Momos Dumpling Snack Food

NEPALI MOMO (NEPALESE MEAT DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Dough: In a large bowl combine flour, oil, salt and water.
• Mix well, knead until the dough becomes homogeneous in texture, about 8-10 minute.
• Cover and let stand for at least 30 minute.
• Knead well again before making wrappers.
• Filling: In a large bowl combine all filling ingredients.
• Mix well, adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow all ingredients to impart their unique flavors.
• This also improves the consistency of the filling.
• Assembly:.
• Give the dough a final knead.
• Prepare 1-in. dough balls.
• Take a ball, roll between your palms to spherical shape.
• Dust working board with dry flour.
• On the board gently flatten the ball with your palm to about 2-in circle.
• Make a few semi-flattened circles, cover with a bowl.
• Use a rolling pin to roll out each flattened circle into a wrapper.
• For well executed MOMO's, it is essential that the middle portion of the wrapper be slightly thicker than the edges to ensure the structural integrity of dumplings during packing and steaming.
• Hold the edges of the semi-flattened dough with one hand and with the other hand begin rolling the edges of the dough out, swirling a bit at a time.
• Continue until the wrapper attains 3-in diameter circular shape.
• Repeat with the remaining semi-flattened dough circles.
• Cover with bowl to prevent from drying.
• For packing hold wrapper on one palm, put one tablespoon of filling mixture and with the other hand bring all edges together to the center, making the pleats.
• Pinch and twist the pleats to ensure the absolute closure of the stuffed dumpling.
• This holds the key to good tasting, juicy dumplings.
• Heat up a steamer, oil the steamer rack well.
• This is critical because it will prevent dumplings from sticking.
• Arrange uncooked dumplings in the steamer.
• Close the lid, and allow steaming until the dumplings are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Take dumplings off the steamer and serve immediately.
• Alternatively, you can place uncooked dumplings directly in slightly salted boiling water and cook until done, approximately 10 minutes. Be careful not to over boil the dumplings.
• You may also slightly sauté cooked dumplings in butter before serving.
• To serve, arrange the cooked dumplings (MOMO's) on serving plate with hot tomato achar or any other chutneys as condiment.

MOMOS (DUMPLING SNACK)

Steps:

• In a large bowl combine flour, oil, salt and water. Mix well, and knead until the dough becomes homogeneous in texture (about 8-10 minutes). Cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes. Knead well again before making wrappers.
• In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients. Mix well, and adjust for seasoning with salt.
• Give the dough a final knead. Prepare 1 inch dough balls. Take a ball and roll between your palms to spherical shape. Dust working board with dry flour. On the board gently flatten circles, cover with a bowl. Use a rolling pin to roll out each flattened circle into a wrapper.
• NOTE: For well executed momos, it is essential that the middle portion of the wrapper be slightly thicker than the edges to ensure the structural integrity of dumplings during packing and steaming.
• Hold the edges of the semi-flattened dough with one hand and with the other begin rolling the edges of the dough flour, swirling a bit at a time. Continue until the wrapper attains 3 inches in diameter (circular shape). Repeat with the remaining semi-flattened dough circles. Cover with bowl to prevent from drying.
• For packing, hold wrapper on one palm, put one tablespoon of filling mixture and with the other hand bring all edges together to the center, making the pleats. Pinch and twist the pleats to ensure the absolute closure of the stuffed dumpling. This holds the key to a good tasting, juicy dumpling.
• Heat up a steamer, oil the steamer rack well. This is critical because it will prevent dumplings from sticking. Arrange uncooked momos in the steamer. Close the lid, and allow steaming until the dumplings are cooked through; it takes about 20-25 minutes.
• Take the dumplings out of the steamer, and immediately serve.

MOMOS

Steps:

• Make the dough: Stir together flour and warm water in a bowl until a dough forms. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead until dough is smooth and springs back slightly when touched, 10 to 15 minutes. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Make the filling: Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with cold water by about 2 inches. Add a large pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain, and let cool slightly. Peel potatoes, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Stir together the remaining ingredients except hot sauce, plus 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Gently stir in potatoes. Cover, and refrigerate while you roll out the dough.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces. Work quickly, with 1 piece at a time, keeping the remaining pieces covered with an inverted bowl. Flatten dough into an oblong slightly thinner than the pasta machine's widest setting (number 1 on a KitchenAid pasta roller). Feed through machine. Turn dial to next narrower setting. Pass dough through, gently supporting it with your palm. Continue to press dough, passing it through ever-finer settings, until very thin but still intact (number 5 of 8 on a KitchenAid pasta roller). Transfer to a lightly floured cutting board. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out rounds. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet, and dust with flour. Cover with parchment and a barely damp kitchen towel. Repeat, rolling and cutting 1 sheet at a time.
• Lightly moisten edge of 1 dough round with a finger dipped in water. Cup round in the palm of your hand, and spoon 1 scant tablespoon filling in center. Place the thumb of the hand holding the dumpling over center of filling. Use the thumb and index finger of your free hand to pinch a portion of dough on one side to form a pleat. Make another pleat next to it. Repeat, rotating dumpling slightly as you work your way around, pressing each new pleat so it falls next to the one beside it. The pleats will begin to close around the thumb holding in the filling. Remove thumb, and hold top pleats while you twist the bottom of the dumpling in the opposite direction. Press with your finger to make a small indentation in the center of the pleats, pinching up edges. Make sure dumpling is tightly sealed and air has been pressed out. Return to sheet; cover, and repeat.
• Steam dumplings in batches in an oiled steamer insert or a bamboo steamer set over simmering water until shiny, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with hot sauce.

SHAMEY MOMOS (VEGETABLE MOMOS)

Steps:

• Mix the all-purpose flour and the water very well by hand and knead until you make a smooth ball of dough.
• Knead the dough very well until the dough is quite flexible (about 5 minutes).
• Leave your dough in the bowl, covered, or in a plastic bag while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You should not let the dough dry out or it will be hard to work with.
• Chop the onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, bok choy, green onions, and mushrooms into very, very small pieces.
• Pre-cook the tofu and mushrooms, with the goal of cooking the water out of them. To do this, heat ¼ cup of cooking oil in a pan on high. Add chopped tofu and cook on medium-high for 2 minutes, until the edges are brown. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook another 3-4 minutes on medium high.
• Cool the mushrooms and tofu then mix very well with the other filling ingredients (if the mushrooms and tofu are not cooled, the green of the other vegetables will not come out correctly).
• Place the dough on a chopping board and use a rolling pin to roll it out quite thin, about ⅛ inch thick. It should not be so thin that you can see through it when you pick it up.
• After you have rolled out the dough, you will need to cut it into little circles for each momo.
• Method 1: The easiest way to do this is to turn a small cup or glass upside-down to cut out circles about the side of the palm of your hand. We use a cup 3 and ⅓ inches in diameter. That way, you don't have to worry about making good circles of dough, because each one will be the same size and shape. If you make circles this way, you may want to thin the edges of the circle a little bit before adding the filling by pinching your way around the edge of the circle. The idea is to make the edges thinner so that when you fold the dough there won't be a giant glob of dough in the folded places.
• Method 2: Of course, you can also make the circles by the more difficult traditional way. For this, first pinch off a small ball of dough. Next, use your palm to flatten out the ball. Then, flatten out the dough into a circle with a polling pin, making the edges more thin than the middle. This method is much harder to do and takes more time, though many Tibetans still use this method. In this case, the edges are pre-thinned so there is no need to thin them anymore.
• Now that you have a small, flat, circular piece of dough, you are ready to add the filling and make the mom shapes. These are many different choices for mom shapes, but for these veggie momos we will use a very common and pretty half-moon shape. This is one of the easier shapes to make.
• For this style, you begin by holding the flat circular dough in your left hand and putting about a tablespoon of veggie filling in the middle of the dough. It can be challenging if you put too much, so at first you may want to start with a little less filling.
• Beginning anywhere on the circle, pinch the edge of the dough together. Now you will fold in a small piece of dough from the "top" edge of the circle and pinch it down against the "bottom" edge of the circle. (Where the "bottom" half of the circle is the half facing you when the mom is in your hand.) The "bottom" edge of the circle-the edge nearest you-stays relatively flat and doesn't get folded. All the folding happens only on one side of the momo. Continue folding and pitching from the starting point, moving along the edge until you reach the other tip of the half-moon. The important point is to close all the openings well so that you don't lose the juice while cooking.
• As you are making your momos, you will need to have a nonstick surface and a damp cloth or lid handy to keep the momos you've made from drying out while you're finishing the others. You can lay the momos in the lightly greased trays of your steamer and keep the lid on them, or you can lay them on wax paper and cover them with the damp cloth.
• Boil water in a large steamer. (Tibetans often use a double-decker steamer to make many momos at one time.)
• Oil the steamer surface lightly before putting the momos in, so they won't stick to the metal. (We use spray oil.)
• Place the momos a little distance apart in the steamer and they will expand a little bit when they cook. They should not be touching.
• Add the momos after the water is boiling.
• With the water boiling on high heat, steam the momos for 10-12 minutes.
• As long as the dough is cooked, they are done, as the veggie filling hardly needs to cook more.
• Serve the momos right off the stove with the dipping sauce of your choice. At home, we mix together soy sauce and Patak's Lime Relish, which we get in Indian stores or the Asian section of supermarkets.

PORK MOMOS (NEPALESE DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• To make the dough, tip the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Add the oil to the flour and combine well with your hands. Slowly add 100ml water and knead the dough until it is stretchy. Cover with cling film and leave the dough to rest.
• Tip all the filling ingredients into a bowl and season with salt. Use your hands to combine thoroughly.
• Divide the dough into 20 balls (each should weigh about 15g). Dust your work surface with flour and roll the balls into thin circles using a rolling pin.
• Spoon about 1 tsp filling in the centre of one circle, then use your thumb and forefinger to pinch together an edge of the dough into a fold.
• Continue to pinch along the edge of the circle and work your way all the way round.
• Bring all the pinched edges of the circle together to cover the filling and twist the top to seal it. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
• Fill a bamboo steamer with water, layer the base with baking parchment and pierce some holes in it.
• Working in two to three batches, place the momos on the baking parchment and steam for 10 mins. They should look transparent and not feel sticky when fully cooked. Keep warm while you steam the rest.
• While the momos are steaming, mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl with 2 tbsp water. Serve the hot momos with the sauce for dipping.