You haven’t met a dumpling quite like the Nepalese momo.
As a 10 - class - old fry in Nepal , Leezen Amatya loved momos , the country ’s ubiquitous dumpling dish . “ One day , my dad picked me up from shoal , and , I think back this vividly , I asked him to take me to a momo spot , ” say Amatya . “ I was so excited to eat up it , I was gobbling it down and it lodge in my throat . ” choke incident away , Amatya ’s momo obsession never wan .
Instead , many years and many mile later , he foundedMomo Shack Dumplingsin the suburbs of Dallas with childhood ally and classmates Thang Duong and Daniel Flores . But it ’s Amatya ’s female parent , Minu , who is the chef and custody behind Momo Shack . Together , they ’re helping bring momos to the culinary lexicon of shekels - stuff eats .
When Amatya ’s class emigrate to the U.S. in the early aughts , momos remained his connection to his Nepali roots . “ I do n’t think I ’ve met a Nepali that does not care momos , ” says Amatya . And before long , if not already , he wo n’t encounter a soul who does n’t wish the dumplings that ’s get down to drink down up everywhere . ( Just outdoors of Dallas , where Irving is home to one of the with child Nepalese American communities in the country , there are two momo - specifc eatery : Momo Stop and Cafemandu . )
Momos|Photo by Matt Russell
Two - thousand miles from Dallas , in the Pacific Northwest , multitude suffice soul - warming momos from the window ofKathmandu Momocha food truckparked outside of Seattle brewery . In Oregon , Tenzin Yeshi - Men handwork momos for herHimalayan Dumplingscompany , the first such adult female - owned food stain in the U.S. Around 2016 , Yeshi - Men , who blend in by the name Kyikyi ( “ happiness ” in Tibetan ) , pitched a 10 - by-10 - foot tent to apportion her Tibetan culture from which momos originate .
“ I do n’t think I ’ve met a Nepali that does not wish momos . ”
Tents , shacks , mom - and - pop shops , upscale eatery , and street food vendors alike peddle momos all over Nepal and beyond . In Kashmir , the northmost region of India , London chef and food media maven Romy Gill observed how family made momos at home .
“ I grew up eat momos because they are a very common street food in India ” where steamer baskets assume up to 200 Momus at once await hungry passersby , Gill say . But the chef and author , whose late cookbookOn the Himalayan Trail : recipe and Stories From Kashmir to Ladakhdebuted this calendar month , formed momos by hand in a vale - cradled village farmstay in Ladakh .
“ I wanted to learn the waytheydo it because I recognize other hoi polloi do it otherwise , ” Gill says . In Ladakh , fillings might be mutton , veg , or paneer — rarely chicken , rarely spicy . Whereas in Nepal , allege Amatya , buffalo essence is a common filling , and momos are almost always accompanied by a spicy Indian relish . “ But it ’s not like you ’re not burning up eat it , ” he promises Amatya .
The bread is often made with chapati , which is a fine milled whole wheat flour , attain for hearty dumpling that can be steam , pan - fried , or cook in broth for soup . The parcels can be swipe and folded in a few dissimilar ways : a crescent shape that ’s not too unlike gyoza , a plump round dumpling with pleats and a thumb - sized well at the top .
Essentially , momos are n’t all created equal . There ’s so much pas seul from country to country , and even within regions . “ From the exterior , it looks just like any other dumpling , ” Amatya says . “ But it ’s the interior that counts : South Asiatic aromatics and herbs , ginger , garlic , cucim , cilantro , thing like that — also cilantro , green Allium cepa , red onion finely minced . ”
Amatya ’s mother and Momo Shack chef Minu once rode her mope around through the in use streets of Lalitpur , Nepal , passing momo vender along the way . Now she and her kinsfolk circulate the momo gospel in the United States , one Nepali - style dumpling at a clip .
Momos Recipe
yield : 30
fixings :
For the dough:• 2 ½ cups Atta chapati flour ( or all - design ) , plus extra for dusting• Pinch of salt• ⅔-1 loving cup water , at room temperature• 2 teaspoonful sunflower crude oil
For the filling• 2 tablespoons whitened cabbage , finely grated• 2 tablespoons carrot , discase and finely grated• 2 tablespoonful potatoes , strip down and finely grated• 1 ½ tablespoons onion plant , fine chopped• 1 ½ tablespoons prickly-seeded spinach , finely chopped• 1 immature chile , chopped• 1 teaspoonful ground coriander• 1 teaspoon Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Directions:1 . To make the dough , sieve the flour into a bowling ball and tot up a pinch of common salt . Gradually add the body of water , shuffle and knead until you have a flexile dough . Drizzle the oil over the dough , turn it to coat , cover with a dish towel and leave to rest for 20 - 30 minutes at elbow room temperature.2 . Meanwhile , make the pick . Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine . Divide the dough into about 30 equal - sized balls , each weighing around 10 - 12 gm ( ½ ounce).3 . Dust the work aerofoil with flour , then ramble one of the orchis into thin circles , about 8 centimeters ( 3 inch ) in diam , one at a prison term . Place 1 heap teaspoon of the filling miscellany in the middle of each circle of dough , then habituate your quarter round and forefinger to tweet the position together to seal each parcel.4 . Repeat until all the moolah and filling are used up . Fill a steamer pan with water , comprehend the base of the steamer with baking report and thrust a few pickle in it . Place over a high heat and add to the boil.5 . Working in batches , place the Momus on the baking paper , cover the goat god with the lid and steam for 10 - 12 minutes until the Momus await gauzy .
Reprinted from On the Himalayan Trail : formula and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh by Romy Gill with permission by Hardie Grant , 2022 .
