Tibetan Momo and Chutney Recipe | Tassyam

Moving from my hometown to another city, I couldn't help but notice all the major and minor differences in our cultures, especially in our cuisines. Even a seemingly universal dish like momos turned out to be completely different. And much to my horror served with mayonnaise.

Here’s a recipe for the version I regularly ate at home, Tibetan Momos:

Ingredients:

For Dumpling,

1. Chicken (with Bone): ½ kgs
2. Onion: 250 grams
3. Garlic Minced: 2 tablespoons
4. Refined Flour: 250 grams
5. Soy Sauce: 5 tablespoons
6. Vinegar: 3 tablespoons
7. MSG: 1 teaspoon
8. Freshly Ground Pepper: To taste
9. Vegetable Oil: as required
10. Salt: To taste

For dip,

1. Dried Red Chillies: 50 grams
2. Tomatoes: 1
3. Green Chillies: 4
4. Garlic: 5 cloves
5. Coriander: ¼ cup chopped
6. Lime: to taste
7. Salt: to taste

Process:

For the dough,

1. In a bowl take the flour and salt. Mix 100mL of water and knead into a smooth dough. The dough should be firm and not soft.
2. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes and knead again. Repeat this process twice.
3. This will develop the gluten in the dough and make the dough stretchy.
4. Once malleable, make coin-sized balls and set them aside.

For the filling,

1. Place chicken in cold water in a pot and then put it on heat to make a stock.
2. Once cooked, shred the meat from the bones and put the bones back into the stock.
3. Chop onions and mix with salt and let it rest for 30 minutes.
4. Squeeze out the water released by the onions,
5. Mix the onions, garlic and shredded chicken. Season with soy sauce, vinegar and MSG. If the chicken is too dry, add some oil or minced chicken fat.

For the Dip,

1. Soak the dried red chillies in hot water.
2. In the meantime, roast the tomato and green chillies over an open flame. Peel.
3. Blend it all and season with salt.
4. Finish with a generous squeeze of lime.

Finally,

1. Roll out the dough balls into a thickness of about 1mm.
2. Place a tablespoon of the filling and fold into the shape of your choice.
3. Steam for about 6-8 minutes. These momos do not take too long in the steamer as the chicken is already pre-cooked.
4. Season the stock with salt and pepper.
5. Serve the momos with the red hot momo chutney and soup.