Momos or Dimsums or Dumplings…… There are different names for this oh-so-amazing Southeast Asian dish. For those of who don’t know what I’m talking about here – Momos are basically street dumplings with a savoury stuffing. Flour based dough is rolled and filled with various kinds of fillings – vegetables, tofu, chicken, meat or sea food and then twisted in various shapes. There are confusions regarding the origin, but as per my research its either Tibet or Nepal (so I’m mentioning both of them).
Personally speaking, Momos are my favourite street food of all times. And people who’re Momo lovers like me can vouch for the fact that steaming hot momos along with the spicy red chilli chutney is definitely a match made in heaven!
So today I’ll be sharing with you all my recipe of Vegetable Momos with Red Chilli Chutney. This recipe is divided into 2 broad parts – the making and cooking of Momos and preparation of Red Chilli Chutney.
So without any further ado, lets delve straight into it!
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
1. For the Momos dough:
1 cup Maida/ all-purpose Flour
½ teaspoon (tsp) Salt
Water for kneading
Oil for greasing
2. For the Momos stuffing:
2 tablespoons (tbsp) Oil
4-5 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ inch Ginger, finely chopped
1 cup Onion, finely chopped
1 cup Carrot, finely grated
½ Cabbage, finely shredded
Salt as per taste
1 ½ tsp Black pepper powder
½ teaspoon Soya Sauce
3. For the Red Chilli Chutney:
1 tbsp Oil
4-5 Tomatoes
3-4 Red Chillies
4-5 cups Water
3 cloves of Garlic, chopped
Salt as per taste
2 tsp Powdered Sugar
½ tsp Vinegar
Part 1: Preparation of the Filling:
In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and the add in the chopped garlic and ginger. Sauté for 10 seconds on a medium-low heat.
Add the finely chopped onions and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
Once the onions turn translucent, add in the finely chopped vegetables and stir the mixture for about 2-3 minutes.
Add in the salt, black pepper powder and soya sauce and stir everything together till all combined.
Switch off the flame and leave the mixture to cool down. Until then, lets start preparing the dough.
Part 2: Preparation of Dough:
Take 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp oil in a bowl. Mix everything well until combined.
Add 2-3 tablespoons water in parts and begin to knead the dough. Add more water in requisite amount, enough to make a firm dough. Do not make a soft dough else it will become hard to shape the dumplings.
Grease the dough with oil and cover it with a moist cloth. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
Part 3: Shaping and Steaming of Momos:
Divide the dough into small balls.
Take each dough ball and place on a lightly dusted board. Roll each ball in a circular shape, as thin as possible. Basically the edges have to be thin and the center should be slightly thick.
Place 2-3 teaspoons of the vegetable stuffing and place it in the center.
Apply water on the circumference of the circle using a fingertip or a pastry brush.
Lift one side of the dough and start pleating. Join all the pleats in the center. And voila! A perfectly shaped momo is ready.
Use the above mentioned steps in the same fashion to create all other momos too.
For steaming the momos, you can use the steamer if you own it. Since I don’t, I made my own steamer. For that, place one big pot of water, 3/4th filled, on the flame. Let it boil completely.
On top of it, place a sieve or strainer, lightly oiled.
Place the prepared momos on the sieve and cover it all with a lid. Let the momos steam for about 15-20 minutes.
After some time, check the momos to see if they’re cooked. When you touch the momo, the dough should not feel sticky to you.
· Once the momos are cooked, take them out from the steamer and transfer on to a plate.
Part 4: Preparation of Red Chilli Chutney:
For preparation of the chutney, boil water in a saucepan. Slit the tomatoes’ skin on top using a knife, Blanch the tomatoes and red chillies in water for about 8-10 minutes.
Once the tomatoes are done, you will see the outer cover starting to peel off by itself. Hold a corner and peel off all the skin of tomatoes, leaving the pulp behind.
Grind the tomato pulp, blanched red chillies and chopped garlic into a fine paste. If the paste looks like a coarse one, add in 2-3 teaspoons of the blanching water to make a smooth semi-liquid paste.
In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil. To the oil, add the tomato and chilli paste.
Now add in salt, powdered sugar and vinegar to the mixture. Stir well and let the mixture simmer for 3-4 minutes.
In sometime you will see the consistency of the sauce starting to thicken. Stir well until you feel the sauce has now developed into a chutney.
Now scoop out the red chilli chutney in a bowl.
Your Vegetable Momos with Red Chilli Chutney is now ready for serving!
Try and enjoy this recipe with your loved one!
And do let us know in the comments section below how it turned out for you all!
Stay tuned for more such amazing recipes!
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