Nepalese recipe
How to make Momo
मम
Kathmandu Valley and the Himalayas
Small dumplings of thin wheat dough filled with spiced minced buffalo, chicken, pork or vegetables, steamed and served with a spicy tomato-based dipping sauce (achar). They are the most popular snack in the country.
Ingredients
- 300 g plain flour and about 150 ml water
- 400 g minced chicken or pork
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic and 1 piece ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon cumin, half a teaspoon turmeric, salt
- A handful of chopped coriander and 2 tablespoons oil
- For the sauce: 3 tomatoes, 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, 1 green chilli, salt and lemon juice
Method
- Mix the flour with the water into a firm, smooth dough. Cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Mix the meat, onion, spring onions, garlic, ginger, spices, coriander, oil and salt with your hand until sticky.
- Roll small balls of dough into thin rounds about 8 cm across. Put a spoon of filling in the middle, pleat the edges together and pinch them closed at the top.
- Steam the momos on an oiled steamer rack for 12 to 15 minutes, until the dough is shiny and the filling is cooked through.
- For the sauce, char the tomatoes in a dry pan, then blend them with the sesame, chilli, salt and lemon juice. Serve the momos hot with the sauce.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Newar traders are often said to have brought momos over the mountains from Tibet, though historians still debate which way the recipe travelled.
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