Login
Momos Recipe – Veg and Chicken
Make street style momos at home with this super easy recipe! Learn how to make the dough for momos, pleat them and make a vegetarian and chicken stuffing. Trust me, you’ll never call for takeaway again!
Making momos at home is easier than you’d think! And this recipe makes really juicy and delicious momos, just like the one from your favorite street-side momo place!
Momos is the kind of dish that looks complicated, but is actually really quick & easy. And this recipe is also super versatile, because you can stuff it with just about anything – vegetables, paneer, cheese and mushrooms, chicken or pork. In this recipe, I am sharing instructions for steamed momos, but you can shallow or deep fry them just as easily.
This street-style momo recipe makes for a really hearty and filling snack or appetizer. But tbh, sometimes these even double up as dinner with some sweet corn soup or thukpa, and no one complains!
Jump to section: MomoS Recipe
Ingredients For Momos
Here’s everything that you’ll need:
For the dough
- Flour: All purpose flour or maida forms the base of the dough. You can use whole wheat flour but the wrapper will be really dense and chewy. All purpose flour or maida also adds more gluten and makes the wrapper easier to roll and pleat.
- Oil: Helps make the dough moist and pliable. I have used sunflower oil, but any neutral-flavored oil like canola or rice bran will also work.
- Lukewarm water: This is important to make the dough soft, pliable, and easy to work with. Hot water can make the dough tough and stringy, while cold water can make the wrappers dense, chewy and difficult to roll out.
- Salt: For seasoning
- Corn flour: For dusting (if needed)
Chicken filling
- Chicken: Boneless chicken thigh pieces or minced chicken. Thigh chicken works best here as it’s juicer, and stays tender throughout the cooking process.
- Other ingredients: Onion, celery, spring onion greens, ginger, and garlic, salt, pepper, and oyster sauce for flavor, aroma, and texture. Sesame oil helps make the filling moist and adds a nice nutty flavor, while coriander leaves add freshness.
Veg filling
- Veggies: Finely chopped carrots, mushrooms, onions, cabbage, and celery form the base of the filling.
- Soya granules: Add texture and a boost of protein.
- Soy sauce: For umami and saltiness
- Other ingredients: Salt, sugar, pepper, ginger, and garlic for flavor, aroma, and balance.
Making the Dough
The dough is a simple mix of all purpose flour, sunflower oil, salt, and lukewarm water. Kneading with lukewarm water creates some steam and a really pliable dough which is perfect for making momos. Once you finish kneading the dough, cover it with a damp towel and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before cutting it into small pieces – each piece should be approx 7 grams.
Filling – Veg and Chicken
The chicken filling is made simply by mixing all the ingredients together and is raw. It cooks along with the momos as they steam
For the vegetarian filling, we stir fry all the ingredients together. When steamed, veggies release a lot of water. So if they’re not precooked, you’ll end up with soggy, unappetizing momos.
How to Wrap Momos
- Once the dough has rested, divide the dough into 2 parts & roll one portion into a cylinder roll on the counter top. Cut out small pieces of dough, each weighing 9 grams. This is about ½ tablespoon of dough.
- Prepare a greased plate or parchment paper and damp towel.
- Take each piece of dough and roll it into a ball. Using the fleshy part of your palm, flatten each ball of dough into a disc. Using a rolling pin, roll out each individual piece into a very thin round wrapper. They need to be thin enough such that they appear to be slightly translucent. Thicker wrappers tend to taste very doughy so make it as thin as you can.
- Place about a tablespoon of the prepared filling in the centre of the rolled out wrapper. Shape and seal the wrappers as shown in the video. In order to ensure that it is properly sealed, apply a little bit of water along the edges with your fingertip.
- Place the stuffed momo on the greased plate and cover with the damp cloth.
How to Freeze Momos
Don’t get overwhelmed by the number of steps in this recipe; everything is really straightforward. I usually make a large batch and freeze the rest for later to save so much prep time. Frozen momos can easily last for up to a month without going bad. Here’s what you need to do:
- Step 1: Make your filling, roll out the wrappers and stuff them.
- Step 2: Place the stuffed momos on a silicone lined baking sheet in rows, making sure none of the pieces touch each other. Cover the tray with a clean, wet towel as you prep to prevent them from drying out.
- Step 03: Once all your momos are ready, place the tray straight into the freezer and freeze for 1-2 hours.
- Step 04: Transfer the frozen momos to a ziplock bag after divding them to into smaller portion. This why you can pull out only one bag at a time to prevent the rest from going bad.
- Step 05: When you are ready to cook, just place the frozen momos straight into the steamer and steam for an extra minute or two. There is no need to defrost them first.
Richa’s Top Tips
- Make sure to roll the dough thin to prevent thick and chewy momos.
- Feel free to customise the stuffing based on what you like and have available. Just avoid adding really water-y veggies like cucumber and tomatoes as those will break the momos during the steaming process.
- Do not overcrowd the pan when steaming the momos. These tend to expand on steaming and overcrowding the pan will make the momos stick to each other.
- To check for doneness, check the skin. It should be transparent-ish and non-sticky. If it feels sticky, steam for another minute or two.
Storage Tips
- Fridge: If the momos are cooked, allow them to come to room temperature and store in an air-tight box and refrigerate for up to a day. Cooked momos tend to dry out fast, so it’s best to eat them as quickly as possible.
- Reheat: Steam for 3–5 minutes to soften and refresh. Avoid microwaving as they can turn chewy.
Serving Tips
- Dips: Sweet Chili Sauce or schezwan chutney make excellent dipping sauces for momo.
- Soups: Eight Treasure Soup, Hot & Sour Soup, Or Thupka make for the best accompaniments for momos, especially if you want a light yet filling meal.
- Salads: Serve with this Asian Spicy Chicken Salad, or Three Bean Salad for a refreshing meal.
I bet everyones going to get super excited when you set the table with these homemade momos that taste street style!!
I love serving these with an assortment of dips to keep each bite interesting. Some of my favourite dips to serve these with include my homemade schezwan sauce and thai sweet chilli sauce. I recently drizzled a bit of chilli oil over my momos, and I don’t think I am ever have it any other way!
Watch the Video
Momos Recipe – Veg and Chicken
Equipment
- 1 steamer
Ingredients
Momo Wrapper
- 1 cup all purpose flour maida
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sunflower oil or any neutral flavoured oil like canola or rice bran
- ¼ cup + 4 teaspoons lukewarm water we’ve measured this accurately so please stick to this water measurement
- 1-2 tablespoons cornflour for dusting if needed
Chicken Filling
- 200 grams boneless chicken thigh or chicken mince ground chicken
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
- ½ cup finely chopped spring onion greens
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornflour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
Vegetarian Filling
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup finely chopped cabbage
- ½ cup finely chopped carrot
- ¼ cup finely chopped mushrooms
- ½ cup hydrated soya granules see note 1
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Momo Wrapper
- Add the flour, salt and oil to a mixing bowl. And lukewarm water and stir using a wooden spoon or your hands to combine. Do not over knead at the stage, just bring the dough together till you don’t see any dry spots & set aside for 5 minutes covered with a damp towel.
- After 5 minutes, remove and place the dough on a counter and knead for 2 to 3 minutes to a smooth dough. You do not need to dust the surface with flour unless the dough is very sticky. The dough is supposed to be slightly tacky, but not sticky.
- Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp towel to rest for 10 minutes.
Chicken Filling
- To make chicken mince: Cut chicken thighs into large cubes and pulse in a chopper or mixer to get coarse mince. Do not grind it too fine as it will turn very dry when cooked.
- Combine all the ingredients for the chicken filling in a bowl. If the filling is very loose, you can add some extra cornflour. Cling wrap or cover with a lid and store in the refrigerator until the momo wrappers are ready.
Vegetarian Filling
- Heat oil in a wok or heavy bottomed pan on a high flame. Add ginger, garlic, celery, onions and sauté till onions turn translucent. Add cabbage, carrot and mushrooms, reduce flame to medium high and sauté for 3 minutes. Add soya granules and saute for a minute. Add soy sauce and sugar and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from flame and keep aside to cool before placing it inside the wrapper.
Chicken & vegetarian combo filling
- Take 1 cup of chicken filling, 1 cup of vegetarian filling in a bowl, mix them well and use as a filling in the momo
Wrapping and Pleating Momo
- Once the dough has rested, divide the dough into 2 parts & roll one portion into a cylinder roll on the counter top. Cut out small pieces of dough, each weighing 9 grams. This is about ½ tablespoon of dough.
- Prepare a greased plate or parchment paper and damp towel.
- Take each piece of dough and roll it into a ball. Using the fleshy part of your palm, flatten each ball of dough into a disc. Using a rolling pin, roll out each individual piece into a very thin round wrapper. They need to be thin enough such that they appear to be slightly translucent. Thicker wrappers tend to taste very doughy so make it as thin as you can.
- Place about a tablespoon of the prepared filling in the centre of the rolled out wrapper. Shape and seal the wrappers as shown in the video. In order to ensure that it is properly sealed, apply a little bit of water along the edges with your fingertip.
- Place the stuffed momo on the greased plate and cover with the damp cloth.
Steaming Momo
- Bring the water in the steamer to a boil and grease the steamer plate. Place the stuffed momo on the greased steamer plate. Ensure that they are not sticking to each other. Brush each momo with oil so they cook to be soft. Cover the lid of the steamer and cook for 14 minutes on medium flame. Rest for 5 minutes, remove from the steamer and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- To hydrate soya granules: Soak the soya granules in 1 cup of boiling water for 10-15 minutes, drain & squeeze out water & use.
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes for best results.
- It’s best to roll each momo wrapper, stuff them with the filling & roll the next momo wrapper.
- If you roll all the wrapper at once, they dry out very fast, and it will not be possible to shape momo.
- Wrapped momo (uncooked) can be kept frozen for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container, separated by parchment paper.
Nutrition
This article was researched and written by Urvi Dalal.
The post Momos Recipe – Veg and Chicken appeared first on My Food Story.
