Dabeli Pizza
Dabeli Pizza is great for a no-rush, lazy Sunday kinda day. These are lots of fun for kids and adults alike and make for a great addition for your normal chaat line up. This recipe is great for using up extra things you have in the fridge. The paratha dough is from my Aloo Paratha recipe, the filling is from my Dabeli recipe and all the toppings can be a great way to use up chutneys and herbs from the fridge!
The idea has all of the key flavor notes that you look for in great chaat food, but it is a little more portable. The best part is that it won’t matter if your paratha filling ends up cracking through the dough or if your paratha doesn’t turn out round. This is the perfect recipe for a paratha amateur because eventually you’re going to cover it in cheese and chutney anyways! No one will ever see the imperfections! The keys to a good paratha are a smooth filling and a really moist dough. I find that when the dough is super soft and pliable it continues to stretch without ripping.
Making the Filling
Step one is the crust of your pizza which is filled with a spicy, sweet, tangy filling. This filling is a classic Kutchi Dabeli filling, made easier by using store bought tamarind chutney. First start by adding oil to a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot add cumin seeds and asafoetida. Once you have tempered the spices for around thirty seconds, add diced onions. Cook until translucent. Next, add all remaining dry spices, chutney, and potatoes and mash together until you have a smooth consistency.
Making the Dough
Making the dough is exactly the same for Aloo Paratha or Roti. To prepare the dough, add the oil to the wheat flour and distribute it throughout your dough with your finger tips. You want little granules and absolutely no clumps left from the oil. Make a well in the center and add in half of the water. Swirl a fork in the middle and slowly incorporate more flour, exactly as you would do if you made home made pasta. Once the water is fairly incorporated add in the rest of the water a quarter cup at a time. Start to knead the dough thoroughly.
You want a soft, supple dough. You may not use all of the water or you may need slightly more depending on how dry your flour is. The perfect consistency is when the dough is fully hydrated but it doesn’t stick to your hands anymore, it should be slightly tacky to the touch but not a sticky mess. All of the dry bits of flour from the sides of the bowl should be fully incorporated. Kneading the dough thoroughly is also very important. Continuously knead for about 3-5 minutes.
Portion the dough into 8-10 pieces, and start rolling out the parathas. Cover the rest of the pieces in the bowl with a towel while you are rolling so that the dough doesn’t dry out.
Dust your rolling pin and surface with flour and roll out to a roughly 5-6 inch circle. Fill with roughly 1/4 c. of the filling. Bring all the edges back in to the center as if making a dumpling. Dust everything again and roll out the dumpling to a 7-8 inch circle. To learn my rolling method refer to my Roti recipe!
Assemble your Pizza!
The key to this pizza is to get your paratha super crispy. To achieve this, I pan fry both sides thoroughly with ghee. I let it go for an extra minute or so on the hot fry pan in order to get a very crunchy crust. I use a combination of mint chutney, red chili chutney, and tamarind chutney as my “sauce”. Then I top with shredded Amul cheese, you can use any cheese that you’d like. I have tried this with Monterrey Jack and a habanero cheese and both were delicious. I cover the pan in order to get the cheese nice and melted. Top with diced onions, chopped green chili, and a sprinkle of chaat masala!
Dabeli Pizza
Ingredients
Dabeli Stuffing
- 3 russet potatoes peeled boiled, and mashed
- 3/4 c. of sweet tamarind chutney
- 2 tablespoons dabeli masala storebought options are fine!
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds jeera
- 1 teaspoon lal mirch optional
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric avej/hardar/haldi (optional)
- 1 teaspoon asofateida hing
Dabeli Masala
- 4 dried red chilies
- 3 cloves
- 3 peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 cardamom pod
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds jeera
- 1 tsp. lal mirch
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric hardar/avej/haldi
Paratha Dough
- 2 cups wheat flour/atta plus more for dusting
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 cup hot water
- Ghee/oil for frying
Pizza Toppings (optional)
- Mint Chutney
- Sweet Tamarind Chutney
- Red Chili Chutney
- Diced Red Onion
- Dahi
- Crushed Peanuts
- Shredded Amul Cheese
- Chaat Masala
Instructions
Dabeli Masala Instructions
- Toast all of the whole spices on medium-high heat until fragrant and grind into a fine powder using a spice or coffee grinder. After spices are ground add 1/2 tsp. of turmeric and 1 tsp. of lal mirch and grind again to combine.
Dabeli Filling Instructions
- On medium-high heat warm enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add spices and let them bloom for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add potatoes and tamarind chutney and continuously mix until the mixture is uniform. Add all spices and mix thoroughly. If the mixture is too dry add water in a tablespoon at a time until you get a combined mixture.
Paratha Instructions
- Add the oil to the wheat flour and distribute it throughout your dough with your finger tips. Make a well in the center and add in half of the water. Swirl a fork in the middle and slowly incorporate more flour, exactly as you would do if you made home made pasta. Once the water is fairly incorporated add in the rest of the water a quarter cup at a time. Start to knead the dough thoroughly. Once the dough has formed a nice smooth ball, grease your palms with 1/2 tsp. of ghee and knead again for an additional minute.
- Portion the dough into 8-10 pieces. Roll out to a small circle, about 6 inches on a floured surface. Place roughly 1/4 c. of filling in the center and fold like a dumpling. Pinch off any excess and flatten slightly. Roll again to a 8-10 inch circle.
- Pan fry with ghee on medium heat on both sides for 1-2 minutes. You want the exterior to be nice and crunchy. Keep flipping if you need to develop more of a crust.
Pizza Assembly
- Spread the paratha with a combination of mint chutney, red chili chutney, and/or tamarind chutney. Top with shredded cheese and either bake or place in a covered fry pan on medium heat to melt the cheese. Garnish with onions, chaat masala, cilantro leaves, and/or green chilies!
