RECIPE: MOMO SOUP
Momo Soup is a healthy, filling and hearty meal. Momos are added to a vegetable loaded soup. A traditional Nepali dish, I’ve replaced the meat filling in the momos with finely chopped vegetables.
Memories
Our visit to Nepal many years ago was a memorable one. I loved the country and the people were very friendly. Though we had gone there in the month of April, it was freezing cold. The place we stayed at, had a very small basic kitchen.Therefore, no fancy dishes. But they served a huge bowlful of piping hot momo soup.
What is Momo?
Till my visit to Nepal, had no even heard of momo! Our first meal was momo soup.” What is momo?” I asked the cook. He brought out a bowl of soup and showed me the momos. I thought, is that all we get for food? However, once I got my veggie momo soup, I wanted some more. It was filling, warming to the heart on a cold chilly day and delicious. For nearly a whole week, momo soup was my dinner. Momos basically resemble dumplings, wantons, pot stickers or dim sums.
Introduced By The Chinese
Momos(steamed bread) was introduced by the Chinese to the Himalayan countries of Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and slowly became popular in the North eastern states of India. As the north eastern population travelled to the other parts of India, momos became more popular. Momos can be fried, steamed or cooked along with soups. Making different shaped momos is an art.
Memories of Nepal came back and I had to make the soup at home. I changed the recipe quite a bit to suit my taste and on the availability of ingredients. So please feel free to play around with the ingredients.
Updated 21/10/2018
Since the first time when I tasted momos in Nepal, I’ve had them umpteen of times in India. It is a popular Street Food in every Foodie Street of India. Mostly you get steamed ones on the street. The fillings vary from meat ones, veggies to paneer, yes paneer ones and they taste awesome. Hot steaming momos served with a dipping sauce and you’ve had a healthy filling meal.
Momo Soup
I still love my momo soup as a wholesome meal. The vegetables keep on varying depending on what is available. I have become more adventurous with the stuffing too, but leaving the original recipe as a guideline. I’ve sometimes added steamed rice to the stuffing along with veggies, have added tofu, paneer, mushrooms etc.
Some Indo Chinese Recipes On My Blog:
Ingredients Required For Momo Soup:
- Plain Flour – all purpose flour for the momos. Can use wheat flour, but they tend to soften in the soup.
- Baking Powder – add a pinch to get that melt in the mouth kind of momos. Without baking powder, they tend to become rubbery depending on the type of flour.
- Salt – for the momo dough and the soup.
- Oil – for the momo dough and soup. Use sesame seed oil if you have any.
- Water – for momo dough and the soup. Can replace water with vegetable stock for the soup.
- Mixed Vegetables – for the stuffing use shredded carrot, cabbage, finely chopped onion, garlic, ginger, finely chopped zucchini, mushrooms, celery stalks, French Beans etc. Make sure your shred or finely chop the vegetables for filling momos. Can also use paneer, leftover rice or tofu.
- Mixed Vegetables – for the soup. Use vegetables like carrot, zucchini, bell pepper, mushrooms, cauliflower, cabbage, sweet corn, baby corn, celery, pak choy, spinach, snow peas, French Beans, spring onion, etc.
- Garlic – minced for the filling. Finely chopped for the soup.
- Ginger – minced for the filling. Finely chopped for the soup.
- Soy Sauce – for the filling and the soup.
- Chilli Flakes – for the filling and the soup.
- Sesame Seeds – for the filling and the soup.
- Honey – for the soup. Can use brown sugar or male syrup.
- Rice Vinegar – or any good quality vinegar for the soup.
- Pepper Powder – or sichuan pepper powder
- Chilli Sauce – homemade or ready made for the soup and to serve on the side. Check for homemade chilli sauce here.
- Star Anise – for the soup.
VEGETARIAN MOMO SOUP
Ingredients
DOUGH FOR MOMOS:
- ¾ cups plain flour all purpose flour
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- ¼ - ⅓ cup lukewarm water
STUFFING FOR MOMOS:
- 1 cup mixed vegetables of your choice finely chopped or shredded (carrot, French beans, mushrooms, zucchini, cauliflower, cabbage, onion)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- ½ tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- ¼ - ½ tsp salt
- ½ - 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp soy sauce
FOR THE SOUP:
- 3-4 cups vegetable stock or water
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup sweet corn
- ½ cup spring onion chopped
- 1 cup snow peas cut into halves
- ½ sweet pepper any colour cut into cubes
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1- 2 tsp chilli sauce
- ½ - ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ginger
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar, honey or maple syrup
- 1-2 star anise
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp coarse pepper powder
- 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
Instructions
PREPARATION OF MOMO DOUGH:
- Mix flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl.
- Add oil and rub into the flour.
- Add little water at a time to make a stiff dough.
- Knead it till its a bit smooth.
- Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
PREPARATION OF MOMO STUFFING:
- Heat oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- Add garlic, ginger, onion if using any and sesame seeds. Stir fry for a few seconds.
- Add the chopped vegetables and stir fry over high heat for 2 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and let the filling become cool.
- Add salt, soy sauce and chilli flakes when the mixture is cold. Mix well.
HOW TO MAKE MOMOS:
- Divide the dough into 10 -12 parts. Roll each part into a ball.
- Keep them covered under a damp cloth.
- Roll each ball into a 3 inch diameter circle.
- Place about a tsp of the filling in the middle and bring the edges together. You can make money bags, half moon shapes or any shape you prefer.
- Place the momo on an oiled tray. Press the edges well to prevent any filling from coming out while cooking.
- Repeat the procedure with the remaining dough and filling.
- Cover the momos with a damp cloth till ready to use.
PREPARATION OF SOUP:
- Get the vegetables for the soup ready, cut zucchini and carrots into slices if using any. Slice the mushrooms, cut pepper into big squares. If using napa leaves Chinese cabbage, cut the lower thick part into squares. Cut the leafy part into thin strands. Keep it separate.
- Take a deep pan and add water or stock to it.
- Place the pan over medium heat.
- Add chili sauce, salt, rice vinegar, sugar or honey, star anise, soy sauce and bring the mixture to a gentle boil.
- While the stock is getting hot, heat oil in a wide pan over high heat.
- Add the sesame seeds and garlic. Stir fry for a few seconds.
- Add the vegetables except for the spring onion. Stir fry for a minute.
- Take the pan off the heat.
- When the water begins to boil, add the momos.
- Let them boil for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the stir fried vegetables and spring onion.
- Mix well and serve immediately with some extra soy sauce and chili sauce.
Notes
- Roll out the dough for the momos thin. If they are thick, it will take a longer time to cook.
- Any left over filling can be added to the soup.
- Use carrots, french beans, baby corn, broccoli, bell pepper, onion etc for the broth.
- Use any vegetable,paneer, tofu, meat or chicken for filling.
- Use any ready made chilli sauce of your choice.
- Use a bit of flour if the dough sticks while rolling.
- Use fresh coriander instead of spring onion for a different taste.
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