Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Kutcchi Dabeli

Kutcchi Dabeli

You all probably know from many of my previous posts that we friends have regular tea get-togethers on Fridays. It gives the kids a chance to have a great time on the last day of the school week and it gives us ladies an excuse to meet and chat and eat tasty snacks. Well this week it was my turn and my choice of snack was this ever -popular Kutcchi Dabeli. For those of you who aren't familiar with Kutcchi Dabeli ,it is a Gujarati snack ,it's name being derived from the place Kutch in Gujarat. But it is a very very popular street food in Maharashtra and is probably just one place below Vada-Pav which tops the best-seller list of street-food.

Very surprisingly though I never ate Kutcchi Dabeli when I was in college. Never even once. I ate it the first time here in England when a friend made it . I just loved it and have ever since wondered why I never ate it earlier. I mean if it tastes so good at home it must be great when eaten on the road-side, right?? Well I definitely will find out the next time I am in Pune ,which
unfortunately is not so soon. So till then I will keep making it at home.

Now Kutcchi Dabeli needs a special Masala /Spice Mix which is easily available back home, but not here in UK. The most popular brand is Siddhi Masala , so I had my sister bring me a few packs of that when she last visited. But it can be substituted with cumin-coriander powder and garam masala which is also a blend of the same spices just probably in different proportions.
So now on to the actual process :

Ingredients for approx 12 Dabelis:
12 soft rolls /buns

1 kg potatoes boiled ,peeled and mashed,
1 pack of Dabeli Masala (100 gms) OR
2 tblspns each of coriander and cumin powder, 2 tblspns of garam masala, 1 tblspn of chilly powder,
Salt to taste (you don't need any salt if you are using the dabeli masala . It has everything in it.)
Date and Tamarind Chutney,
Red chilly and garlic chutney (blend red chillies, garlic salt and sugar together in a blender with a little water)

For the garnish:
Seeds of one or two pomegranate,
Sev,
2 finely chopped onion,
Salted/spicy peanuts
Finely chopped coriander

Spicy Tangy  Dabeli Filling

Method:
  • Boil and mash the potatoes and keep aside,
  • In a pan heat 4 to 5 tbslpns of oil , add to that the mashed potatoes and all of the 100 gms of dabeli masala or the alternative spice powders with the salt. (Remember no salt if using the Dabeli Masala) and mix it all well. Your filling is ready.
  • Spread out this filling evenly on to a large plate and garnish generously with all the garnishings as you see in the pic. It looks very pretty.

To serve:

Split a bun in half and spoon both the chutneys in it first, then put about 2 tblspnfuls of potato filling on top .

  • Put some more salted nuts and sev if you wish.
  • Top again with date and tamarind chutney and close with the top part of the bun.
  • Butter the bun on both sides and brown it nicely on a tawa/flat pan.
  • Serve hot

10 comments:

chakhlere said...

Wow Anupama!!
I am big fan of kutchhi Dabeli!
Nice to see those yummy pics of Kutchhi Dabeli.
Some days back only i remembered it and was missing it very badly!
And now seeing your post i am craving it very very badly!!
Amazing snaps!!

Finla said...

I do wish i was in your friday group, then i would be lucky to taste this and all the other treats.
Delcious.

Parita said...

Oh i love dabelis, one of my fav snack, looking at the pic reminded me of the time when i used to have these every week :) you ve got me craving for this!!

Khaugiri said...

I just love it...... I have dabeli masala with me ...... decided Dabeli for saturday evening :).... Thanks a lot:)

Usha said...

I tasted dabeli just recently for the first time and loved it ! Yours have turned out perfectly :-)

sangeeta said...

first time here n liked your blog very much.....dabeli looks yum but i have never tried it....what goes in the dabeli masala do you know??

visit my blogs if you get time..

Raks said...

New to me! Nice pics! Wish to have a bite:)

Sandhya said...

they look so good, i have never tasted them though! The buns look so scrumptious , which ones did you use?

Unknown said...

Picture looks too appetizing! Yummy chaat!

Purva Desai said...

I simply love Dabeli and I carried Dabeli Masala along with my other masalas when I came to UK....simply love the spicy, tangy and sweet taste of this yummy street side food....