I was craving for a typical Mahrashtrain street food while shopping at a complex in Gurgaon. It had just been a few months we moved in the city, and my husband was as clueless as me. We were happy to spot a Vada Pav outlet in one of the corners of the complex, which apparently is a popular food chain here in Delhi NCR. But. The first bite itself broke my heart. The sole reason I didn’t like that Vada Pav was that it had a frozen vada inside (I could sense that) that was reheated before serving.

Back in Surat, we used to go to a Vada Pav street seller near Experimental School. The guy at this street stall, dipped the potato balls in the thick gram batter, fried them in oil (in front of us) and served that inside a Pav (a bun). The freshly fried vada is the star of his dish. And here I was, looking at my Vada Pav at a popular Vada Pav chain in Gurgaon. Was I disappointed? You bet. That was the time I decided to learn to make it at home. Yes. Time can teach you a lot of things. Without questions, the homemade Vada Pav turned out heavenly and I promised myself I will never eat one outside in Gurgaon, again.

A few months back, I was in Surat, and one of my neighbours (Pooja Bhabhi) sent me a plate of homemade Dabelis. It is a Kutchi dish, which has the goodness of fried/roasted peanuts and lots of other sweet and sour flavours. I loved it! After coming back to Gurgaon, I checked out a YouTube video of how Dabelis are made. Guess whose video I ended up watching? Tarla Dalal’s! Dear readers, I love Tarla Dalal! Nobody in India can replace her charm. I have a few vintage copies of her cookbooks, and I treasure them like none other. I was extremely happy to see her teach me this street food.

Then, I ordered Galaji’s Dabeli masala from amazon.in, and cooked it the way Tarla Dalal instructed in her video. Was it delicious? You bet.

So, today morning, as I was shivering in the kitchen (thanks to the cold) I thought of using the leftover buns and make this recipe again. The dash of red colour from the pomegranate seeds and the white colour from the grated coconut made my dish look way too appealing. Luckily, I also had some tamarind chutney. I had to pound some fresh raw garlic chutney, though. I and my husband were up for a treat!

By the way, we were craving  for a glass of homemade pomegranate and beetroot juice (with a few apple pieces and mint leaves). He chopped the fruits and grind them in a mixer, and I strained it in a muslin cloth. A minute later, we gulped down the fresh juice in utter silence. After a minute, we broke into a hearty laughter. Was it a blessed morning? You bet!