Momo Recipe

I feel like momo recipe deserves to be shared first! Sounds bizarre but I think I owe it to momo. As a Nepalese, I have had momo as long as I can remember. I love momo... steamed or fried, buff or chicken, expensive or cheap, restaurant or home-made... I love momo!

If you are wondering what momo is... it is dumpling; meat filling wrapped with dough and typically steamed. It is favorite food of Nepalese (almost all the people I know at least) and so far all the non-Nepalese friends that I have shared momo with, they all ask me when I'm making it next :)

Steamed Momo

I thought after moving to US, I would rarely eat any momo. But in past 6 years that I have been here, I have had more momo than I could imagine. Every time the weather is cold and brisk, all I can think of is momo... so much so that my non-Nepalese husband craves for momo when it is raining and cold outside.

I remember growing up in Nepal that making momo at home was a big day... a very time consuming all-day event with all extended families. But with all the "fancy" kitchen gadgets, it is much more faster and easier.

I typically start with "golveda achar" tomato sauce for momo. Saute turmeric, ginger, garlic, and onions until onions look translucent in medium heat. Add fresh peppers (any kind) and diced tomatoes. Sprinkle some salt, cumin powder, coriander power and red chili powder. Cook until all the tomatoes look cooked. Turn off the stove and add chopped cilantro and mix it with the sauce.

Golveda Achar (Tomato Sauce) In-Process

Put the tomato sauce in the grinder, add roasted sesame, a little bit of water (depending on how liquidy you want the sauce to be) and lemon juice. Let the achar sit until ready to be poured over yummy momo...

Ready-to-Eat Golveda Achar

While cooking the tomato achar, I normally start on dough to save some time. Talking about momo is making me hungry for momo... With kitchen aid, making dough has been a lot more easier. Add flour, a little bit of canola oil and water to make the dough. After thoroughly mixed, put the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit for a while so that the dough is soft when you roll it.

Flour, oil and water mixture forming dough

Now on to the meat filling. You can use any ground meat. I prefer mix of pork and turkey but chicken and bison are yumm as well! In a big bowl add ground meat, chopped onions, chopped cabbage, tomatoes, and a whole lot of spices. Mix it well with fork or hand. I prefer mixing with hand as it mixes all meat and spices very well...

Ground Meat mixed with Spices

Next you take the dough break it in some portion and make a rope. Cut the dough inch long and make a ball out of each cut. Flatten each ball to roll it in circles..

Flatten Dough Balls for Wrap

Roll the flatten dough balls into circles about 4 inch wide.

Rolled-Out Dough Ready for Wrap

Now we are ready to wrap. Take the rolled-out dough and put some meat filling and close the dough. You can wrap it whatever way is easier. I have made a gif from the pictures... looks funky! Just make sure that the wrap is closed.

Wrapping Momo

Wrapped Momo

Throwing in some more photos!!! :)

Momos Ready to be Steamed

Set wrapped momo on oiled steamer. After the steamer is full, put it over the water to steam. It takes around 10 minutes for momo to be ready. When you open the cover and touch the momo, if it sticky you need to cook some more but if it is not sticky, you can take it off the steamer and momo is now ready to eat :) Serve with golveda achar and some coke or wine!!

Yummy Momo!!

It took around 4 hours for me to make this batch with taking pictures and doing one thing at a time. If you buy the wraps from Asian stores, it takes around 1-1.5 hours in total. Without stopping to take picture, it takes around 2-2.5 hours. But it is worth it!!! Also if you have help from friends, it is more fun and less time :) Make some and let me know how it tastes!

Recipe:

Golveda Achar (Tomato Sauce) - 20 minutes

• 1 lb tomato
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 sliced green pepper (Jalapeño, Serrano, or any kind)
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp red chili powder (depending on how spicy you want)
• Salt as need
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1 tsp of Cumin and coriander
• Ginger and garlic to taste
• Roasted Sesame powder
• Lime or lemon

1. Heat a non-stick frying pan.
2. Add some oil after the pan is heated. 
3. When the oil is warm enough, add turmeric, ginger and garlic. 
4. Add onions and stir occasionally until they are translucent. 
5. Add peppers and chopped tomatoes and let it sit for few minutes. 
6. Add dry spices (salt, cumin, coriander, and red chili powder). 
7. Stir the mix and cover the pan. 
8. After the tomatoes are cooked, add fresh cilantro to it. 
9. Take off the heat and let it sit for a while. 
10. After the mix is cooled enough, put it in mixer, add lemon/lime juice and sesame powder and mix it for few seconds. Let it sit in fridge for half-an-hour to 1 hour before serving.

Dough - 35 minutes (Active 5 minutes)

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• Warm water as needed
• 1 tsp Canola or Vegetable Oil

1. Mix water and oil slowly on the flour until it becomes dough. 
2. Make sure that the dough is soft. 
3. Cover the dough with warm cloth or plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

Meat Filling - 5 minutes

• 1 lb Ground Meat
• 1 Medium finely chopped Onion
• 1 small finely chopped tomato
• 1 cup finely chopped cabbage
• 1/5 cup chopped cilantro/coriander
• 1.5 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp meat masala
• 1 tsp red chili powder (depending on how spicy you want)
• A pinch of Turmeric 
• Salt as need
• Ginger and garlic to taste

1. Finely chop onion, tomato, cabbage and cilantro. 
2. In a big bowl, put the ground meat and add chopped onion, tomato, cabbage and cilantro. 
3. Add the spices (cumin, coriander, meat masala, chili powder, and salt, ginger, garlic). 
4. Add oil and mix all the ingredients together.

Momo - 20 to 30 minutes

1. Boil water in the momo steamer.
2. Make small balls out of the dough. 
3. Roll the small ball and make a flat circle of diameter 4 – 5 inches.
4. In the rolled out dough add meat filling and wrap it.
5. Oil the steamer so the momo doesn't stick to it. Carefully place momo on the steamer leaving enough space between each momo.
6. Put the steamer on top of boiling water for about 10-15 minutes (depending on the type of meat, pork and bison takes a little longer to cook than chicken and turkey). 
7. Check momo and see if it is sticky when you touch very carefully. If momo is not sticky, it is ready to be out of boiling water.
8. Take momo out of the steamer. Repeat if there are more momos left.
9. Serve it with golveda achar and coke, wine or beer!