Momo (dumpling)

Momo

Momos served in a tomato-based broth
Origin
Place of origin	Nepal
Region or state	Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling district and Ladakh
Dish details
Course served	Snack
Main ingredient(s)	flour-and-water dough, white flour and filling

Momo: Nepalese baked good

Momo (Nepali: म:म:Tibetan: མོག་མོག་, Wylie: mog mog; ) is a type of pastry native to Nepal as well as among the Tibetans. It is similar to the Mongolian buuz or the Chinese jiaozi.

The Tibetan word momo is a loanword from the Chinese mómo (馍馍).^[1]

Production

Plateful of Momos

Momos are made with a simple flour-and-water dough—white flour is generally preferred—and sometimes a little yeast or baking soda is added to give a more doughy texture to the finished product. The filling may be one of the several mixtures:

• Meat: Different kinds of meat fillings are popular in different regions. In Tibet, Nepal, Darjeeling district, Sikkim, Bhutan and North-East India, chicken, goat meat, buffalo meat, yak meat and pork are the most popular, while in Ladakh, lamb and yak meat are common. Minced meat is combined with any or all of the following: onions/shallots, garlic, ginger and cilantro/coriander. Some people also add finely puréed tomatoes and soya sauce.^[2]
• Vegetables: Finely chopped cabbage, potato or chayote (iskush) are used as fillings in Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim and some parts of India.
• Cheese: Usually fresh cheese or the traditional chhurpi is used. This variety is common in upper Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Darjeeling.
• Snickers or Mars Bar: An original sweet momo sold mostly in some tourist areas of Nepal.^[3][4]

The dough is fashioned into small circular flat pieces. The filling is then enclosed either in a round pocket or in a half moon shape or crescent. The dumplings are then cooked by steaming over a soup (either a stock based on bones or tomato-based), which is served with the dumplings, along with chili sauce. The dumplings may also be pan-fried or deep-fried after being steamed. They are often accompanied with a traditional pickle achar.

History

Momos are a traditional delicacy in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling district and Ladakh. They are one of the most popular fast food in Nepal and many other South Asian region populated with people of Nepali origin and people of hilly origin. They are also common in places with noticeable Nepalese and Tibetan diaspora, such as Assam, Delhi, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal.

Varieties

There are different varieties of momos, such as fried and steamed momos. Momos are usually served with a dipping sauce normally consisting of tomatoes as the base ingredient, from which numerous variations can be made. Momo soup is a dish that has steamed momos immersed in a meat broth. Momos that are pan fried after steaming first are known as kothey momos. Momo can also be prepared by directly deep frying without steaming first. Steamed momos served in hot sauce is called C-Momo. These are some of the most common items served in Tibetan and Nepalese restaurants.

References

1. ^ Jīn Péng 金鹏 (ed.): Zàngyǔ jiǎnzhì 藏语简志. Mínzú chūbǎnshè 民族出版社, Beijing 1983, p. 31. This is not the same as dumpling.
2. ^ "Momo recipe". http://www.himalayanlearning.org/the-himalaya/food-momo.php. Retrieved April 06, 2011. 
3. ^ "On the road again again". http://nilonilonilo.tumblr.com/. Retrieved February 18, 2011. 
4. ^ "Yo' momo! Nepal Cuisine knows how to make dumplings". http://www.westword.com/2009-12-17/restaurants/yo-momo-nepal-cuisine-knows-how-to-make-dumplings/. Retrieved February 18, 2011. 

External links

• YoWangdu's meat and veggie momo recipe
• Newari momos