Momo is a type of south Asian dumpling, originated from Tibet or Nepal. I had momo first time at a fine dining restaurant in Ahmedabad. It was so bland I decided not to have it ever again. But one day, a friend took me to a thela (food truck), serving spicy and delicious Indo Chinese food roadside, and that was the best momo I’ve ever had.
I never thought of making momo at home. But running a food blog is all about pushing your boundaries, keep experimenting with new dishes/cuisines and keep generating content that your followers like. A few days back one of my followers asked me to share the recipe for vegetarian momo. And here I’m, sharing the first recipe I made on my followers’ demand and surprisingly, the first attempt itself turned out to be good.
Making momo takes a considerable amount of time (one to two hours depending on your level of expertise). It is the perfect dish to make with friend(s) during a cooking party like my friend and I did. Yesterday we had fun making it while chit-chatting about political affairs to fashion, lifestyle, family, future and what so ever affairs you might not even have heard of lol 😉
Veg momos with a chopstick – side view
Momo vs Dim sum
Momo is a type of south Asian dumpling which can be served steamed or fried. Dim sum is a Chinese dumpling served with a cup of tea. Dim sum is generally served in a fine dining restaurant whereas you can find momo from at roadside food stalls to fine dining restaurants.
After coming to the states, I’ve eaten momo and dim sum at several places. But the best dim sum I’ve had in the US was at Hakkasan, New York. We also enjoyed black sesame and chocolate dumpling for dessert there. If you are in NYC, don’t forget to visit this amazing restaurant. It is just a few steps from the Times Square.
Vegetable Momo or Veg momo
Ingredients
For outer cover
- 1 cup All-purpose flour Maida
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1/3 cup Water or as needed
For stuffing
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 inch Ginger finely chopped
- 3-4 Garlic finely chopped
- 3-4 small Green Chilies
- ½ cup Cabbage finely chopped
- ½ cup Carrot finely chopped
- ¼ cup Green bell paper Capsicum finely chopped
- 2 small Spring onion Optional finely chopped
- 1 to 1.5 tsp Soy sauce
- ½ tsp Black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
For outer cover
- In a bowl add flour, salt, and oil. Mix it well
- Add water in parts and make a hard dough
- Cover the dough with a damp cotton cloth and keep it aside
For stuffing
- In a thick bottomed pan, heat oil
- Add ginger, garlic, and chilies. Sauté it for 2-3 seconds
- Add spring onion whites. Sauté it for a minute
- Turn the flame on high. Add cabbage, carrot, capsicum and stir-fry the vegetables for 2-3 minutes
- Add salt, black pepper, and soy sauce as required. Stir-fry vegetables for 2-3 minutes more.
- Switch off the flame and add spring onions greens. Mix it
- Let the stuffing cool down
For shaping veg momos
- Sprinkle some oil on the dough and knead it well again.
- Divide it into two equal parts
- Make 6-7 equal logs from each part. Make small balls and cover it with a damp cloth.
- Lightly dust flour on working surface and work with one dough ball at a time.
- Roll dough ball into a thin circle of 2-3 inch diameter.
- Lift the circle in hand and apply water on edges with your fingers
- Put 1tsp stuffing in center, start folding pleats and fold momos into desired shapes.
- Keep the momos covered under the damp cloth
For steaming momos
- Heat water in a steamer.
- Grease the surface with oil and put momos
- Steam momos for 10-15 minutes
- Momos are done when you touch the outer cover and it is not sticky or when the momos have transparent look.
- Serve momos hot with Szechuan sauce or spicy tomato garlic chutney and soy sauce
Notes
Veg momos top view