Dabeli is a delicious sweet and spicy Indian street food snack or chaat recipe made by stuffing the potato mixture, which is prepared using dabeli masala on a ladi pav (burger bun) along with tamarind chutney, garlic chili chutney and garnishes such as onion, sev, pomegranate seeds, and roasted masala peanuts.
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About the recipe
Dabeli, also known as kacchi dabeli or kutchi dabeli, or double roti, is a popular Indian street food from the Kutch region of Gujarat. It is popularly known for its sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors, making it a delightful snack.
Dabeli means pressed in Gujarat. Dabeli filling made with spiced potato mixture is pressed or stuffed between pav (dinner rolls), which is spread with Indian chaat chutneys like date, mint, or red chili garlic and then topped with a lot of garnish from sev, onion, coriander leaves to peanuts.
Some also refer to this snack as Indian slider, desi burger, or kachchhi dabeli.
Don't confuse dabeli with the popular Mumbai vada pav. They both look similar but have different flavors and texture.
Quick tip before you start making dabeli
- The ingredients and steps may look overwhelming if you are a beginner. But if you have everything ready like a chaat shop, then you can assemble and serve dabeli in less than a minute.
- To make your task easy, you can make the potato mixture the previous day and store it in the refrigerator. This can be stored for 3 to 4 days.
- You can make ahead of time the tamarind chutney and store it in the refrigerator for up to seven days.
- Red chili garlic chutney can also be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
- Just prep the garnishes and peanut masala mixture the day you're ready to serve so that they remain fresh with their crunch.
Love chaats? Then check out Mumbai street style simple pav bhaji, bhel puri, kachori, homemade.
Ingredients
For the aloo stuffing: Potatoes, onion, garlic, oil, tamarind chutney, red chile powder, and homemade dabeli masala or store-bought ones.
For garlic chili chutney: Dry red chilies, garlic cloves, and lemon juice.
Masala peanuts: Peanuts with some oil, red chile powder, and turmeric
Garnish: Never miss the garnish on Indian chaat; it enhances the taste of the dish. You will need sev, onion, coriander leaves, and a pinch of black salt.
Pav: Ladi pav, honey butter rolls, yeast rolls, dinner rolls, burger buns, anything can be used. See that it is fresh and good quality.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements
Step-by-step instructions
Chili garlic chutney
- Add red chilies, garlic, and lemon juice with a pinch of salt in a blender or mixie jar.
- Pulse it and then add little water and grind to smooth paste. Keep this aside.
Make the potato or aloo filling
- In a pan, add vegetable oil and cumin seeds and saute this for a few seconds.
- Add the onions, garlic, asafoetida, and salt and saute till the onions turn translucent.
- Add tamarind chutney to the onions and mix well.
- Add mashed potatoes, chile powder, dabeli masala, and salt to taste and mix well until everything is combined, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Garnish with coriander leaves, mix, and switch of the flame.
Masala peanuts
- Heat oil in a small pan, add peanuts, and roast it for 2 to 3 minutes. If you are using salted peanuts, skip the salt. Else, add a pinch of salt to taste, along with red chili powder and turmeric powder.
- Mix well and switch off the flame.
Dabeli masala mixture
Transfer the dabeli filling prepared to a wide plate or a bowl. Garnish it with roasted masala peanuts, raw onions, onions, coriander leaves, sev, grated coconut, pomegranate, chat masala, black salt, and red chili powder. Make sure you reserve a small portion of these garnish ingredients for the final garnish before serving.
How to serve dabeli
- Slice through pav or rolls almost ¾th way through, taking care not to split them completely (this ensures that rolls act like a pocket for dabeli stuffing).
- Between the pav, spread dates chutney or tamarind chutney on one half and chile-garlic chutney on the other half.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of garnished dabeli stuffing on one half and add the garnish ingredients.
- Serve and enjoy.
Tips
- I have given the link for green mint chutney in the ingredient list. You can use green coriander mint chutney instead of red garlic chutney if desired.
- The key to Indian chaat is the garnish. Especially onions, coriander leaves, and sev. So don't miss it.
- You can also toast the pav with butter for a rich flavor.
- Pomegranate seeds can be substituted with raisins.
- You can also use apple butter instead of dates chutney by flavoring 2 tablespoon of apple butter (dilute apple butter with some water to desired consistency) with ¼ teaspoon of chili powder, ½ teaspoon of chat masala, and a pinch of black salt.
- You can use store-bought dabeli masala for the recipe. It is easily available in any Indian store or online.
- I have also tried using pav bhaji masala instead of dabeli masala, and it still tastes good. So you can use that also.
Recipe FAQS
Dabeli is a delightful Indian chaat or snack originating from the state of Gujarat, but these days it is trendy in Maharastra and all over India for its flavors and texture.
Dabeli masala powder is a spicy mix powder popularly used in Gujarati snacks that is prepared using whole garam masalas spices like clove, cinnamon, elaichi, tej patta (bay leaf) along with dry red chilies, black pepper, coconut, salt, cumin, coriander seeds, and turmeric.
Yes. If you use all the other ingredients mentioned in the recipe, you can substitute dabeli masala with pav bhaji masala powder.
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Recipe card
Dabeli | Dabeli Masala | Gujarati Kacchi Dabeli
Equipment
- Mixie Jar or Blender
Ingredients
For aloo stuffing
- 3 Potatoes, medium-sized boiled and mashed
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- Asafoetida, pinch
- ¾ cups Onions, finely chopped
- 3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Tamarind chutney
- 1 teaspoon Red chile powder
- 1 tablespoon Dabeli masala or pav bhaji masala
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves, chopped
For spicy peanut mixture
- ½ cup Peanuts
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon Red chile powder
- Turmeric powder, pinch
- Salt, optional
For chili garlic chutney
- 3 Dry red chilies
- ¼ cup Garlic cloves
- ½ tablespoon Lemon juice
- Salt, to taste
For garnish
- ¼ cup Onions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup Coriander leaves
- ½ cup Sev
- 1 tablespoon Grated coconut, optional
- ⅓ cup Pomegranate seeds
- 6 to 8 Pav or Burger Buns or Dinner Rolls
- Dates chutney
- Mint chutney, optional
- Chaat masala, as needed
- Red chile powder, as needed
- Black salt, as needed
Instructions
Chili garlic chutney
- Add red chilies, garlic, and lemon juice with a pinch of salt in a blender or mixie jar.3 Dry red chilies, ¼ cup Garlic cloves, ½ tablespoon Lemon juice, Salt, to taste
- Pulse it and then add little water and grind to smooth paste. Keep this aside.
Potato or Aloo Stuffing
- In a pan, add vegetable oil and cumin seeds and saute this for a few seconds.2 tablespoon Vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- Add the onions, garlic, asafoetida, and salt and saute till the onions turn translucent.Asafoetida, pinch, ¾ cups Onions, finely chopped, 3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped, Salt, to taste
- Add tamarind chutney to the onions and mix well.2 tablespoon Tamarind chutney
- Add mashed potatoes, chile powder, dabeli masala, and salt to taste and mix well until everything is combined, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.3 Potatoes, medium-sized, 1 teaspoon Red chile powder, 1 tablespoon Dabeli masala or pav bhaji masala
- Garnish with coriander leaves, mix, and switch of the flame.1 tablespoon Coriander leaves, chopped
Masala peanuts
- Heat oil in a small pan, add peanuts, and roast it for 2 to 3 minutes. If you are using salted peanuts, skip the salt. Else, add a pinch of salt to taste, along with red chili powder and turmeric powder.½ cup Peanuts, 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil, ¼ teaspoon Red chile powder, Turmeric powder, pinch, Salt, optional
- Mix well and switch off the flame.
Dabeli masala mixture
- Transfer the dabeli filling prepared to a wide plate or a bowl. Garnish it with roasted masala peanuts, raw onions, onions, coriander leaves, sev, grated coconut, pomegranate, chat masala, black salt, and red chili powder. Make sure you reserve a small portion of these garnish ingredients for the final garnish before serving.¼ cup Onions, finely chopped, ¼ cup Coriander leaves, ½ cup Sev, 1 tablespoon Grated coconut, optional, ⅓ cup Pomegranate seeds, Chaat masala, as needed, Red chile powder, as needed, Black salt, as needed
How to serve dabeli
- Slice through pav or rolls almost ¾th way through, taking care not to split them completely (this ensures that rolls act like a pocket for dabeli stuffing).6 to 8 Pav or Burger Buns or Dinner Rolls
- Between the pav, spread dates chutney or tamarind chutney on one half and chile-garlic chutney on the other half.Dates chutney, Mint chutney, optional
- Add a couple of tablespoons of garnished dabeli stuffing on one half and add the garnish ingredients.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- I have given the link for green mint chutney in the ingredient list. You can use green coriander mint chutney instead of red garlic chutney if desired.
- The key to Indian chaat is the garnish. Especially onions, coriander leaves, and sev. So don't miss it.
- You can also toast the pav with butter for a rich flavor.
- Pomegranate seeds can be substituted with raisins.
- You can also use apple butter instead of dates chutney by flavoring 2 tablespoon of apple butter (dilute apple butter with some water to desired consistency) with ¼ teaspoon of chili powder, ½ teaspoon of chat masala, and a pinch of black salt.
- You can use store-bought dabeli masala for the recipe. It is easily available in any Indian store or online.
- I have also tried using pav bhaji masala instead of dabeli masala, and it still tastes good. So you can use that also.
Dabeli Masala
- If you want to make quick dabeli masala with minimal kitchen ingredients, try this recipe.
- 2 dry red chilies, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ¼ inch cinnamon, 1 clove, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon black peppercorns. Dry roast all these ingredients in a pan and let the mixture cool completely. Grind it in a small mixie jar to a powder.
Nutrition
This post for Dabeli Indian snack was first published in Oct 2016. Updated with recipe maker, calorie information and more details.
Nava K
How can I not agree. Indeed mouthwatering, also so vibrant.
Kushi
Thank you Nava 🙂
Ritu Ahuja
Wow!! this looks tempting. I wish I could take a bite. Lovely presentation and delicious food. Yummm 🙂
Kushi
Thank you Ritu :-0
srividhya
adding apple butter instead of dates chutney sounds really interesting. Love dabeli any time.
Kushi
Thank you Sri 🙂
Anu
Looks yum!!
Kushi
Thank you Anu 🙂