Veg Momos are tantalizing, the traditional food of Tibet also known dim sum. These are steamed dumplings with spicy tomato chutney make a very famous street food in India.

Overview

Momos are tantalizing, the traditional food of Tibet also known dim sum. We are talking about dumplings stuffed with cabbage, carrots, ginger and other spices. There are many versions of momos one can be: Stuffed with crumbled tofu and wrapped up in the cutest little round package, steamed and then served with a mouth watering spicy sesame tomato chutney.

Let’s start this popular street food with two easy folding techniques along with spicy tomato chutney.

Recipe Insights

What is momo?

Momo is dumpling stuffed with cabbage, carrot, ginger, onion and other spices. The stuffing is wrapped up in a super artistic designs which are further steamed and enjoyed with spicy tomato chutney. The stuffing can have many versions like paneer (cottage cheese), veggies, chicken or sea food too. Also the designs of outer covering of momo also vary from place to place.

How to cook momos?

Momos can be steamed, deep fried or baked. Sometimes, people cover momos in tandoori sauce and cook it. Today this recipe is about steamed momos (our personal favorite).

Dough

Momos outer covering is made up of all purpose flour (maida). The dough has to be kneaded stiff or hard. Also another healthy version of this recipe is wheat momos.

Time required to make momos

Momos take really good amount of time from scratch to steaming momos. So if you have enough time in hand, then start making it. Also if you have a helping hand then time will certainly reduce. I had my two little kids a.k.a monsters helping me so I took around 2 hours to make everything depending upon the kitchen gadgets and working environment at home.

Taste

Momos taste heavenly balanced with spicy tomato chutney. Steamed momos are super juicy and soft with vegetables stuffed inside it. Cover these juicy momos with spicy chutney and it really tastes very good.

Tips

1. Momos dough should be kneaded firm. After resting of dough, it is perfectly ready for making momos’ outer covering.
2. Making spicy tomato chutney beforehand or as a meal prep really saves a lot of time.
3. Here I have made no onion garlic tomato chutney. If you want, you can add both onion and garlic in tomato chutney.
4. If steamer is not available at home, then just take a big vessel with water in it and place any plate on top of the pot and put momos on the plate. Momos will easily get cooked on the plate in steam.
5. While make stuffing for momos, you can use any vegetables of your choice as stuffing in momos.

Video Recipe

Ingredients

Momos outer covering

• All purpose flour (maida) - 2 cups
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Ice cold water - for kneading dough

Vegetable Filling for Momos

• Cabbage (grated) - 1 cup
• Carrots (grated) - 1/2 cup
• Bell pepper (capsicum) - 1/2 cup
• Ginger (grated) - 1 inch
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp

Street Style Momos Chutney

• Whole Red Chilli - 8 to 10
• Ginger - 1inch
• Beet (beetroot) - 1 small portion
• Water
• Grinder

Preparation of Momos

• Momos outer covering dough
• Vegetable Filling
• Steamer
• Water
• Momos Chutney - to serve with momos

Instructions

Momos outer covering - Preparation Steps

• Add all purpose flour and little salt to a bowl.

• Knead the dough with ice cold water to make a firm dough.

• When the dough comes together, stretch the dough with the help of arms. This will increase gluten in dough which in turn make soft and juicy momos.

• Rest the dough for at least 30 minutes. Cover the dough with a wet cloth or a cling film so that it does not get dry.

Vegetable Filling for Momos - Preparation Steps

• Take grated cabbage, grated carrots, bell peppers, grated ginger to a mixing bowl.

• Add salt, black pepper and oil to veggies and mix it well.

• Rest veggies for 15 minutes.

• After 15 minutes, take a muslin cloth on a bowl and place veggies on muslin cloth.

• Squeeze water from the veggies. This will prevent the momos to break while steaming. Do not throw the left over water from veggies. You can use this water in making any lentils or veggies or even while spicy tomato chutney (our next step).

• Our Vegetable filling for momos is ready.

Street Style Momos Chutney - Preparation Steps

• Add whole red chillies, beetroots (beets), ginger and water to a pot.

• Boil it for 10 minutes or until beets are soft.

• After beets are soft, let the mixture cool down. Then transfer all the ingredients to a grinding jar and grind it.

• A beautiful red color sauce is ready. This sauce can last in refrigerator for 1 week.

Momos - Making shapes

• After resting the dough, take a small ball and make a big flat roti (bread) out of it.

• Take a circle shape cutter or any bowl and cut small equal sized circular shaped rotis out of it.

• Put vegetable filling on small circular shaped flatbread.

• Make pleats in dough. Pinch each pleat to make perfect momo design.

• Push the filling inside momo and make pleats around full momo. Our first design of momo is ready.

• For our 2nd (second) easy folding method, make pleats in dough till the half way of roti (small flatbread).

• Take rest half of roti and stick with the pleats.

• Our second design of momo is ready.

Momos - Steaming

• Place a steamer on the burner.

• Apply oil on steamer so that momos do not stick.

• When steam starts to come out from steamer, place all the momos on the steamer. Steam momos for 15 minutes in the steamer.

• After 15 minutes, the momos are ready.