Among the different varieties of Nepali food available, momo is one of the most popular items. In fact, momos are so popular in Nepal that almost every restaurant offers it on their menu. It’s also very popular in the USA and other countries so much so that guests often ask Nepali/Indian restaurants for chicken, mutton, and vegetarian momos!
Momo is a dumpling made of all-purpose flour and filled with either meat or vegetables. Inspired by Tibetan dumplings, the dish is a very popular Nepali street food.
In Nepal the most common type of momos are buff (buffalo) momos followed by chicken. A few restaurants also offer special momos such as pumpkin momos or spinach & cheese momos but non-veg momos are still the favourite.
Steps to making momo at home
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 we assure you the end result is worth it.
So let’s get to it!
Today you will need:
- 500 gm of minced meat
- 1 grated onion
- Some finely chopped coriander
- 2 tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste each
- Half a tablespoon of coriander powder
- Half a tablespoon of turmeric
- Half a tablespoon of cumin powder
- 2 tablespoons of grated chilli
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 1 kg of flour
Now that you have your ingredients ready, let’s go on to the first step: preparing the fillings.
1. Preparing the fillings
- Add 1 grated onion to the minced meat.
- Add half a tablespoon of turmeric powder. This is to add a bit of color to the meat.
- To enhance the flavor of the filling add 2 tablespoon of salt.
- Add 2 tablespoons of grated chilli. You can add a bit more if you want the momos to be spicy.
- Add 2 tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste each.
- Add half a tablespoon of coriander powder to make the filling taste a bit sour.
- Mix the spices with the meat.
- Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and mix it again. The oil prevents the filling from getting too dry (Nepalese love momo with juicy fillings).
- Add finely chopped coriander.
- Mix them well.
Now onto the wrappers.
2. Making the momo wrappers
Making wrappers is easier than making the fillings or even the cooking part and it’s fun too!
- Put the flour into a bowl.
- Add water a little at a time to the flour to make dough.
- Knead the dough for a few more minutes. This makes the dough easier to use.
- Pinch off a bit of the dough (the amount depends on how big you want the wrapping to be).
- With a rolling pin roll the dough as thin as possible into circular shapes (don’t make them too thin or too thick) the size of a glass.
Tip: Roll a large amount of dough then use a glass to cut out smaller wrappers. Steel glasses are best for this.
3. Cooking the momos
Now comes the most difficult part: packing and cooking the momos!
- Put around one tablespoon of the filling into the centre of the wrapping.
- Pinch one edge of the wrapping to the other edge then twist it.
- Keep doing this until the filling is covered (make sure the wrapping fully covers the filling otherwise the momos may break when steamed).
- Oil the bottom of the steamer. This prevents the momos from sticking.
- Put the momos in a systematic order so that they don’t touch each other.
- Steam for 20 – 30 mins.
After steaming, your momos are now ready to be served! Fresh momos taste the best, so have a few while you’re still waiting for others.
Making momo pickle (achar)
Momos taste great on their own but some achar or sauce takes the taste one step further. In fact, some momo shops in Nepal are just popular due to their unique achar.
Ingredients to make momo achar
- 10 tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoons of cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons of red chilli paste
- 2 tablespoons of garlic paste
- 2 tablespoons of ginger paste
- 1 tablespoons of coriander powder
- 1 tablespoons of turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 1 lemon
- 700 ml of water
*The measurements are for around 750 ml of achar.
Steps to make momo achar
- Roast 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds in a frying pan till it turns brown.
- Add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil to the frying pan and heat it.
- Chop 10 tomatoes and add it to the frying pan.
- Add 2 tablespoons of red chilli paste, 2 tablespoons of garlic paste, 2 tablespoons of ginger paste, 1 tablespoon of coriander powder and 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder.
- Cook the mixture until the tomatoes are slightly cooked.
- Add 2 tablespoons of salt (the amount of salt can be varied according to your taste).
- Add 700 ml of water to the mixture.
- Put it in a blender until it gets smooth.
- Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice (this also varies according to your taste).
And your momo sauce is done! Enjoy your momos!
Tip: The sauce tastes better when it’s cold.
Momos are all the more tasty when you make them yourselves, but what’s even better is taking each bite in an authentic Nepali dining experience.
Happy Eating! 🙂
Freelance Writer
