Thu_Mar_14_08:01:16_PDT_2019
Just under the wire, I'm sending in another entry to the CopyCat edition of the Blog Bites event hosted right here on One Hot Stove.
I wanted to bring a dish to a birthday party today and decided on a street food that I have not eaten in a while- Kutchi dabeli. This is a carb-lover's delight, a spicy mashed potato filling (along with assorted goodies like fried peanuts, tangy tamarind chutney, pomegranate seeds and bits of onion and cilantro) in an airy bread roll or pav.
For me, Kutchi dabeli will always be associated with trips to my aunt's home in a suburb of Pune. If I understand correctly, this snack originates in Gujarat (Kutch is the largest district in Gujarat) and can be found sold in street stalls wherever the Gujarati diaspora now resides. My aunt would bring home paper sacks stuffed with tasty dabeli that were a little too spicy for us kids, but we wolfed them down anyway, chasing the spice with large gulps of cool water.
Today, I decided to make it completely from scratch, which meant baking the pav, making dabeli masala, cooking and mashing potatoes, roasting and skinning raw peanuts, making tamarind chutney and so on. Go ahead and use store bought versions of any of these- I won't tell. The dish described below may or may not be authentic; it is simply my version of this street classic.
A. Pav. I tried Meera's recipe for laadi pav with incredible success. Check her post for proportions. I made smaller rolls- a feeble attempt at portion control.
1. In the food processor fitted with a dough blade, add the bread flour (I'm loyal to the King Arthur brand), salt, sugar, yeast, olive oil. Start processing and dribble warm water to make an elastic dough.
2. Oil the dough and let it rise for an hour.
3. Deflate the dough and divide it into 24 rolls (3 x 2 x 2 x 2).
4. Place rolls on baking sheets, cover and let them rise for an hour.
5. Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes.
Just look at these chubby little rolls! The texture and flavor was perfect. I'll be using these as mini burger buns in the coming months.
Next, for the dabeli, I used Tarla Dalal's recipe as noted by Ashwini of Food for Thought.
B. Dabeli Masala: you can buy this spice mix in stores but it is easy enough to make. There's a simple mnemonic to remember the formula for this masala: 5 Cs
Cinnamon, half stick
Cloves, 6-8
Chillies (dried red ones), 3-4
Cumin, 2 tsp.
Coriander, 2 tbsp.
Lightly roast everything together, then grind to a fine powder.
C. Fried peanuts: Heat 1-2 tsp. oil. Fry 1/2 cup toasted skinned peanuts in the oil until light brown, season with salt, black pepper and paprika.
D. Tamarind chutney: Recipe here. You need 1/4 cup or so.
E. Potato filling: Boil, peel and mash 3-4 large potatoes.
I wanted to bring a dish to a birthday party today and decided on a street food that I have not eaten in a while- Kutchi dabeli. This is a carb-lover's delight, a spicy mashed potato filling (along with assorted goodies like fried peanuts, tangy tamarind chutney, pomegranate seeds and bits of onion and cilantro) in an airy bread roll or pav.
For me, Kutchi dabeli will always be associated with trips to my aunt's home in a suburb of Pune. If I understand correctly, this snack originates in Gujarat (Kutch is the largest district in Gujarat) and can be found sold in street stalls wherever the Gujarati diaspora now resides. My aunt would bring home paper sacks stuffed with tasty dabeli that were a little too spicy for us kids, but we wolfed them down anyway, chasing the spice with large gulps of cool water.
Today, I decided to make it completely from scratch, which meant baking the pav, making dabeli masala, cooking and mashing potatoes, roasting and skinning raw peanuts, making tamarind chutney and so on. Go ahead and use store bought versions of any of these- I won't tell. The dish described below may or may not be authentic; it is simply my version of this street classic.
A. Pav. I tried Meera's recipe for laadi pav with incredible success. Check her post for proportions. I made smaller rolls- a feeble attempt at portion control.
1. In the food processor fitted with a dough blade, add the bread flour (I'm loyal to the King Arthur brand), salt, sugar, yeast, olive oil. Start processing and dribble warm water to make an elastic dough.
2. Oil the dough and let it rise for an hour.
3. Deflate the dough and divide it into 24 rolls (3 x 2 x 2 x 2).
4. Place rolls on baking sheets, cover and let them rise for an hour.
5. Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes.
Next, for the dabeli, I used Tarla Dalal's recipe as noted by Ashwini of Food for Thought.
B. Dabeli Masala: you can buy this spice mix in stores but it is easy enough to make. There's a simple mnemonic to remember the formula for this masala: 5 Cs
Cinnamon, half stick
Cloves, 6-8
Chillies (dried red ones), 3-4
Cumin, 2 tsp.
Coriander, 2 tbsp.
Lightly roast everything together, then grind to a fine powder.
C. Fried peanuts: Heat 1-2 tsp. oil. Fry 1/2 cup toasted skinned peanuts in the oil until light brown, season with salt, black pepper and paprika.
D. Tamarind chutney: Recipe here. You need 1/4 cup or so.
E. Potato filling: Boil, peel and mash 3-4 large potatoes.
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