Momos/dimsum

Chicken momos/dim sum with hot chilly sauce

Momos are basically the unofficial national dish of Tibet,it is also knows as dim sum or dumplings in different parts of Asia . Every family has a slightly different momo recipe, with various theories on how to make them the most juicy and delicious, or how to keep the dough skins to the desired delicate thinness.The variations are endless momos can be meat, vegetarian, steamed (the most popular), fried, and cooked in soup. 

                    Momos are undoubtedly an innovative low calorie snack! flour wrappers are filled with a healthy filling of chicken and mixed veggies like carrot,cabbage,capsicum (red and green) and spring onions and steamed to make an appetizing snack.In this recipe i have used only 2tsp of oil just to glaze the momos. In this momos i have used chicken breast mince ,which is a great source of protein. One 6 oz. serving of chicken contains 48 g of protein.It is also rich in potassium, calcium and contains no carbohydrates. The nutritional make-up of chicken makes it a healthy, filling food option. By eating healthy cuts of chicken, you'll consume only a small amount of calories and your stomach will stay full for hours. This decreases your likelihood of snacking on unhealthy foods later in the day .Along with chicken i have used 3 "C" carrot,cabbage and capsicum. 

In short Momos are bundle of vitamin C, a range of B vitamins ,beta carotene and rich source of protein.

Prep time: 60 mins
Cook time: 10-15 mins

Yield: 25
Cooking Directions
For the Dough:

• 3 cups Maida/all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup water for kneading

• Mix the flour and water very well by hand and keep adding water until you make a pretty smooth ball of dough.
• Then knead the dough very well until the dough is flexible.
• Now leave your do
  ugh in the pot with the lid on while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.You should not let the dough dry out, or it will be hard to work with.

For themomo filling:

• 2 Onions
• 2 inch Ginger
• 7 - 8 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 bunch of coriander
• 1 cup cabbage chopped finely
• 500 Grams Chicken breast
• 1 each Red and Green capsicum
• 1 carrot
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
•  Salt to taste

1. Chop all the following ingredients into very, very small pieces:
2. mince the chicken and then put all of the ingredients in a pot or big bowl,and then add two tablespoons of soy sauce.
3. Mix everything together very well.
4. Then use your food processor to blend all the ingredients ,now our filling is ready.

Shaping the Momos

1. When your dough and filling are both ready, it is time for the tricky part of making the dumpling shapes.For this, place the dough on a chopping board and use a rolling pin to roll it out quite thinly.small ball of dough and rolling each ball in your palms until you have a smooth ball of dough.
2. Then, you can use a rolling pin to flatten out the dough into a circle, making the edges more thin than the middle. Now that you have a small, flat, circular piece of dough, you are ready to add the filling and make the momo shapes.
3. The half-moon momo is very pretty.
4. For this style, you begin the same as with the round momo style, holding the flat circular dough in your left hand and putting a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the dough.
5. Then you have to fold your circle of dough in half, covering over the filling.
6. Now press together the two edges of the half circle so that there is no open edge in your half circle, and the filling is completely enclosed in the dough.
7. You will now have the basic half-moon shape, and you can make your momo pretty by pinching and folding along the curved edge of the half circle.
8. Start at one tip of the half-moon, and fold over a very small piece of dough, pinching it down.
9. Continue folding and pinching from the starting point, moving along the edge until you reach the other tip of the half-moon.
10. You can experiment with different folds and pinches to find the way that is easiest and nicest for you.
11. I have prepared 3 different shapes half moon,boat shape and round shape which i have used in my soup
12. You can lay the momos in the lightly-greased steamer and keep the lid on them, or you can lay them on wax paper and cover them with the damp cloth.

Final step...steaming

1. Finally, you should boil water in a large steamer.
2. Oil the steamer surface lightly before putting the momos in, so they won�t stick to the metal, then place as many as you can without touching each other.
3. Add the momos after the water is already boiling.
4. Steam the momos for about 10 minutes, then serve them hot, with hot sauce to dip them in.

Hot Chilly sauce:

1. 10-red hot chillies soaked in vinegar for 2days (1/2 cup vinegar)
2. 10 - garlic cloves( crushed)
3. 1tbsp-tomato puree
4. 1-shallot
5. 1tsp - Worcestershire sauce
6. salt and sugar or to taste

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients into one pot,simmered gently for 10-15 mins then whirled into a puree in a blender.
2. your sweet, fresh, acidic and tangy garlic-chilly sauce is ready to relish!

Variations:

• Vegetarians can try this with soya granules or paneer /cottage cheese or tofu as a chicken substitute in your favorite dimsum recipe.