Nepalese Momos

Nepali/ Nepalese cuisine comprises a variety of cuisines based upon ethnicity, soil and climate relating to Nepal’s cultural diversity and geography.

Much of the cuisine is variation on Asian themes. Other foods have hybrid Tibetan, Indian and Thai origins. Momo—Tibetan style dumplings with Nepali/Nepalese spices—are one of the most popular foods in Nepal. They were originally filled with duffalo meat but now also with goat or chicken, as well as vegetarian preparations. 

“Momo’ is to Nepal what pizza is to Italy“

There are typically two types of momo, steamed and fried. Momo is usually served with a dipping sauce (locally called chutney/achaar), normally made with tomato as the base ingredient. 

There are three steps to making momo: you will first need to prepare fillings, then the wrappers, and finally you can cook them.Honestly momos take a bit of time to make, especially if you are not familiar with the recipe, but I assure you the end result is worth it.

So let’s get to it!

Ingredients:
For dough
Maida 100 gms
Water ( enough to mix the dough)

For filling
1.5 cups very very finely chopped cabbage
2 onions very very finely chopped
Salt to raste
1.5 tbsp ghee
Grated cheese ( optional) today i used cheese spread.

For chutney

2tbspn white sesame
1tsp olive oil
Salt to raste
3 nos. Tomatoes
15 cloves garlic
15 – 20 whole dried red chilies

Method:

Mix in the water and maida to prepare dough. It should be very soft. Knead for 5 mins on a clean counter and cover with a damp cotton cloth for 30 mins or until ready to roll.
Squeeze the chopped vegetables between your palms to drain excess water. Mix in ghee and cheese. In a large bowl, using you hands give it a good mix to incorporate the ghee and cheese well. This will add more flavour into the filling. Add salt only when ready to fill. Keep the filling in the fridge till you get other things ready.

For chutney: roughly chop the tomatoes. In a pan heat oil and add sesame seeds. Just before the seeds turn brown add the remaining ingredients and cook till the tomatoes are done. Let it cool completely. Grind it to make a fine paste.

Rolling the dough:
On a clean counter roll the dough into thin discs. Put a spoon of the filling in centre, place one edge over another and press to seal.
Grease the idli plates with oil and place the momos. Steam for 5- 10 mins. Voila!!

Note: The potato used in the hack can be used as it gets steamed by the time you are finished making all of the momos.

Attaching some pictures for better understanding.