cup sweet chutney
1/4 cup pomegranate
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Other Ingredients:
6 Pav
1 cup masala peanuts
1/2 cup nylon sev
Butter for toasting dabeli

Method:

Dabeli Masala Powder:
1. Roast whole spices on medium heat till fragrant. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

2. Place the ingredients along with chili powder, coriander powder, salt and sugar in a blender and blend to powder. Store in an air tight container.






















Tamarind-Date Chutney:
1. Place date, tamarind, jaggery and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients to the saucepan.

2. Bring everything to a boil. Let simmer for 8 minutes.

3. Allow to cool. Strain pulp into a bowl. Store in a glass jar.

Chili-Garlic Chutney:
1. Soak red chili in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes.

2. Place chili, garlic, salt and water in a blender and blend smooth to a chutney. Store in a glass container.





















Masala Peanuts:
1. Mix all the ingredients with the drained peanuts in a large bowl.

2. Spray the air fryer basket with oil. Place peanuts in the basket and air fry at 380 for 13 minutes until crisp, shaking in between. Store in an air tight container.

Potato Masala:
1. Heat oil in a broad pan on medium. Place mashed potato in the pan. Stir in dabeli masala, sweet chutney and salt. Mix well. Cook for couple minutes.

2. Transfer potato to a plate and spread potato evenly.

3. Garnish Dabeli with pomegranate, chopped onion and cilantro.

Build your Dabeli:
1. Keep the Pav, potato, chutney and sev together.

2. spread the insides of the pav with chili chutney. Top with sweet chutney and spread.

3. Place a spoonful of dabeli on the bottom part of the pav. Sprinkle some masala peanuts on the potato. Top with little bit more of dabeli.

4. Close with the top of pav. Roll the edges of the pav in  nylon sev.

5. Heat  griddle with butter. Toast dabeli on both sides. Press the top down on the stuffing (dabavo).

6. Serve hot with tea.