What better way to end 2014 than with Chicken Momos. I woke up today with absolutely no plans but to attend classes as usual, but then a friend called to make plans for lunch and she loves momos.
After a large mug of strong coffee I was up and about on my way to buy some freshly minced chicken from my butcher. We usually make beef momos at home but because Delhi has banned the slaughter of cows, beef is impossible to source.
I decided to make everything from scratch to be as authentic as possible. I admit this recipe is a bit different from the usual filling you may find on youtube because most of them are made using chinese recipes for dumplings, but I promise you once you try this, there is no going back!! Most people are of the impression that chicken momos are dry and the filling is usually lumpy but worry not, this filling is going to solve your problem.
There are 3 elements to this dish:
- the momo/dumpling
- the soup
- the chutney
I am making this for 2 people so increase the portions by your own calculations.
The momo itself has 2 parts to it; the filling and the wrapper.
For the filling you need:
- 250 grams of minced chicken (use the thigh meat not breast meat as dark meat is juicier and won't dry out like breast meat)
- 4 medium sized red onions (chopped finely)
- half cup of olive oil/vegetable oil
- one tablespoon of mustard oil
- some ginger
- salt for seasoning.
For the wrapper you need: (you may use the gyoza/wonton wrappers available at the supermarket)
- one cup of refined wheat flour/all purpose flour (maida)
- one egg. (usually we don't add eggs but because the momos are going to be served in soup, I decided to enhance the flavor of the wrapper using eggs)
- a pinch of salt
- maybe some water (adjust as u knead)
After your filling is ready and kept aside, prepare the dough. To one cup of flour add a pinch of salt and crack an egg. Knead it for about 10 to 15 minutes till the dough is firm and does not stick to your hands.
Portion them into small pieces as shown below, I got exactly 30 pellets. Using a rolling pin, roll them out into thin circles and remember to dust some flour as you stack them up. I was pretty impressed with how thin I rolled mine out... they looked better than the ready made wonton wrappers available at the super market!!
Once they are ready, add salt to your filling and mix well... we are now ready to form the dumplings.
I usually just 'pinch and fold' to form them but u can give them any shape. (This blogpost was mostly about the simple yet tasty filling that people don't usually get right because too may recipes out there use too many ingredients.)
This link may be useful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvR-g2QRMfo (if the little girl in the video can do it so can you!!!)
The soup
- 500 grams of chicken backbone for making chicken stock.
- coriander leaves or some green onion leaves (depending on what you prefer)
- ginger.
- salt
- 3 cups of water.
Put all ingredients in a pressure cooker and keep it for 15 minutes on low flame after the first whistle. Strain and keep aside.
The chutney
you can either follow the recipe on the link or follow this
- 2 medium sized tomatoes
- 3 pieces of dalle khorsani or cherry peppers (famous in Sikkim and Darjeeling for it's aroma and measures roughly around 500 scoville heat units according to the internet.)
- few cloves of garlic
- salt.
Boil the tomatoes and peppers in a cup of water, strain them, add the garlic and salt and make a paste using a blender....easy as that!!
Serve the momo soup hot with chutney.
Enjoy this with you family or friends. Goodluck in the kitchen and remember to cook from your heart.
