Momos – Steamed dumplings
Momo is most probably the most famous snack in South Asia and Tibetan region. It is believed that this dumpling has its origin in Tibet and it became popular for the first time in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal because of the Newari merchants who used to go to trade in Tibet.
Originally, momos were filled with yak meat since vegetables don’t really grow in Tibet. After they have reached Indian territory, vegetarian variations started to appear due to the vegetarian Hindus.
The origin of the word “momo” is believed to be Nepalese, since “mome” means “cooking by steaming” in Newari.
I love momos. They used to be my favorite snack in India. They are simply delightful and tasty.
- 250 grams all-purpose flour
- 200 milliliters water
- 200 grams minced beef (You can use chicken or pork too but, the steaming duration will change for chicken, it will be 15 mins and for pork it will be same as beef)
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 spring onion (chopped)
- 1 whole red/green chilli (as per spice requirement)
Start by mixing the minced beef with the spring onion, chilli, ginger garlic paste and soy sauce. Set the mixture aside.
Prepare the dough. Add the water gradually to the flour and mix until you get a nice and firm dough. Do not over knead, we don’t want to develop the gluten! Rest for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, roll out the dough and cut 9 equal circles using a small round bowl (mine was 10-12 cm in diameter). Fill every circle with the meat filling (just enough to seal it, do not add too much filling) and seal it as per your wish (check the video to see my method of folding).
Steam the momos for 20-30 minutes in a bamboo steamer or until they are ready. For me, 25 minutes were enough.
Serve with soy sauce. Enjoy!