Day 6: Nepal

Momo w/ Tomato Chutney

Before I turn to Europe for week 3, I made one more asian dish, this time from Nepal. This Nepali dumpling combines flavors both of Nepal’s neighbors – China and India – to create a delicious bite-sized snack. It is generally paired with a tomato chutney which can be seen in the picture above.

Now, to the cooking:

Ingredients:

For momo:

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
• 1 cup chopped onions 
• 4 tbsp. minced garlic 
• 4 tbsp. minced peeled ginger 
• 2 tbsp. ground cumin 
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
• About 1/2 cup water
• Dumpling wrappers

For chutney:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp hot-red-chili-flakes
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 1 large tomato diced
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Step 1: Combine chicken, vegetables, and spices in a large bowl.

Step 2: After mixing the chicken, slowly add water until the chicken, vegetables, and spices are fully incorporated.

Step 3: Add chicken to dumpling wrappers and and smear cold water on the edges so that the dumpling will close. You can see the technique in my last blog post.

Step 4: Add momo to bamboo steamer place over a pot of boiling water. Allow the momo to steam for 12 minutes and voila, its done.

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Step 5: The chutney is pretty simple, but really compliments the flavor of the momo. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add oil, then onion, garlic, chili powder, chili flakes and turmeric. Cook this for about 3-5 minutes.

Step 6: Next, add the tomato, water and soy sauce. Quickly bring the mixture to a boil before reducing to cook on a medium low-heat for about 15 minutes (until the tomato is soft). Stir in vinegar and pepper and cook for another minute or two.

Step 7: After allowing the sauce to cool down, purée the mixture and you’re done. In addition, the great thing about this sauce is that it tastes good both warm and cold.