Instant Pot Sweet Potato Dabeli
Dabeli, or Kutchi Dabeli, is basically a flavorful potato sandwich topped with roasted peanuts, cilantro, diced red onion, pomagranates and sev, or crunchy chickpea noodles.
It’s the perfect vegan blend of sweet, sour, and spicy all wrapped up in a sandwich! And you can easily make it gluten free by subbing gluten free bread. It’s the perfect dish to take to a potluck. I took this to my brother’s friendsgiving this year and it was definitely a crowd pleaser.
This dish is native to where my family is originally from; Kutch, Gujarat. I am fortunate enough to be able to get my dabeli masala directly from there. But luckily there are tons of options to get your hands on some; pick it up at your local Indian or Pakistani grocery store, order it online or even make your own! I’ve included plenty of links so that you will well equipped to do either.
The difference with this recipe over more traditional recipes is 1) Almost all of the actual cooking is done in an Instant Pot! and 2) I’ve subbed sweet potato in this recipe instead of russet potatoes. This makes it a little healthier and the sweetness pairs well with the dabeli masala’s kick! Because of the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes, I’ve left out the tamarind-date chutney that is generally included in the sandwich spread.
Where to get the stuff you might not recognize:
Where to buy- If you’ve got a local Patel Brothers, or any Indian, Pakistani or South Asian grocery store, you can easily pickup dabeli masala, sev and green (coriander) chutney for this recipe. If you don’t, here are links to order dabeli masala, sev and green chutney online.
How to make your own, here are a couple of authentic dabeli masala recipes, here’s one for sev, and here’s my (coriander lime) chutney recipe. The recipe is really simple and getting the right ingredients is well worth it!
Recipe Notes:
The traditional recipe calls for russet potatos or plantains. Plantains are often subbed for potatoes with traditional dabeli, especially for people who don’t eat potato for religious reasons.
Sev are thin crunchy noodles made of chickpea flour. It’s super time intensive to make, so I highly recommend buying it at your local South Asian grocery store. I mentioned Patel Brothers because they are in all major US cities but there are many others. You also can find Sev online here and here. If you STILL can’t find it, feel free to sub anything crunchy like crushed chips.
Garlic chutney, though optional, is a great condiment to spread a small amount of along with the cilantro lime chutney. Not necessary, but it just gives it a little something extra. Be careful- it’s spicy! You can find it at your local Indian or Pakistan grocery store, or online here or here. Or here is an easy 3 ingredient recipe to make it!
If you live in Indianapolis or any major US City, Patel Brothers has everything you need!