Momo
Momo is one of the most popular dishes in Nepal. It is actually a dumpling usually filled with meat filling. Its origins are from Tibet as well as its name. in a matter of fact it is quite similar to Georgian khinkali, except that the latter is cooked in boiling water like pasta and momos are steamed.
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You can use different meats for filling: beef, lamb, pork or chicken or a mixture of them. For vegetarian version substitute the meat with same amount of tofu, mushrooms, and/or cabbage.
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Momo comes usually accompanied with some chutney to dip in. I add to the recipe a simple tomato chutney suggestion. You can find more here.
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Preparation time: 2 hrs.
Difficulty level: Medium-high
Servings: 10
Special equipment: Blender, steamer
Ingredients
Dough:
1/2 Kg (1 lb 2 oz) plain flour
1 tbsp. oil
pinch of salt
250g (9 oz) water
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Filling:
400g (14 oz) minced meat
2 medium onions
3 cm fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cilantro
3 spring onions
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt
pepper
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Tomato chutney:
2-3 ripe tomatoes
2 cm fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 green chili pepper
3 tbsps. fresh cilantro
2 spring onions
1/2 lemon
Preparation
Start with the dough:
Sift the flour into a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp. oil. Gradually stir in the water to get firm dough. Knead for about 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and firm. Cover with plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
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Prepare the filling:
Chop the onions, the cilantro and the spring onions thinly, peel and grate the ginger, mince the garlic.
In a bowl mix the meat with the rest of ingredients and about 1/4 cup of water.
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Prepare the chutney:
Roughly chop everything except lemon and put in a blender. Squeeze the lemon in and blend to get smooth substance.
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Prepare the momos:
After the dough has rested, knead it a little bit more and divide into balls a bit smaller then ping-pong. Flour a working surface and roll out each ball into a circle of about 7-8 cm (3") diameter.
Put a tbsp. of filling in the center of each circle, fold it in two and seal starting from one edge and moving to the other. Momo can come in many shapes so use your imagination and YouTube for ideas.
Slightly grease a steamer tray with some olive oil and arrange the momos in it, leaving some space between them. Steam for 15 - 20 minutes, until the momos are not sticky when you touch them with a finger.
Serve hot accompanied with tomato chutney.
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