dabeli recipe

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.

this dabeli 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 pav, 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.

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

ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)
for the dabeli masala:
1 dry red chili (sookhi lal mirch)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds or coriander powder (sabut dhania or dhania powder)
½ inch stick of cinnamon (dalchini)
2 to 3 cloves (lavang)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
for the red garlic chutney
1 to 2 red chilies - soaked in warm water for 30-40 minutes
½ cup garlic (lahsun) - chopped
½ tablespoon lemon juice
salt to taste
potato filling for dabeli:
3 medium sized potatoes - boiled, peeled and mashed
1 small onion - finely chopped
2 teaspoon dabeli masala
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
½ teaspoon cumin (jeera)
2 tablespoon tamarind dates chutney
¼ cup grated coconut
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
¼ cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro leaves or dhania patta)
2 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoon water (optional)
salt
for serving dabeli:
4 to 5 buns or pav sliced and lightly roasted in some butter or oil
½ cup roasted peanuts (bhuni moongphali)
½ cup chopped coriander leaves
½ cup nylon sev
½ cup pomegranate seeds
garlic chutney as required
sweet tamarind dates chutney as required

how to make recipe
making dabeli masala powder:
dry roast the red chili, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and coriander seeds.
add all the ingredients in a dry grinder.
grind to a fine powder. keep aside.
preparing the red garlic chutney:
in a wet grinder or blender, grind the soaked red chilies, garlic, lemon juice and salt to a smooth paste.
add water if required. keep aside.
making potato stuffing for dabeli:
boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker or microwave oven.
peel and mash them and keep aside.
in a pan or kadai, heat oil. add cumin.
then add chopped onion and fry the onions till they become soft.
add asafoetida/hing and fry for a minute on a low flame.
add the sweet tamarind dates chutney to the onions and mix well.
add the mashed potatoes and again mix well.
add the dabeli masala powder to the mashed potatoes. mix well and add salt.
cook for 2-3 minutes stirring the mixture.
if the mixture looks a little dry then add 1 or 2 tbsp of water.
when done, spread the potato filling on a plate.
sprinkle some grated coconut on the potato filling.
add some chopped coriander on top.
now add pomegranate seeds or grapes or both.
keep the potato stuffing aside.
serving the dabeli:
assemble all the ingredients mentioned under serving in one place.
apply the sweet chutney on one slice of the bun and the red garlic chutney on the other side.
take a slice of the potato filling and put it on top of one of the slices of bread.
add some chopped onion and coriander leaves
top it up with some roasted peanuts and pomegranate seeds.
sprinkle some dabeli masala also. lastly top it with sev.