Among the different varieties of Nepali food available, momo is one of the most popular items. In fact, momos are so popular in Nepal that almost every restaurant offers it on their menu. It’s also very popular in London, so much so that guests often ask us for the recipe for our chicken, mutton, and vegetarian momos!
Wait, what’s a “momo”?
Momo is a dumpling made of all-purpose flour and filled with either meat or vegetables. Inspired by Tibetan dumplings, the dish is a very popular Nepali street food.
In Nepal the most common type of momos are buff (buffalo) momos followed by chicken. A few restaurants also offer special momos such as pumpkin momos or spinach & cheese momos but non-veg momos are still the favourite.
How can I make momos at home?
There are three steps to making momo: you will first need to prepare fillings, then the wrappers, and finally you can cook them.
Honestly momos take a bit of time to make, especially if you are not familiar with the recipe, but we assure you the end result is worth it.
So let’s get to it!
Today you will need:
500 gm of minced meat
1 grated onion
Some finely chopped coriander
2 tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste each
Half a tablespoon of coriander powder
Half a tablespoon of turmeric
Half a tablespoon of cumin powder
2 tablespoons of grated chilli
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of salt
1 kg of flour
Now that you have your ingredients ready, let’s go on to the first step: preparing the fillings.
1. Preparing the fillings
Add 1 grated onion to the minced meat.
Add half a tablespoon of turmeric powder. This is to add a bit of color to the meat.
To enhance the flavor of the filling add 2 tablespoon of salt.
Add 2 tablespoons of grated chilli. You can add a bit more if you want the momos to be spicy.
Add 2 tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste each.
Add half a tablespoon of coriander powder to make the filling taste a bit sour.
Mix the spices with the meat.
Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and mix it again. The oil prevents the filling from getting too dry (Nepalese love momo with juicy fillings).
Add finely chopped coriander.
Mix them well.
Now onto the wrappers.
2. Making the momo wrappers
Making wrappers is easier than making the fillings or even the cooking part and it’s fun too!
Put the flour into a bowl.
Add water a little at a time to the flour to make dough.
Knead the dough for a few more minutes. This makes the dough easier to use.
Pinch off a bit of the dough (the amount depends on how big you want the wrapping to be).
With a rolling pin roll the dough as thin as possible into circular shapes (don’t make them too thin or too thick) the size of a glass.
Tip: Roll a large amount of dough then use a glass to cut out smaller wrappers. Steel glasses are best for this.
After steaming, your momos are now ready to be served! Fresh momos taste the best, so have a few while you’re still waiting for others.
But what about the momo achar?
Momos taste great on their own but some achar or sauce takes the taste one step further. In fact, some momo shops in Nepal are just popular due to their unique achar.
What ingredients do I need to make momo achar?
10 tomatoes
3 tablespoons of sesame seeds
1 tablespoons of cumin seeds
2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
2 tablespoons of red chilli paste
2 tablespoons of garlic paste
2 tablespoons of ginger paste
1 tablespoons of coriander powder
1 tablespoons of turmeric powder
2 tablespoons of salt
1 lemon
700 ml of water
*The measurements are for around 750 ml of achar.
What are the steps to make momo achar?
Roast 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds in a frying pan till it turns brown.
Add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil to the frying pan and heat it.
Chop 10 tomatoes and add it to the frying pan.
Add 2 tablespoons of red chilli paste, 2 tablespoons of garlic paste, 2 tablespoons of ginger paste, 1 tablespoon of coriander powder and 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder.
Cook the mixture until the tomatoes are slightly cooked.
Add 2 tablespoons of salt (the amount of salt can be varied according to your taste).
Add 700 ml of water to the mixture.
Put it in a blender until it gets smooth.
Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice (this also varies according to your taste).
And your momo sauce is done! Enjoy your momos!
Tip: The sauce tastes better when it’s cold.
Momos sound amazing but I want to eat it now!
Momos are all the more tasty when you make them yourselves, but what’s even better is taking each bite in an authentic Nepali dining experience.
Visit us at 121 Uxbridge Road, White City, London or 23 Boston Parade, Boston Road, London for the best momos in all of London.
