4 February, 2023
MOMOS | The Story Of Its Fame
Momos : Heated debate of its place of origin
“Momos”, one of the most popular street food snacks, consists of countless stuffings wrapped in creamy, soft and light shells, steamed or deep fried served along with flavorful hot chili garlic sauce. First bite of these steaming hot dumplings will leave you in awe. There is no doubt why it has become the most talked about dish across various countries. The countries which are not even its place of origin have adopted it like its very own dish.
Delicious, filling yet so light! These bite-sized scrumptious dumplings traveled across various countries with the traders and surprised everyone with its taste.
Isn’t it cute.. The name, ‘Momos’? Not only the name but also the shape of momos make it even more enticing and cute.
We can now find so many variants of these momos with various stuffings, Pan-Fried Momos, Chicken Fried Momos, Juicy Chicken Momos, Tandoori Momos, Crispy Kurkure Momos, Momos drowned in Gravy or Soup and many more. Some countries have their own version of these dumplings.
The Origin and History of Momos:
“Momo” is a type of steamed Dumpling with some form of filling, traditionally beef and pork fillings but tender succulent chicken, shredded cottage cheese and crunchy vegetables fillings are gaining ground in this modern era and this dish is originally from “Tibet”.
Place of Origin : Tibet
Its place of origin has always been a topic of heated debates because of its immense popularity.
Some people claim this recipe is the invention of Nepal, some claim this is from Tibet and some even say China is its place of origin.
Why do people get confused about its place of origin?
The Cultural Relevance of Momos in Tibet:
‘Momos’ originally are from ‘Tibet’. But momo is not the everyday dish of Tibetans as wheat in Tibet isn’t easily available. “Wheat” is a difficult commodity to get in Tibet and that’s why Tibetans make momos occasionally only at the time of celebrations especially during “Losar” which is known as Tibetan New Year or when they have enough wheat to make. This is referred to there as a “Luxury” dish.
How do people get confused about their origin from China?
This popular snack is synonymous with Chinese cuisine but not the creation of China.
The culture of dumplings, of stuffing things inside the dough and then steaming or frying them, typically originated in China. This technique influenced Tibetans to create their own rustic version of the dumplings, Momo. The influences are definitely of the techniques used in Chinese cuisine but the dish is not the creation of China.
How do people get confused about their origin from Nepal?
‘Momos’ is not the creation of Nepal but Nepal definitely plays a vital role in making the momos famous.
In Nepal, Kathmandu there are merchants called “Newari” who used to trade a lot with “Lhasa”. So when they would go to “Lhasa” they would bring back a lot of things and also picked up the technique of making Momos. It became one of the most loved snacks in Nepal. Gradually these traders made momos famous all around the world.
Also, Nepal has their own version of ‘Momo’, Momo Jhol or Jhol Achar. Momo Jhol or Jhol Achar, which are round shaped momos tossed in intensively flavored thinned chutney or drowned in well-spiced soup, is typically Nepali.
Momo then entered India with Newari merchants via silk route and became the much loved snack of Indians. In northern parts of India, veg momos are very very popular and even its business is also very popular.
The Making of Momos:
‘Momo’ making is not a difficult task but shaping its covering is quite time consuming if we don’t have practice. Momo recipe consists of 3 main steps : Covering, Filling, Dipping Sauce or Chutney.
Covering:
To make a perfect momo shell, texture of the outer shell is very important. The momo covering should be thin. Some people find difficulty in shaping the momos. But it gets better with practice.
Flour Used : Traditionally momos are made using wheat flour only but at some places, momo shells are made using refined flour (all purpose flour) only and at some places a combination of wheat flour and refined flour is used.
Dough Consistency : For a perfect momo shell, the dough’s consistency should be a little stiff (soft but tight dough) when we knead it. This is done because while we rest the dough it tends to loosen up and if we knead the dough loose then it will start flowing after we let it rest. The loose dough will make it difficult to shape the covering properly or even break while shaping.
Gluten Activation : To make a soft or pliable dough for momos, add some lukewarm water to it. But remember dough should be soft but not loose. Usually a dough is kneaded less and rested more but the dough for momos has to be kneaded also very well. We need to work a little hard on the momo dough as it needs a little flexibility.
Why do we need a flexible or stretchy momo dough ?
A flexible dough makes the rolling easy and prevents it from breaking while shaping. To get this flexibility in dough, it needs to be kneaded or stretched well to get the gluten activated in it.
Gluten is a “Protein” inside flour which gives flexibility to the dough. If this Gluten is not developed in dough, then we’ll not be able to get a stretchy or flexible dough as we required for our recipe. And eventually, It will break while shaping or rolling.
To activate the gluten spread the dough on the surface, rub and stretch it properly and then roll it back. Turn and pull the dough a little to make it more flexible or to develop the gluten and then again roll it back. Repeat it. This action is very important where the dough splits and we roll it back. This action of rubbing and stretching helps to activate the gluten and we get a perfect flexible dough. Basically we need a dough which is well kneaded and well rested to ensure the perfect coverings of momos.
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Dough Resting : Once the dough kneading is done, it is important to let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Time is the key factor that will make the dough flexible. The starches present in the dough will take some time to get hydrolyzed. The hydrolyzation of the starches will give a smoothness to the dough. And gradually the gluten will start developing.
Wheat Flour : If we’re adding whole wheat flour to the refined flour for the purpose of making it healthy and easily digestible, then we can add some sourness into it to get a perfect flexible dough. Sometimes a little yeast or baking soda is added. I prefer the addition of curd but white vinegar is recommended by some professionals. Vinegar is acidic in nature. Add ¼ th spoon of vinegar to 1 cup of flour would be enough. The dough won’t smell like vinegar. Its acidic nature reacts with the Gluten and starches present in the flour and make it flexible.
Filling:
In Tibet, filling of momos was typically meat but after it became popular among vegetarian people of Northern India, they started using shredded cottage cheese, some chopped vegetables like cabbage, carrots, spring onions and a wide variety of other stuffings consisting countless combinations. But always make sure to finely chop the vegetables. It shouldn’t be too big in size as it can tear the covering.
This is also necessary to dehydrate the vegetables before stuffing inside the momo sheets. If the vegetables don’t lose water before covering, they will release the water inside the momo and it can tear the momo shell. This can be done either by squeezing out all the water from the vegetables or by adding cornstarch to the stir fried vegetables.
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Add a generous amount of salt to the chopped vegetables, mix well and leave it aside for 10 minutes. Vegetables will release all the water. Basically, this process is called “Osmosis” or “Osmotic Dehydration”. It’s the passage of water molecules from a region of high water concentration to a region of low water concentration through a semipermeable membrane. So the water will travel towards the salt crossing the membrane. Now squeeze out the water and the vegetable is ready for stuffing.
There is one drawback of using this method. Vegetables will lose all their nutrients through water. So if we want all the nutrients to remain intact, here is one more method which can be used.
Stir fry the vegetables for 2-3 minutes by putting the flame on high heat. Don’t cook the veggies too much. We don’t want them mushy. There should be a bite and crunch in the cooked vegetables. At this stage, vegetables will look dry but once they start to cool down they will lose the water. So add a mixture of cornstarch and water to it for binding then mix it properly. Vegetables will get properly dried.
Make sure to cool down the filling before stuffing.
Dipping Sauce:
The spicy fiery dipping sauce served with momos adds a kick to the taste of momos. This dip is vibrant red in color and made with dried red chillies and garlic. I love a combination of mayonnaise and fiery red sauce with momos. A heavenly experience!