Veg Momos Recipe
Best Momos Recipe to Make at Home in a Few Easy Steps!
A simple, juicy, delicious mixture of vegetables and a few spices, wrapped in a thin flour dough, shaped into bite-size pieces, steamed or fried, and served with spicy red chutney and a piping hot bowl of soup! Is your mouth watering, just like ours? Then, you know what food we are talking about here. We are introducing a popular name on the streets of India’s culinary world: momos!
Momos and dumplings may seem the same, but they definitely are distinct! You will find momo’s origin in Tibet and Nepal, while dumplings were first served in China. It goes without saying that dumplings have a huge fan following worldwide; momos are no less! A plate of steamy momos or pan-fried with spicy sauces and vegetables is the key to many foodies’ hearts! On that note, here we have the perfect momos recipe for you!
Quick and Easy Momos Recipe
Do you like veg momos? Food creativity has reached a great place, where you will find many variations of momos, made with different stuffings and wrapped in unique shapes. We will share a momos recipe for your vegetarian cravings!
Note that there are four main steps- kneading the dough, preparing the stuffing, shaping the momos, and cooking them. Shall we start then?
Ingredients for Veg Momos Recipe
Here are the ingredients you will need for your veg momos recipe! By the way, you can make around 25 momos with the following recipe.
Ingredients:
All-purpose flour - 1 cup (you will need some more while shaping the momos)
Water - ⅓ cup
Salt - ½ teaspoon
You will need the following ingredients for making the stuffing of the veg momos recipe.
Cabbage - 1 cup (finely chopped)
Carrot - ½ cup (finely chopped)
Onion - ½ cup (finely chopped)
Garlic - 2 teaspoons (finely chopped)
Ginger - 1 teaspoon (finely chopped)
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Soy sauce - 1 teaspoon
Sugar - ¼ teaspoon
Salt - ½ teaspoon or to taste
Pepper - ¼ teaspoon or to taste
What About Alternatives?
You can use chopped chillies to make it spicier. Use other vegetables, like corn, bell peppers, beans, etc., if you like or want to experiment. If you make momos for the little ones, you can add cheese inside the stuffing.
Step-by-Step Veg Momos Recipe
You will need around 30 minutes to prep the ingredients and another 10 minutes to cook the momo!
→ Step 1: Knead the Dough
You must rest the dough for 20 to 30 minutes before rolling it for the momos. So, prepare the dough first, and then make the stuffing when the dough is resting! The process is quite simple. Mix the flour and salt, then add water in little portions and keep mixing it. You can also use lukewarm water. It will make the momo soft. Knead the dough till smooth and keep it covered with a damp cloth or towel. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
→ Step 2: Make the Stuffing for the Veg Momos
Wash all the vegetables with water and then start chopping them finely. Use a vegetable chopper if you don’t have much time in hand. Heat a wok or a frying pan and put in some oil. Saute the ginger and garlic for 30 seconds on medium heat. You can add the chopped chillies here if you want. Then, put the cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables. If you feel some vegetables will take longer to cook, add them first. Stir well and let all the vegetables cook for around 3 minutes. Add all the seasonings, like salt, black pepper, soy sauce, and sugar. Cook for a few more minutes and let the mixture cool. Wait to start stuffing before the vegetables come to room temperature. Want to use cheese? You do not need to cook it with the vegetables; add when wrapping the momos.
→ Step 3: Wrap the Vegetable Momos
The dough should be ready by now. Take it out and knead for a minute or two. Now, you have two options. Make slightly bigger balls from the dough, roll them out, and cut small discs using a glass, bowl, or round object. Or, make tiny balls (6/7 grams each) and roll them in discs. Use flour to dust as you work with the dough so it does not stick to your hands or the rolling pin. Plus, you can get thin discs for the momos by sprinkling flour as you roll. Thicker wraps can taste doughy once they are cooked.
Now, place a tablespoon of the vegetable mixture in the middle of the disc. Add grated or tiny cubes of cheese if you want. Lift one side of the disc and start pleating the edges. You can also place the stuffing on one side of the disc, fold the other and then pinch or pleat the edges.
It may take a little time to make beautifully shaped momos, which is fine! Use a tiny amount of water on the edges of the disc while wrapping the momos so the stuffing does not ooze out while cooking. Also, we all love a well-stuffed momo, but over-stuffing can rip up the dough.
→ Step 4: Cook the Momos
A traditional momos recipe is steamed. Boil water in the bottom container of a steamer. Place the momos on the steaming disc and cook for ⅚ minutes on a medium flame. Keep some gaps between the momos so they do not stick together! Veg fried momos taste delicious; instead of steaming, you can deep-fry. Want to spice up things? After frying, toss the momos in some sauce and vegetables in the pan, and you have delicious pan-fried momos ready to eat!
Serve the momo with a spicy green or sweet and spicy red chutney. For your little ones or not-so-little ones who love cheese, you can grate some cheese over the veg fried momos to make it even more delicious!
A Few Tips for Making Perfect Momos
Use these tips to have the best plate of momos at home!
• You must rest the dough; otherwise, the momos will not be soft.
• Once you have rolled the dough into small discs, work quickly, or they will dry out. Instead of rolling all the discs together, we suggest you roll and stuff them in batches.
• You may have to adjust the steaming time based on the size of your momos.
• Try to keep the sizes of the momos the same for even cooking or steam different sizes of momos in separate batches.
• Remember to taste the stuffing and adjust the flavours before you start stuffing. • Once they are stuffed, you cannot add anything else.
Conclusion
Now you can make vegetable momos at home in less than an hour. So, make momos and enjoy them with your loved ones. If you have guests over or want to satisfy cravings in minutes, you can prep and wrap the momos a day or two in advance and freeze them. When you are ready to eat or serve, take the momos out of the freezer and cook as you want!
FAQs
1. How long can I store veg momos in my freezer?
You can store wrapped, uncooked momos in your freezer for up to 2 weeks. Make sure you store the momos in an airtight container. Lightly oil the container or use parchment paper to keep the momos separated.
2. How do I steam momos if I don’t have a steamer?
Take a deep vessel or pan with a lid. Place a steel bowl or some platform in the pan and boil water. Now, put your momos on a heatproof plate and place it on the platform inside the pan. Close the lid and let them steam.
3. What to do if the dough becomes too sticky after resting?
Sprinkle some more flour and knead the dough for a few minutes, and it will be ready to use in your momos recipe.