veg momos recipe – posting one of the popular tibetan recipe of vegetable momos made from scratch 
preparing momos takes quite a good amount of time. so when you have enough time to spare, then make the momos. if you have a helping hand, then the time will reduce. but if you do everything on your own, it takes about 1.5 to 2 hrs, depending on your working speed and the gadgets you have in your kitchen.
now coming to momos, i have had one of the best momos or call them dim sum in the mainland china restaurant. back then i did not know that momos would become a popular street food in north of india. a few years back when we lived in gurgaon, i was amazed to see momos as a street food snack in many places.
when living in goa, a restaurant just a few kilometers from our place, specialized only in momos and that too different kinds with various stuffings. the owner’s wife was a tibetan and she would prepare the momos. the sauce they used to serve with the momos was a spicy, hot sauce and damn good. unfortunately, i don’t know the recipe as i never asked the tibetan lady 
so when i made these momos, i had to serve them with a spicy sauce. i chose to serve the veg momos with schezwan sauce. i don’t make a spicy filling for the momos. i keep the vegetable filling balanced in taste and lightly spiced, so that it accompanies the spicy & hot sauce very well. at home we love steamed momos over the fried ones. so this recipe is of steamed momos.
the shaping of the momos come through practice. i don’t make momos often. hence obviously, i am not an expert in shaping them. but i do make a decent job of it. i have shared two ways of shaping momos in the step by step pics below. choose the easy one or if you are courageous, then move on to the making the pleated momos.
i have also made a video showing the rolling of the dough, stuffing and pleating of the momos. you can check this video below, if you cannot understand the shaping part from the step by step pics below.
vegetable momos recipe below:
veg momos recipe - makes 14-16
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
veg momos - steamed dumplings stuffed with a lightly spiced vegetable filling. a popular tibetan recipe.
AUTHOR: dassana
RECIPE TYPE: appetiser
CUISINE: tibetan, world, indian street food
SERVES: 14-16 momos
INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
for outer cover
- 1 cup all purpose flour/maida
- ½ tsp oil
- ¼ tsp salt or as required
- 2 to 3 tbsp water for kneading or as required
for the stuffing
- 1.5 to 1.75 cups finely chopped vegetables (i added ½ cup chopped cabbage, ½ cup chopped carrots, ⅓ cup chopped french beans and ¼ cup chopped capsicum)
- 2 small sized spring onions, finely chopped - reserve the greens to be added later
- 3 to 4 small garlic/lahsun finely chopped
- 1.5 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp soy sauce. add as required
- ½ tsp black pepper or as required
- 1 tbsp oil
- salt as required
INSTRUCTIONS
preparing the outer cover of momos:
- take the all purpose flour/maida, salt and oil in a bowl and mix it.
- add water in parts and knead to a firm dough. cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
for the veg momos stuffing:
- finely chop all the vegetables. you can also use a food processor to chop the vegetables.
- heat oil. add garlic. saute for 2-3 seconds.
- add onions and saute for 10-15 seconds. add all the finely chopped vegetables.
- increase the flame and stir fry the vegetables on high heat.
- when the edges starts getting golden, add soy sauce, salt and pepper.
- continue to stir fry on high heat till the vegetables are cooked. takes about 8 to 9 mins on a high flame.
- later add 1 to 2 tbsp of the spring onions greens and stir fry for a minute.
- check the taste and add more salt, pepper or soy sauce, if required.
shaping the veg momos:
- divide the dough in two parts. make a 6-7 inch log from each part. cut the log into equal slices.
- make ball of each slice and keep them covered with a moist napkin.
- take each dough ball and on a lightly dusted board, roll each dough ball into a thin circle of about 2-3 inch diameter.
- try to get the edges to be thin and the center to be thick.
- place 1 or 2 tsp of vegetable stuffing in the center.
- lift one side of the edge and start pleating. (you can also refer to the video above to see how pleating is done).
- start folding and forming the pleats one by one. towards the end, join the pleats in the center.
- prepare all momos this way and keep them covered under a moist napkin. till you are ready to steam them.
- heat water in a steamer or in a electric cooker or in a pressure cooker. let the water come to a boil.
- in a greased steamer pan or in idli moulds, place the momos keeping space between them so that they don't touch each other. * check notes on how to steam the momos in idli pan or pressure cooker.
- steam momos for 5-6 minutes.
- don't overdo the steaming, as the dough becomes dense and dry.
- the steaming time may vary upon the thickness of momos' cover.
- when you touch the momo then dough should not feel sticky to you. this means they are done and the momos will have a transparent look.
- time of cooking momos varies from intensity of the flame and kind of pan and the steamer you are using.
- once done, garnish veg momos with spring onion greens.
- serve vegetable momos with a spicy sauce like schezwan sauce or tomato-chili sauce or chili sauce. you can also serve it with red chilli garlic chutney. momos go very well with a spicy sauce.
NOTES
to steam the momos in a pressure cooker - heat about 2 cups water in the pressure cooker. place the momos in a pan inside the cooker. remove the vent weight/whistle and steam the momos for 5 to 6 mins. if not done, then steam for a few more minutes. the water should not come in contact with the momos.
to steam in an idli pan - proceed same way, you make the idlis. heat water in the pan. grease the idli mould with pan. place the momos on the idli moulds. place the moulds in the pan and steam the momos.
to steam in an idli pan - proceed same way, you make the idlis. heat water in the pan. grease the idli mould with pan. place the momos on the idli moulds. place the moulds in the pan and steam the momos.
lets start step by step veg momos recipe:
a) preparing the outer cover of momos:
1. take the all purpose flour/maida, salt and oil in a bowl and mix it.
2. add water in parts and begin to knead to a firm dough.
3. cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
b) for the vegetable momo stuffing:
4. finely chop all the vegetables. you can also use a food processor to finely chop the vegetables.
5. heat oil. add garlic. saute for 2-3 seconds.
6. add onions. stir and saute for 10-15 seconds.
7. add all the finely chopped vegetables.
8. increase the flame and stir fry the vegetables on high heat. when the edges starts getting golden, add soy sauce, salt and pepper.
9. continue to stir fry on high heat. till the vegetables are cooked. this stir frying takes about 8 to 9 mins on a high heat. then add 1 to 2 tbsp of the spring onions greens and stir fry for a minute. check the taste and add more salt, pepper or soy sauce, if required.
10. the vegetable stuffing is ready. let the stuffing cool completely.
shaping the veg momos:
11. divide the dough in two parts.
12. make a 6-7 inch log from each part. cut the log into equal slices.
13. make ball of each slice and keep them covered with a moist napkin.
14. take each dough ball and on a lightly dusted board, roll each dough ball into a thin circle of about 2-3 inch diameter.
15. the edges have to be thin and center have to be thick.
16. apply water with your finger tip or with a small pastry brush towards the circumference. this is an optional step.
17. place 1 or 2 tsp of vegetable stuffing in the center.
18. lift one side of the edge and start pleating. (you can also refer to the video above to see how pleating is done).
19. pleating the momos.
20. join all the pleats in the center.
21. a pleated and shaped momo
22. another simple technique to shape momos – join the edges
23. this is an easy method. the momo is shaped like gujiya or karanji. you can stop here or can proceed to the next step.
24. bring both the end together and join.
25. prepare all momos this way and keep them covered under a moist napkin. till you are ready to steam them.
26. grease a steamer pan with oil.
27. arrange the momos in the pan, keeping space between them.
28. steam in an electric cooker or a steamer pan. you can also use idli pans or pressure cooker to steam. (check recipe notes below)
29. steam the veg momos for 5 to 6 minutes till the outer cover becomes transparent. don’t over cook as then the outer cover, becomes dense and chewy. the steaming time may vary upon the thickness of momos’ cover.
when you touch the momo then dough should not feel sticky to you. this means they are done and the momos will have a transparent look.
30. serve vegetable momos hot with red chilli-garlic chutney, spicy schezwan sauce ortomato sauce. momos goes best with a spicy sauce and should be eaten hot.
