Momos at Home

Unlike most law schools, mine was tiny. We shared the one building with highschoolers and had one floor with one door to enter. If the principal forgot the key, we didn’t have classes that day, just like that. I studied with the same class of 80 students for five years and we didn’t have a choice of subjects to choose from.

All day long, we sat in the same classroom as lecturers came in and out to drone on about a subject in the most dispassionate way. And when you spend five years together with someone, your interests and moods sometimes align together as a class. Like in Autumn, when the weather in Bangalore would get relief from the harsh Summer and cool down, the sky would get covered in dark clouds, our stomachs would be full from the quick lunch we’d just had, and no one would have the mood to sit and listen to a lecture on land laws, we’d all want to bunk class and be anywhere else. It would take some hemming and hawing, but eventually, the class of 80 would not be present for the class, or a “mass bunk” if you will. 

Most of the time, my friends and I would end up at our neighbourhood cafe, sipping on our teas and coffees for the next few hours, but when the month was coming to an end and our wallets were thin, we’d hit Pecos, a popular bar for students where the beer was watered down and the popcorn, unlimited. Most of those days, another gang of girls from class would’ve already beat us there, making it a true party. In my experience, it is very easy to get drunk when the company around you is fun. You get lost in the laughter and happiness, that you don’t pay attention to how much you drink. I’m not proud, but I’ll admit I’ve spent many a days at that bar drinking either to help a friend drown her sorrows, or spending some time with my roommate, or meeting new people, or old friends who come into town visiting, or sometimes just to get through the day with some cold beer and quiet company. 

No matter who the company though, and no matter how incredible a dosa and chicken curry Pecos served, everytime I went there, I would crave momos for dinner. It was like an invisible string would pull me across the street to the Tibetian plaza just as I exited Pecos. The Tibetian plaza was a small building which held a lot of stores, mostly selling imported rejects and fakes for cheap prices. Anything from underwear to the latest technology. It also housed the Taste of Tibet, a small fast food joint famous for its delicious, soft, juicy momos with a spicy chutney and fresh salsa. Man, I could eat a million of those hot, steamed momos. Almost as good as the ones I’ve had for breakfast in Darjeeling, a small town on the cold foothills of the Himalayas or even the ones near the Golden Temple at the Tibetian settlement near Coorg. 

With access to most of my momo-fix being cut off as I moved state side, I have been in perpetual search of any place that would serve good momos. Of course, it’s not like we are not in a pandemic. So, the next best thing is to make them at home. I have to admit, it took a lot of research and testing. I cross-referenced various different recipes and videos, and made momos the entire week. Ni tested them all with pleasure. The trick is to get the momo wrapper as thin as possible, especially on the edges because that would be the part you’d be pleating and you don’t want a lumpy piece of dough to take away the taste of your filling. 

Let’s start with the dough. Flour, salt, oil, and water. Mix them together in a bowl and once it sorta comes together, but is still sticky, tip the mix onto a clean, lightly floured surface and knead. Keep adding just a sprinkling of flour and continue kneading until the dough just crosses the threshold of not being sticky. Roll it into a nice ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover it with a damp towel. Allow this to rest for at least 30 minutes. 

While the dough is resting, we can get started on the filling. Now, you can go vegetarian or non-vegetarian for this, the main ingredients are shredded cabbage and carrots, minced ginger and garlic, chopped spring onions, and coriander. For the protein, I opened up some chorizo sausage and added the meat to the filling. Season with salt and pepper, along with a dash of soy and a splash of rice vinegar. Cover this up and let it rest until you have the momo wrappers ready. 

I also ended up making a spicy chutney to go along with it. This is a recipe I found on Curious Chickpea and it’s a sesame and tomato chutney. While the dominant ingredients might be these two, this chutney has them all: garlic, ginger, onions, and chillis. Roast them in a hot pan starting with the ginger and garlic, sesame seeds and dry red chillis, onions and then tomatoes. Let it cool and then blitz it smooth, seasoning with salt, lime, and soy. 

Now, back to the dough. Put the dough back onto a clean, lightly floured surface and knead it a couple of times. Roll it into a long snake and cut it into small equal pieces. So, I’ve tried this in many different ways and the one that seems to work for me is to take a small lime sized piece of dough, roll it as thin as possible, no matter how big it gets and use one of my ramekins to cut it into shape. Then I take each individual circle and thin out the edges with a light roll of my pin.

Some people also use a tall glass instead of a rolling pin because it’s smaller and easier to manipulate, but I couldn’t get a grip around that method and I was perpetually scared that the glass might break. I’m a magnet for silly injuries and that sure seemed like inviting one. Continue with the wrappers until you finish the dough. You can stack the momo wrappers on a plate, one on top of another, but be sure to sprinkle some flour in between to make sure it does not stick. If you don’t end up using all of them, you can always put them in an airtight container and freeze them. 

The folding is actually quite simple, once you do a couple of them you’ll get a handle on it. Keep all the things you want within your reach, the plate of wrappers, the filling with a small spoon, a cup of water to help you bind, and a lightly oiled plate to keep the folded momos. So, you keep a momo wrapper flat on your less dominant hand and add a small spoon of filling to one side, dab just a little bit of water along the edge and gently move the wrapper to cradle it in your palm. With your dominant hand, fold the wrapper over the filling but instead of sealing it, pleat them. Use your forefinger to make the pleat and use your thumb to hold the fold and seal it. Continue until you have the number of momos you want. 

To cook them, you can use a steamer, but while I love steamed momos, I also like a little crunch, so I pan fry them with just a touch of oil until they get a little golden brown. Then I add about 1/4th cup of water, close and cook it until all the water has evaporated. 

So, what do you say? Momos for dinner?

AuthorPriyanka SivaramakrishnanDifficultyIntermediate

AuthorPriyanka SivaramakrishnanDifficultyBeginner