CHICKEN MOMO HOMEMADE- QUICK AND EASY

                      CHICKEN MOMOS

Are you looking for a plate full of steaming momos with super spicy chilli chutney. Then my friend you have come to the right place. Nothing tastes better then a plate of homemade momos on a cold wintery day, the delicious heart-warming chicken filling with a bowl of chicken soup. What better can you ask for? A popular dish among every age group, undoubtedly the best healthy snack that you can make at home easily.  

ORIGIN OF MOMOS

The word momo in Chinese means 'steamed bread'. Originally this mouthwatering snack came from Tibet, paved its way into India and this dish is quite similar to the chinese dumplings. These are traditionally cooked by steaming but nowadays you can find it done many ways like deep fried, pan fried, tandoori etc, even in dessert form like chocolate momos. But still steamed momo have always remained the closest to my heart.

Watch this video to see how it is done-

So here is the best recipe that I tried many times to make it perfect or almost perfect. This momo recipe taste best with the Chili Garlic Chutney. Checkout my Chili Garlic Chutney here. Momos are also a traditional dish among the Nepali cuisine. They are quite similar to Indian momos as well.

I fondly remember when I first had momos when I was in my first year of college( I know it's a bit late) in Kolkata and the moment I put the first piece of momo in my mouth I could feel that I was in absolute heaven. And suddenly that chilli sauce hit me and I came back to reality. During that time momos were our regular snack when we used to go out, they were delicious, healthy and really cheap which was best for a college going student. So I tried to recreate those memories through my dish. 

What are Momos?

Momos are cute little baskets made with all purpose flour and filled with minced chicken filling mixed with soy sauce, herbs and veggies. They are later steamed and served with chili garlic sauce and soup.

Can we premade the momos and freeze them?

You can absolutely premade them and store it in the freezer. But there are some rules that you need to follow. In order to prevent the momos from sticking together. Place the momos on a tray with a little bit distance from each other and let them freeze for 1 hour. Once they are completely frozen pop them into a zip-lock bag or airtight container and freeze them up to 3 weeks.

Similarly you can make the wrappers earlier and stack them together by placing parchment paper between each of them and store it into an airtight container or zip-lock bag in the refrigerator(not freezer).

Step by step recipe-

Filling

1.Take 400 grams of minced chicken and add 30ml of soy sauce. 

2. Chop half carrot, 2 small onions, half bunch of coriander leaves, 2 sprigs of spring onions and 1inch of chopped ginger. Add these to the minced chicken.

3. Add 1/4 tsp of MSG and 6grams of salt. Now mix well, cover the container and put it into fridge for marination for 3 hours.

Wrappers-

4. Take 300 grams/ 2cups  of all purpose flour, add 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt.

2. Now add 120ml of warm water and knead for 15 minutes until smooth. (Resist your urge to add more water as the dough is supposed to be dry).Cover and rest for 40mins- 60mins.

Soup-

1. Add 1tbsp oil in the wok and add 2 diced onions, 1 roughly chopped carrot. Fry for 2 minutes on high heat.

2. Add salt as per taste, 2tsp of black pepper, spring onions and add 1 litre of water.

3. Cover and cook on high flame for 12 minutes after that remove the bones and vegetables.

4. Add the 1/2 cup cabbage and remaining spring onions, cook on high heat for 2minutes. Remove from the flame and serve hot.

Making the Momos-

1. Divide the dough into 10 grams of portion each. Roll them by the method show in video above.

2. Fill with decent amount of filling and wrap in the way shown in the video. Seal the edges with water.

3. Wrap and make shapes as shown in the video above.

5. Brush the steam plate with oil to prevent momos sticking at the base. Put the momos on the steamer when the steam start to come out. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes and not more than that it will dry out the wrappers.

Ingredients List

Instructions-

Filling:

1. Take 400 grams of minced chicken and add 30 ml of soy sauce.

2. Add  the chopped onions,carrots, coriander leaves, ginger and spring onions.

3. Add 1/4 tsp of MSG.

4.Add 6 grams/ 1 1/2 tsp of salt.

5. Put in a airtight container and let it marinate in the fridge for 3 hours.

Wrappers:

1. Take 300 grams/ 2cups of all purpose flour, add 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1tsp of salt in it. Mix well.

2. Add 120ml/ 1/2 cup of warm water into the flour and knead it.(Resist the urge to add more water as the dough is supposed to be dry).

3. Knead for at least 12-15 minutes for smooth momo wrappers.

4. Cover it with a parchment paper and let it rest for 1 hour.

Soup:

1. In a wok or pan add 2 tbsp oil, add 2 small onions diced and 1 carrot roughly chopped.

2. Fry on high heat for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add 1 litre of water,salt as per taste and 2 tsp of black pepper.

4. Cover and cook for 12 minutes.

5. Add 1/2 cup chopped cabbage and spring onions.

6. Let it boil on high heat for another 2 minutes, now remove from the flame and serve with momos.

Making of Momos:

1.Take the marinated chicken out of the fridge 10 minutes before you start making the wrappers.

2 Divide the dough into 10 grams portions each.

3. Roll it thing around the edges. (Watch the video for clarification)

4. Place a decent amount of filling inside and seal the edges with water.

5. Make momos by the method as shown in the video. 

6. Grease the steamer with oil so that the momos won't stick at bottom.

7. Place the momos on steamer and cook foe 10-12 minutes. (Don't cook more as it will make the momos dry).

8. Serve hot with Chili Garlic Chutney and Soup.