Dabeli

An explosion of flavour stuffed in a super crunchy giraffe bread makes a lip-smacking Mumbai street food!

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I had no intention of writing this recipe even though I make it so many times at home…well, there are so many delicious recipes out there isn’t it? Why to add another?

I was writing the recipe for the crunchy giraffe bread but somehow felt it was incomplete. It needed something…something that will go perfectly with all that crackle and crunch. And dabeli just fitted. It fitted because it is a soft mushy potato mix layered with textures of crunchy masala peanuts, juicy pomegranate seeds and sev. Just like my tiger/giraffe bread – soft interior giving way to a crusty bite.

So, what is dabeli? A literal translation of the word means ‘pressed’ and I understand with all that flavoursome mix of potatoes pressed in a bun must have given the birth to the name. It is also known as kutchi dabeli as it originates from the kutch region of Gujarat. And as you know by now, Gujarati food has all the essential elements of spice, sweet, tang and dabeli has all of that and more!

Another wonderful thing I love about dabeli is that it is a perfect party food. All the elements can be prepared in advance and the amount of spice and sweetness can be adjusted as per one’s liking.

In my version, I use a mix of raw banana, sweet potato and potato…reason? Well, simply to cut down on use of potatoes, to make it ‘healthier’. Sweet potato give the mash the required sweetness without adding any extra sugar while raw bananas replace the potatoes. Taste? If you follow my recipe, I guarantee, you can’t tell the difference. The stuffing in the dabeli is only one element (even though an important one) but it is extremely easy to camouflage given that it has a lot of elements. So, go ahead. Try it and do let me know how it turned out for you. ?

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Let me know how this recipe turned out for you by writing to me in the comments below. And if you take a picture, please tag me on my instagram handle @acookwithin to share your creation😊 It would make my day!

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