Vegetable momos make a great starter course or snack.
I absolutely love momos. No matter what filling you choose, they are always delicious and these vegetable momos are the perfect way to start almost any curry feast.
Making the wrappers is the most time consuming part of it all but you could use shop bought momo or Chinese dumpling wrappers to save yourself some time. You might like to try my wrapper recipe for these vegetable momos though as I find it quite relaxing to prepare them.
You might like to serve these with a selection of other popular starters or snacks like samosas or samosa chaat, chicken shami kebabs, poppadoms and of course fried, baked or air-fried onion bhajis along with some delicious chutneys and my new Chinese crispy chili oil.
What are vegetable momos?
Vegetable momos are a popular and delicious Tibetan dish that are now hugely popular in various parts of Asia, especially in India.
Momos are dumplings made with a thin dough, typically filled with a mixture of finely chopped vegetables. You can really choose which vegetables you use for the filling but the selection in the recipe card below works really well.
Is it easy to prepare momos?
Yes. The most time consuming part is making the wrappers. You might like to give this a try but you can also purchase momo wrappers or Chinese dumpling wrappers for you vegetable momos.
Doing so, you will cut the preparation time and work down by about an hour.
Can you work ahead?
Yes. You can prepare the dough one or two days ahead of rolling them into wrappers. Just keep the dough, tightly covered in the fridge until needed.
You can also fry up the veggie filling and keep that in the fridge too.
What are the typical filling ingredients for vegetable momos?
The most common filling ingredients are cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic, ginger and spring onions (scallions). You can add the veggies of your choice though.
Chopped mushrooms, radish, green beans, bell peppers and different types of chilies depending on your spicy heat preference.
How long can you keep the momos in the fridge?
When you make the momos, you can store them in the fridge, tightly covered for a couple of days.
I don’t recommend steaming them and then storing in the fridge unless you plan on making tandoori momos. Even if you are making tandoori momos, it is best practice to steam them right before placing in the oven.
The reason for this is that once you steam the vegetable momos, they have a limited shelf life. The dough will wrapper will become hard and no where near as nice as if you steam and serve immediately.
Can you freeze momos?
Yes. Just like you can freeze raviolis, vegetable momos freeze really well. You can store them in an air-tight container, before steaming for up to 6 months.
How do you serve momos?
This is finger food! You can serve your vegetable momos simply with a good hot sauce, chili oil or a selection of chutneys. If it sounds good, it will be.
Momos are best served just after you steam them. Don’t prepare them earlier in the day and attempt to keep them warm. They just won’t be as good as the wrappers will become hard.
I know this from an unfortunate experience when I made them for a large group and they were a bit of a letdown.
Step by step photographs
Get all of your ingredients prepared before you start cooking. It’s a lot easier that way. I prepared the dough beforehand and their are instructions on making it below.
Pour the flours and water into a large mixing bowl.
Begin kneading and forming into a dough. It will be quite dry at first but will eventually form into a nice, soft dough.
Take the dough out of the bowl and continue kneading for about 10 minutes until you have a soft, not sticky dough. Allow to rest, cover with a damp cloth for about an hour.
Now prepare the filling. In a wok or pan, fry the garlic, ginger and spring onions (scallions) for a minute or so over medium-high heat.
Pour in the other veggies and ground cumin and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously to soften some.
Stir in the soy sauce and continue cooking. You can add more soy sauce to taste but start with one tablespoon.
Continue frying for another couple of minutes or until the carrots are just cooked through but still have a bit of bite to them. Take off the heat and allow to cool.
Roll the dough into a long tube shape that is about 2.5cm (1 inch) in diameter. And then slice into small pieces.
How should you slice the dough pieces for the wrappers?
Vegetable momos can be made large (3 bites) or small (1 to 2 bites). I usually go for the two bite option.
If you have a kitchen scale and want all your momos to be the same size, slice the dough into 13 – 14g pieces. You don’t have to weigh it though. This can all be done by eye but I weigh them sometimes for perfection.
You can but do not have to weigh out the dough pieces.
Flatten and then roll out each piece of dough into a round shape that is approximately 2mm thick and 9cm in diameter. This is for 13 to 14g pieces.
Place a teaspoon or so of the vegetable filling on a wrapper.
Wet the outside of the wrapper with a little water. Then fold the wrapper in half and pinch one end closed.
Begin sealing the wrapper by making small pleats as shown.
Continue pleating and sealing so that there is no way that filling is going to come out.
Place the finished momos on a cornflour (corn starch) dusted plate.
Steam the momos for about 5 to 6 minutes. You might need to do this in batches. Try to ensure none of the momos are touching during steaming.
After 5 to 6 minutes you will have momos! Ready for dipping!
Have you tried this recipe for vegetable momos?
If you liked it, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback as do other readers of my blog. Thank you.
Vegetable Momos
Vegetable momos are the perfect way to start off a meal. The soft steamed dough wrapper together with the delicious and simple veggie filling is to die for! You can make these momos very quickly if you used shop bought momo wrappers but I like to make my own which adds about an hour to the prep time.
Ingredients
- FOR THE WRAPPERS (Or just use shop bought momo or Chinese dumpling wrappers)
- 225g (8 oz) plain flour, sifted
- 75g (2.6 oz) cornflour (corn starch), sifted
- Water – about 170ml
- A pinch of salt
- FOR THE FILLING
- 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil or another neutral vegetable oil
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2.5cm (1 inch) piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 stick celery, finely diced
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 2 green finger chillies, finely chopped
- 100g (4 oz) cabbage, shredded
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 - 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by making your momo dough, if making. Sift the flours and salt into a large bowl.
- Slowly add the water while mixing until you have a firm but soft dough. If the dough is too wet, add more flour. Too dry, add a little more water. The dough should not be sticky. If it is, add a bit more flour.
- Cover the dough and place in the refrigerator while you make the filling. A minimum of one hour sitting time will be best.
- Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over a medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic, ginger and spring onions (scallions) and fry for about 30 seconds.
- Pour in all the other veggies and coriander (cilantro) and continue frying for a couple of minutes to soften some.
- Now add the ground cumin and soy sauce. I use about 3 tablespoons but one tablespoon will do if you don't want a salty flavour.
- Continue frying until the carrots are cooked through. This should only take 5 minutes at the most. Take off the heat and allow to cool some.
- When ready to make your momos, roll the dough into a long snake shape that is about 2.5cm (1 inch in diameter. Divide this dough into smaller pieces. For reference, I divide mine into 13 to 14g balls so that each of the momos are about the same size. You could just do this by eye though as shown in the photos above.
- Keep the baby balls covered while you work to avoid drying. Take one of the balls and flatten it some and then roll out into a circle shape that is about 2mm thick and 9cm in diameter. This is assuming you are using 13 - 14g pieces so the size of your momo wrappers may differ.
- Place a spoonful of the vegetable mixture onto the wrapper and fold it over into a half circle and the pinch one of the ends together.
- Now press the rest of the half circle together while pressing with your thumb to make a moon shape and sealing by pleating the seam. This process is demonstrated in the photos above.
- Cover and repeat with the rest of the dough. You may have some of the vegetable mixture left over but I'm sure you can find a use for it.
- Place the momos in your steamer and steam for 5 to 6 minutes. The dough will become soft. You may need to do this in batches as it is important that the momos not touch each other while steaming or they will stick together.
- Eat immediately with soy sauce and/or chilli sauce.
Notes
The preparation time is based on making this momo recipe with shop bought momo wrappers. Please add about an hour to the prep time if you make your own wrappers.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 141Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 631mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g