Spinach and Cabbage Momos
My nephew, who keeps very strange hours thereby often foregoing regularly scheduled meals, was hungry. It was 5PM in the evening, too late for lunch, too early for dinner and we were in one of the major foodie capitals of the world – New Delhi. Delhites – as denizens of this metropolis are called, love to eat. This love of food is very visible to any visitor to the Indian capital: a plethora of eating establishments from posh restaurants to roadside vendors, and rabbles of rotund residents devouring their fare.
Among the many delectable offerings was a roadside vendor selling Momos. Momos are steamed dumplings not unlike Dim Sum. Extremely popular, they came to India with the Tibetan immigrants escaping Chinese occupation. I am not sure if they were originally made the way they are eaten now, but in their current incarnation they are spicy and eaten with an even spicier chili sauce – almost like an Indonesian Sambal. I hadn’t eaten Momos in many years and my love for them was reignited. So the next logical thing to do when I got back to the US was to, of course, try and make them.
They turned out to be extremely easy to make. Since I was winging it, the recipe is very approximate. Please be creative and play around with the stuffing. They would make an excellent appetizer for a party since you literally can knock them out in bulk without too much pain. Since we are in the holiday season, do give these a try. I am sure you will enjoy them.
INGREDIENTS (for about 20 Momos)
20 Wonton wrappers
1/4 cabbage – thinly shredded
An equal amount of fresh spinach – shredded
1/2 inch ginger – minced
2 garlic cloves – minced
Chinese 5 spice powder
Salt
Pepper
STEPS
1. Mix the cabbage, spinach, ginger, garlic, a little 5 spice powder.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Scoop about a couple of Tbsp of the mixture to the middle of the Wonton wrapper and wetting the edges of the wrapper, seal it into a pouch.
4. Place in a greased steamer basket.
5. Steam for 10 minutes and you are done.
6. Enjoy with Sambal or the evergreen Rooster Sauce.
Have you tried the “ripper” Momos?? Chillies(3/4 kinds) , onions, bell peppers……. YUM!
Will have to try these. Thanks for the tip.
Brought back memories of having momos in sikkim some years back…..
Glad you enjoyed the post.
Where do I go for “Wonton wrappers ?”
They are readily available in the US in grocery stores (esp Chinese grocery stores). However, you can try making them at home. Here is one recipe I found. Haven’t tried it so can’t vouch for it. http://kitchensimplicity.com/wonton-wrappers/