Nothing makes me happier than a giant plate of home-made “chaat”, especially “Dabeli”. Of course, I do love bhel, pani-puri, shev puri and the like but dabeli is something that is filling and I get the feeling of eating a whole meal as opposed to left feeling half full half hungry. Though “Dabeli” is originally from the place of Kutch in Gujarat, it has become one of the most popular street foods in Maharashtra. It can be best described as a bun filled with spicy potatoes, roasted peanuts, pomegranates, chutney and fine shev/ fried gram flour vermicelli.

In this recipe I have used ready made dabeli masala but you can also make everything from scratch. If you plan to make everything from scratch then it would be a good idea to make pav/buns and dabeli masala a day before otherwise you will end up working the entire day in the kitchen. On the main day, just make the potato filling and assemble the rest of the ingredients to make a delicious dabeli! Dabeli masala can be easily found in any Indian grocery store but if you do not have access to it, then, just mix cumin powder in garam masala as more or less the ingredients are the same.

The best part is that you can have it for breakfast, snack or even dinner, it is really up to you but make sure you eat it immediately when it is right out of the pan.

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Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Served: Hot
Number of Dabelis: 10

Ingredients:
 Red Chutney:
 10-12 Garlic cloves (large)
 5-6 Dried red chilies
 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
 ½ teaspoon Sugar
 Salt to taste

 Masala Peanuts:
 1 tbsp Oil
 ½ teaspoon Asafoetida
 1 teaspoon red chili powder or paprika
 Salt to taste

Dabeli Filling:

 2 tbsp Cooking oil
 2 tbsp Butter
 3 medium Onions finely chopped
 2 medium Tomatoes
 4 tbsp Dabeli Masala Powder
 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
 5 Big size Potatoes
 1 tbsp Sugar
 1 tbsp Lemon juice
 ½ Cup Chopped coriander
 1 tbsp tamarind chutney
 1 tbsp red chutney
 Salt to taste

Let's put everything together & garnish
 
 Pav/Buns
 Potato filling
 1 Cup Nylon Shev
 1/4th cup Pomegranate seeds
 1 cup Imli (Tamarind) Chutney
 1/4th cup garlic Chili (Red) chutney
 ½ Cup Masala Peanuts
 ½ Cup finely chopped Coriander

Method:

1. For masala peanuts, heat oil in a pan and add asafoetida. Then add peanuts and roast them until they start turning golden brown. Turn off the heat and sprinkle some red chili powder or paprika, salt and mix them well.
2. To make the potato filling, cook potatoes in a pressure cooker, peel the skin and grate them. Heat oil in a pan, sauté onions until golden brown. Add in tomatoes and cook the mixture until the tomatoes are soft and tender. To this mix, add in dabeli masala, turmeric, tamarind chutney, red chutney and salt.
3. Add grated potatoes to this mix and keep mixing until everything is combined. The last step is to add lemon juice and chopped coriander. Keep tasting the mixture at this point and add more salt if required.
4. Transfer this filling in a flat bottom plate or dish and top it up with some chopped onion, roasted masala peanuts, sev, pomegranate and chopped coriander.
5. Roast the buns nicely in a pan with the help of butter, slit the bun horizontally making sure you do not cut it all the way through. Spread red chutney on one side of the bun and tamarind chutney on the other side. Place the filling (about 2 tablespoons) in the bun along with some chopped onions, pomegranate seeds, roasted masala peanuts and coriander. Now, place the buns again on the pan until they are golden brown, then, dip the side of the buns in the sev mixture and serve them immediately. They taste great when eaten hot and right out of the pan! Enjoy this mouth watering delicacy with your friends and family.