A Momo Recipe From My Family to Yours
Who doesn’t love a dumpling? Every culture has its own version of these meat and/or vegetable filled wraps. Momos are the quintessential Nepali/Tibetan food. Typically filled with a lightly spiced meat, they are little dumplings eaten with a spicy tomato sauce or, sometimes, in a soup.
I remember growing up helping my mom make momos. It was always a special time when family would gather to make momos together. It was always a family affair. It takes time. Someone would make and roll out the dough. Someone else would cut it into rounds. The rest of us would fold it into crescent or round pleated shapes. The kids would always compete with one another to see who could make the perfect, most pretty momo. Others were more opportunistic, hanging around so as to be able to pop freshly cooked momos into their mouths as soon as they were ready. Every momo party ultimately ended up in a competition around who had been able to eat the most.
In a Nepali household, delicious momos with a soupy tomato sauce were eaten as quickly as they came off the steamer. My mother was always so inventive. We did not have a steamer, so she would fill a pot with water, cover the top of the pot with aluminum foil, poke holes into the foil with a fork and then put the lid. It served, for us, as a makeshift steamer. Serving momos was always our way to welcome guests as not only are momos delicious, but they are also both different and familiar enough to serve as entry point into our Nepali home. Years later, when my parents launched their food cart on the University campus, momos were always very popular. They ultimately followed into a brick-and-mortar Nepali restaurant on State Street in Madison. I do not think I’m boasting when I say that many a college student declared that momos were their favorite food of all time. My mom ultimately also invented a vegetarian version of the momo, calling it a “momocha.” In 1999, Bon Appetit magazine declared my mom’s momochas one of the top 100 foods in America.
During my college years, hosting momo parties was one of my favorite ways to connect with friends and introduce them to Nepali food. I have, in my travels, even made momos for others across the world. I even think that I won over my husband through momos, as his Italian upbringing and love of all things ravioli offered him an entrée into my world through momos.
My twin daughters have always been huge momo fans. Even when they were reluctant or unwilling to eat meat, they would gobble up my momos. Now, as young adults, when the girls come home from college, one of the first things they want for dinner is momos. It is, in part, as a result of their encouragement, that I write this story of my family. I now share this beloved momo recipe with you. Every Nepali household has its own recipe and I too have created my own version. My aunt and uncle were inventive enough to develop a Wisconsin version of the momo that was made with local brats. I hope that you too will create a ritual of gathering with your loved ones as you too host momo parties and extend this tradition and make momos that speak to your tastes, traditions, and experiences. Enjoy these momos, no matter the shape, either with homemade dough or with store bought pot sticker wrappers. They will prove a favorite, go-to comfort food for years to come.
Jala’s Momo Recipe
Momos - Dumplings
Ingredients
½ cup finely minced onion
1 ½ cup finely shredded white cabbage
1 ½ cup of finely chopped cilantro – stems and leaves tightly packed.
1 Tbsp of finely minced garlic
1 Tbsp of finely minced ginger
1 ½ Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 ½ lbs of ground meat (we like 1lb of ground pork and 1lb of ground turkey breast)
Directions
Depending on the fattiness of the meats chosen, you can add a few tablespoons of a mild oil to add a little juciness. Mix all the ingredients with your hand till all the spices and veggies are well blended.
May use store bought dumpling wrappers. Lightly add water to the rim of the wrapper, add 1 teaspoon of meat to the wrapper and fold over tightly to a crescent shape. To get the pleats takes practice. I generally make all of the Momos, put then on floured cookie sheets so they don’t stick. If you have the friends and family as part of this cooking, it takes no time to make them.
For a gluten-free option, wrap the meat in Chinese cabbage leaf and steam for 15 minutes.
Arrange the Momos on the oiled steamer. Steam for 15 minutes. When the wrapper is glistening and not sticky to touch, they are done.
Enjoy immediately with Achar or dipping sauce.
The uncooked Momos may be frozen on a cookie sheet, then added to appropriate bag for freezing. Good for a month.
If you have left over meat, it can be made into delicious pan cooked burgers. I often like to create one dish into two.
Achar Red Sauce
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 cup of Diced Green Onions
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 tbsp of minced ginger
1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
Pinches of Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
1 can of Whole Peeled Tomatoes (I always use Marzano and crush it by hand)
1- 3 tsp salt (depending on preference)
Directions
Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the first seven ingredients, cook till spices are fragrant. Add the tomatoes. Cook on low heat for ½ hour, add some water if it looks too thick. Add salt to taste. Add ½ cup of fresh chopped cilantro when sauce is done.
Matthew’s Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of Chili Garlic Sauce
3 tablespoons of Tamari
1 tablespoon of Rice Vinegar
Directions
Stir together in a bowl. Lots of red sauce and a small drizzle of the dipping sauce takes the Momos from a 9/10 to a 10/10.