Dabeli

The name means pressed, and the potato goes into the bun under pomegranate and peanuts.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (butter).

Ingredients

• 600 g potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 2 tablespoons dabeli masala
• 8 ladi pav, soft bread rolls
• 4 tablespoons tamarind and date chutney
• 2 tablespoons garlic and red chilli chutney
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• seeds of 1 pomegranate
• 80 g roasted peanuts
• 40 g sev
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 20 g coriander leaves

Method

1. THE NAME MEANS PRESSED, AND THE POTATO GOES INTO THE BUN UNDER POMEGRANATE AND PEANUTS. Its article translates it -- dabeli LITERALLY MEANS "PRESSED" -- and then builds the thing: boiled potatoes mixed with a special DABELI MASALA, the mixture put in a LADI PAV similar to a burger bun, served with chutneys made from TAMARIND, DATE, GARLIC AND RED CHILLIES, and garnished with POMEGRANATE AND ROASTED PEANUTS. The garnishes are not optional decoration: pomegranate seeds and whole roasted peanuts are the only crisp, wet and sweet things in a sandwich that is otherwise soft and savoury.
2. THE PRESSING IS A REAL STEP, NOT JUST A NAME. The filled bun goes onto a buttered griddle and is pressed flat with a spatula until the outside is crisp and the inside has compacted.
3. THE POTATO IS MASHED SMOOTH, NOT CHUNKY. This is a filling that has to stay inside a soft roll.
4. THE MASALA IS ITS OWN BLEND AND ITS ARTICLE CALLS IT SPECIAL. Dabeli masala is sold ready-made and is sweeter and more sour than garam masala -- heavy on coriander, with dried mango and sugar in it. A garam masala in its place makes a potato sandwich and not this.
5. THE POTATO MIXTURE IS COOKED, NOT JUST MIXED. Two minutes in a pan with the masala and a spoonful of the tamarind chutney, spread flat, so the spices lose their rawness.
6. TWO CHUTNEYS GO IN AND THEY ARE OPPOSITES. Its article names them: tamarind and date for sweet-sour, garlic and red chilli for heat. One on each cut face of the bun.
7. THE PEANUTS GO IN WHOLE AND ON TOP OF THE POTATO. Not crushed and not mixed through, so they stay crisp against the soft filling.
8. IT IS ASSEMBLED TO ORDER AND EATEN AT ONCE. The sev softens in about two minutes and the bun goes soggy soon after.
9. ITS ARTICLE SAYS WHERE THE MASALA IS HELD TO BE BEST. The blends made in the Kutch region, and it names Bhuj and Nakhatrana alongside Mandvi.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes