Name: Chicken Momos
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 1 h 6 min
Yield: 30
Cuisine: Indian
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; 300g (11oz) lean ground chicken; 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2.5cm (1 inch) piece of ginger, finely chopped; 3 spring onions, finely chopped; ½ onion, finely chopped; 1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, thinly sliced and chopped; 3 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped; 2 green finger chillies, finely chopped; 1 tsp ground cumin; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; Salt and pepper to taste

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Chicken momos make the perfect starter course and can even be served as a main.

These delicious chicken momos are one of the most popular recipes from my cookbook ‘The Curry Guy Light’. Actually, the recipe in that book is different but both recipes work spectacularly well. You can expect restaurant quality results though your first few attempts may not be as pretty. Making momos takes a bit of practice but it’s delicious practice which is good.

You are going to love this recipe! Be sure to try it soon!

What are chicken momos?

These are bite sized snacks from Nepal and Tebet but they have made their way around the globe and are now popular everywhere. I like to think of chicken momos like chicken samosas but so much lighter.

The chicken momo wraps are similar to those used in samosas but chicken momos are steamed and much less calorific. Would you like to try another filling? Go for it! Make up your own or try my beef momos or vegetable momos. All momos can be used to make the now famous Indian fusion dish tandoori momos.

Working ahead

With this chicken momos recipe you can prepare the momo filling a good couple of days ahead of cooking. If you want, you can also prepare the chicken momos a couple of days before steaming.

To do so, lightly dust a plate with flour and place the finished momos on top. Then cover tightly with clingfilm and store in the fridge until ready to steam. This could make things a lot easier if you are serving a group of friends or family.

Can momos be frozen?

Yes, but I recommend preparing the chicken momos and then freezing them before steaming.

Then take them out of the freezer and allow the momos to defrost completely. Steam for 12 minutes and they are ready!

How light are these momos?

Well, as with pretty much everything, you don’t want to go eating 30 of them in one sitting!

These are meant to be enjoyed as a light snack. Enjoy a few and you will still be eating quite light.

What do you serve chicken momos with?

This chicken momos recipe can be served simply with soy sauce and you won’t be disappointed! The tomato and sesame chutney you see in the photo above is one of my favourites. You will find the recipe for that in ‘The Curry Guy Light’ cookbook.

Step by step photographs

Get all your ingredients together. I used some prepared dough but have shown how the dough was prepared in the photos below.

Preparing the chicken stuffing for the momos.

Mix the chicken with all the other filling ingredients. I do this by hand and really knead all the ingredient to combine. Set aside while you prepare the dough.

How do you make the momo dough?

In the following photos, you’ll see how to prepare the dough. To make things easier on yourself, you could use shop bought momo or Chinese dumpling wrappers.

Mixing the flours and water to make the dough for the wrappers.

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.

How should you slice the dough pieces for the wrappers?

Beef 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.

Weighing the dough pieces to make equal sized momos.

You can but do not have to weigh out the dough pieces.

Rolling out the dough to form wrappers for the momos. There is a ruler showing that the momo round is 9cm in diameter.

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.

The meat mixture on top of a momo wrapper

Place a good tablespoon of the chicken on top of a wrapper.

Fold the circular momo wrapper in half around the meat. Then pinch one side closed and pleat the dough to seal, forming a small moon shape.

The finished chicken momos ready for steaming

Place the finished momos on a plate, covered until ready to steam.

Place the momos in a steamer over hot water and cover. Steam for about 6 minutes. You will need to do this in batches as the momos should not be touching when steaming..

Enjoy with your sauces of choice. Soy sauce, sriracha and other hot sauces are all good.

Have you tried this chicken momo recipe?

If yes, please give the recipe a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too.

Yield: Makes 30

Chicken Momos

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 6 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 6 minutes

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
300g (11oz) lean ground chicken
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2.5cm (1 inch) piece of ginger, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, thinly sliced and chopped
3 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 green finger chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
2 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 be soft but not sticky. If it is, add a bit more flour.
Cover the dough and place, covered in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes or overnight. A minimum of one hour sitting time will be best.
In a mixing bowl, mix the chicken with all the other filling ingredients together until well combined.
When ready to make your beef 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 small balls covered while you work to avoid drying. Take one of the balls and flatten it some with your fingers 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 chicken mixture onto the wrapper and dampen around sides of the circle with water using your finger 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.
Cover and repeat with the rest of the dough. You may have some of the beef mixture left over but I'm sure you can find a use for it. Throw it into a pasta sauce for example.
Place the beef 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 calorie and carb count is per momo.