Momos with Hot Spicy Dip

Momo originated in Tibet, but have a strong presence in the fast food menus of Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Northeast and North India. Every office complex, housing area and market place has a vendor selling momos. Sikkimese people from the state of Sikkim and the Ladakhi people from North Western India have Momos as a part of their local ethnic cuisine.

What's a MOMO?

Traditionally, momo is prepared with ground/minced meat filling, but over the past several years, this has changed and the fillings have become more elaborate. These days, momo is prepared with virtually any combination of ground meat, vegetables, tofu, paneer cheese, soft chhurpi (local cheese) and vegetable and meat combinations

Varieties in Momo

Basically, there are three types of momos- steamed, fried and pan-fried. Momo is usually served with a dipping sauce (locally called chutney/achhar), normally made with tomato as the base ingredient. In Nepal, soup momo is a dish with steamed momo immersed in a meat broth.
Pan-fried momo is also known as kothey momo. Steamed momo served in hot sauce is called C-momo.
These days momos have become very popular among college students in and around the country. Every city has restaurants, street vendors selling momos as they are are extremely affordable and pocket friendly and 1 portion for 1 person is super filling. So restaurateurs are getting super creative and going crazy churning out about 200 plates of momos per day as an example. I recently got to know about a place which sells Tandoori Momos. Can you beat this? Haha ..Its amazing how this little Tibetan delicacy has gained popularity.

I have just prepared simple momos to start of with. Later we shall get creative and use them in soups, baked dishes, tandoori style etc.

Ingredients


For the Filling

• Grated Cabbage - 1 medium sized
• Finely grated Carrot - 1 medium sized
• Grated Ginger - 2 inch piece(1 Tbsp)
• Salt - as per taste
• Oil - 2 Tsp 

For the Dough

• Maida(plain flour) - 1 cup
• Salt - as per taste
• Water- To knead a firm dough
• Oil - 1 Tsp for the dough

Method

For the Filling: 

Add the cabbage and carrot to the mixer and blend till it is finely chopped into tiny bits.

Take this mix and squeeze out all the water by pressing the cabbage- carrot mix between your palms, until no water is left.

Add 2 teaspoons of oil to a wide pan. Add giner paste or grated ginger, let it cook for a about a minute and then add the cabbage- carrot mix and  cook until the mixture looks dry . Add salt and give it a good mix. You do not have to cook this for too long, the crunch should remain in the cabbage.

Turn of the flame and leave this mixture to cool.

Transfer to an airtight container if using later.

For the Dough:

Knead a firm dough from the plain flour by adding some salt and room temp water.

Once you knead it well, pour a teaspoon of oil and knead this for 2-3 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth for 15 minutes. Or transfer to an airtight container.

For making the Dumplings:

Take a small amount of (grape sized) dough and roll on a greased surface. add a little oil on  the board if needed, to make a thin sheet for the momo.

Add about a tablespoon of the stuffing and seal as shown or any shape you prefer.

For Steaming the momos:

Fill the bottom pot of the steamer with about half or little less with tap water.

Boil the water in a steamer. While the water is boiling, grease the steamer liberally with oil, so that the momos do not stick at the bottom.

After greasing the steamer, place the momos on it with about half an inch distance between each dumpling.

Once the water comes to a roaring boil, keep the steamer on the simmering water pot and cover it.

Cook for 10-15  mins or until the momos are completely cooked.

Once they are cooked, they will look slightly translucent. Let them rest for 2-3 mins in the covered steamer.

Serve it hot with the spicy dip.

Hot n Spicy Momos Dip

When I started preping for the dip, I din't know that the dried red chillies which were in my pantry are super sharp in taste. So liberally took 5-6 long chillies and soaked them in warm water and waited till they get soft to purée. Once they were soft I took the chillies along with the water and put them in the blender along with the rest of the ingredients. And once I tasted this, I literally had smoke fuming out of my ears..Now what, I started thinking??? So I added few more tomatoes , sugar, tamarind pulp to cut the spice and vinegar to bring in a little sourness. And I cooked it for about 5 minutes so that I can refrigerate this. So finally I made a big jar of this sort of schezwan sauce. I have refrigerated this and use it in a lot of Chinese recipes and Mexican as well. Its an amazing sauce and you can increase or decrease the quantity as per your taste. So a few ingredients are optional. So it would be a good idea to soak just a couple of dries red chillies first and then take extra if you feel the dip is less spicy.

Since momos are meant to be bland, it is good to accompany it with a spicy dip to relish these hot steamed dumplings.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes- 4-5 
• Dried Red chillies - 2-3 (soaked) 
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Salt- to taste
• Sugar- 1 Tsp
• Tamarind pulp (optional)
• Vinegar- 2 Tbsp (optional)

Method

Soak the red chillies in warm water until they turn soft.

Take a mixer grinder, add tomatoes, red chillies (do not add the water), garlic,sugar, salt, tamrind pulp, vinegar and blend this well. Check if the taste is okay for you or else adjust the spice accordingly.

You do not need to cook this sauce. It is an instant dip.

A Few Tips

• You can use capsicum, onions, paneer any other vegetables. Traditionally the ingredients I have used, is what the vendors use. 

• I prepared the dough and kept it in an airtight container on the kitchen counter and used it after about 4 hours. It was easily pliable and firm too.

• Try and keep the shell thin, when you roll and shape them. When it steams it cooks faster and tastes better. If you roll thick shells then you might not enjoy your momos, they might be rubbery.

• Always cover the momos once you start shaping them so that they don't dry out or develop a skin. Cover them with a damp muslin cloth.

• You will get to know when the momos are done when they stop sticking and develop a shiny coat. And when you bite into them they are soft.

• Tamarind pulp and vinegar is optional in the dip. You do not have to use them.

Do try these and leave me a comment!