Vegetable momos recipe

Momos are a traditional Nepalese snack, often served from small roadside shacks for just a few rupees. They are soft bundles of delicious goodness, similar to Chinese dumplings. This was one of three starters served at my supperclub raising funds for the Nepal Earthquake Appeal, alongisde lentil bara (pancakes) and vegetable pakoras, as pictured. You can find other recipes from that event on another blog post.

Unfortunately I don’t have many photos of the momo process as I made the filling in advance without taking photos of it and then didn’t really get any whilst we were constructing them.

I didn’t make the wrappers from scratch as I was mass catering, however the dough looks fairly straightforward to make with a simple flour and water recipe so you could try that if feeling adventurous. Otherwise shop bought gyoza wrappers are nice and simple.

The momos are not too heavily spiced as they are usually served with the spicy tomato sauce below.

Vegetable momos with tomato chutney recipe

• Time: 70
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Ingredients

• 1/2 white cabbage, finely chopped and diced
• 4 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 white onion, finely chopped and diced
• 2 cups of kale, stems removed and finely chopped
• 5 spring onions, finely sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• Salt to taste
• 1 packet of gyoza/dumpling wrappers

Method

Heat the oil over a medium heat and then cook the onion until softened. Add the garlic and cook until browning but not burnt.

Add the cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes then add the rest of the vegetables and cook until soft.

Stir in the soy sauce, lemon juice, chilli and garam masala and salt to taste. Leave to cool.

Ensure the dumpling wrappers are defrosted (leave them in the fridge for a couple of hours as if you leave them out they will go soggy).

Flour a surface and place the wrapper on it then spoon the mix into the middle leaving a finger’s width gap around the edge.

Gently rub water on the exposed part of the wrapper and then slowly gather the sides up, folding as you go, to create a pouched dumpling. It’s best to leave them on the work surface, not try and wrap in your hand. An easier method is simply folding them in half.

Ensure that the dumpling is completely sealed so that the filling doesn’t escape when cooking.

Whilst making them cover the complete ones with a cloth or some cling film so that they don’t dry out.

Steam the momos until cooked, for around 6-8 minutes. They are ready when they are soft, almost the same consistency as cooked pasta. These can be served hot or cold, ideally with the chutney below.

Tomato chutney

Ingredients

• 8 tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 green or red chilli, sliced
• Handful of fresh coriander
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)

Method

Roast the tomatoes in a baking dish in the oven for 30 minutes at 200°C. After 15 minutes add the garlic to the baking dish.

Blend the tomatoes and garlic in a blender or food processor with the tomato puree, ginger, chilli and coriander until it’s all blended down and not bitty. You can add more chilli if you want it hotter – this is usually a pretty hot sauce. Transfer the sauce to a bowl or container.

Heat the oil and add the fenugreek seeds and asafoetida until the seeds go brown. Remove the seeds with a slotted spoon and stir into the sauce. Serve chilled with momos.