Kutchi Dabeli
Another Indian street food favorite of mine! A sandwich with spicy-sweet potato filling and other ingredients creating an interesting mix of flavors, textures and temperatures!
Its a popular street food from Kutch gujarat, hence the name. I have tried it a few time sin Gujarat, its slightly different than the one you get in Pune and Mumbai. My favorite version is the one I grew up eating in Pune from a small stall at the end of the street in the of my old house in the heart of Pune city.
So, heres the recipe, I devised to mimic that Kutchi Dabel from my memories 🙂 It takes me straight to that rainy day in my old house, where we got home Kacchi Dabelis, that had a hint of kerosene smell from the stove they were roasted on.., wrapped in scrap newspaper, tied with thread – out of this world!
Before we start, there are several components in a kacchi Dabeli. So I have browken it down and explain, how you prepare each one, slightly diferent than how I usually doscument recipes!
1. Pav: Buy Indian Pav (tastes ok with sandwich bread, but Pav is preferred).. You can make the perfect Pav at home using my fail proof recipe
2. Green chutney: grind together, to a thin spreadable paste:
1 clove of garlic
1 small piece of ginger
1-2 green chillies
a bunch of coriander leaves (cilantro)
a bunch of mint leaves
salt and water (as needed)
3. Tamarind chutney: Well this one is difficult to make, or too much work for small scale. So you can buy any sweet tamarind/tamarind-date chutney. I prefer ‘joy’ or ‘deep’ brands in the US. If you are enthusiastic enough to make it from scratch, heres my Mom’s Tamarind Chutney Recipe
4. Spicy peanuts: A Kacchi Dabeli has to have these! Make these before hand, for them to be exactly like the ones you get on carts in India.
Mix together (no heat, cold mix):
1/2 cup of roasted, salted skinless peanuts
1 tsp oil
1 tsp kashmiri chillli powder
1/2 tsp chaat masala
salt as needed
5. Sev: Well this you just buy thin sev 😛 I suggest ‘Mirch Masala’ brand. Their Sev is really good, like Indian sev.
6. Onion and cilantro: chopped fine!
7. Bhaji: (stuffing): Most important part! For this you will need:
2 large potatoes, boiled and peeled.
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp Tamarind chutney
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp clove powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp goda masala (maharashtrian masala, omit this if you cant get hold of it)
1/4 tsp coriander-cumin powder
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
pinch of hing
pinch of turmeric
Pomegranate (I dint have that yesterday)
Mash the potatoes, like theres no tomorrow. You should end up with a smooth soft mashed potato.
Heat the oil in a pan, add tamarind chutney, lower the flame.
Add all the spices and powders, let simmer in oil for a while.
Add the potato in the pan and mix everything
Add salt and sugar to taste (this bhaji has to be super spicy and sweet, plus it goes inside bland bread, so add enough salt)
Remove from heat, when mixture is homogenous and let it cool
Once cooled, add Pomegranate on top!
Assembling the Kacchi Dabeli:
Cut open the pav at an angle (so that two sides are still attached)
Apply both the chutneys to each side
Add in a layer of the bhaji (stuffing)
Add the onion, cilantro, peanuts and sev
Close the dabeli, and roast it on a hot griddle with Amul butter on both sides!
Serve hot!