About Veg Momos Recipe
How to make Momos
For ease of understanding, I have divided this post into 4 main parts. Lets begin, shall we?
Make The Dough
- Take 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon oil in a bowl. Mix well with a spoon. 2. Add 2 to 3 tablespoon water in parts and begin to knead to a firm dough. Do not make the dough soft as then it becomes difficult to shape the dumplings. If required you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons more water. 3. Cover the dough with a moist napkin or kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Make Vegetable Stuffing
4. Finely chop the vegetables. You will need 1.5 to 1.75 cups of finely chopped veggies. You can also use a food processor to finely chop vegetables like cabbage, carrots, french beans. Veggies like capsicum (green bell pepper), button mushrooms and spring onions (scallions) can be chopped with a knife. 5. Heat oil in a thick bottomed frying pan or wok. Add ½ teaspoon of finely chopped garlic. Sauté for 2 to 3 seconds on medium-low heat. 6. Add spring onion whites (2 small spring-onions which have been chopped finely). Stir and sauté for 10 to 15 seconds on medium-low heat. 7. Add all the finely chopped vegetables. 8. Increase the flame and stir fry the vegetables on a medium to high heat. If you have not used a thick bottomed pan, then sauté the veggies on a low to medium heat. Sauté or stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add 1 teaspoon soy sauce, ½ teaspoon black pepper and salt as per taste. 9. Continue to stir fry on a medium to high flame for 2 to 3 minutes more. Switch off the heat and add 1 to 2 tbsp of the spring onions greens. Mix well. Check the taste and add more salt, pepper or soy sauce, if needed. 10. The vegetable stuffing is ready. Let the stuffing cool completely.
Portion and Roll Dough
11. Divide the dough in two parts. 12. Make a 7 to 8 inches log from each part. cut the log into equal slices. 13. Shape into a ball of each dough piece and keep them covered with a moist napkin. 14. Take each dough ball and on a lightly dusted board. Roll each dough ball into a thin circle of about 3 to 4 inches diameter. 15. The edges have to be thin and the center has to be thick. 16. Apply water with your finger tip or with a small pastry brush towards the circumference. This is an optional step.
Shaping – First Technique
17. Place 2 to 3 teaspoons of vegetable stuffing in the center. 18. Lift one side of the edge and start pleating. (You can also refer to the video above or in the recipe card below to see how the pleating is done). 19. Begin to pleat the momos. 20. Join all the pleats in the center. 21. A pleated and shaped dim sum.
Shaping – Second Technique
- Another simple technique to shape momos – join the edges
- This is an easy method. The momo is shaped like gujiya or karanji. You can stop here or can proceed to the next step.
- Bring both the end together and join.
- Prepare all momos this way and keep them covered under a moist napkin until you are ready to steam them.
Steam Veg Momos
- Grease a steamer pan with some oil.
- Arrange them in the pan, keeping space between them.
- Steam them in an electric cooker or a steamer pan. You can also use idli pan or pressure cooker to steam. Add 2 cups water in the pot or pan while steaming. (Check recipe notes in the recipe card below.)
- Cover and steam for 5 to 6 minutes till the outer dough becomes transparent. Don’t overcook as then the outer dough, becomes dense and chewy. The steaming time may vary upon the thickness of momos’ cover. When you touch the momo then dough should not feel sticky to you. This means they are done and the momos will have a transparent look.
- Serve veg momos hot with momos chutney or red chilli-garlic chutney, spicy schezwan sauce or tomato sauce. They also go best with a spicy sauce and should be eaten hot.
What to serve with Momos
We love steaming hot veg momos with a spicy sauce. I make these on days when we crave for some southeast asian food.
I have had one of the best dim sum in the Mainland China Restaurant decades back. That time I did not know that dim sum would become a popular street food in the northern parts of India.
Some years back when we lived in Gurgaon, I was amazed to see dim sum as a street food snack in many places.
When living in Goa, there was a restaurant just a few kilometers from our place and specialized only in momos with different kinds of stuffings. The owner’s wife was a Tibetan and she and her staff would prepare the dumplings
The sauce they used to serve with the momos was a spicy, hot sauce and so good. I even had these steamed dumplings with a very spicy sauce in Dharamsala, India.
The veg momos are not spicy but the sauce that is served with these is spicy. I have a really good recipe of a spicy momos sauce which we call as Momos Chutney. You can try this spicy momo sauce when you make these steamed dumplings.
You can even serve these with Schezwan Sauce or sriracha sauce or hoisin sauce or red chilli garlic sauce.
Expert Tips
Dough: The dough has to be firm and tight. Do not add more water and make the dough soft. A softer dough won’t be easy to shape. Stuffing: For the stuffing you could use your favorite veggies. You could also make a stuffing with just button mushrooms or a mix of fresh mushrooms. Another variation would be use some mashed or boiled potatoes and paneer (Indian cottage cheese. Spices, herbs and seasonings: In the stuffing I prefer some umami and so I love adding soy sauce. But you can experiment with different flavors here. Say – Indian ground spices and herbs, Mexican seasoning, Miso or any flavor profile you like. Steaming: While steaming do keep some space between the dumplings. After steaming the momos expand and you don’t want them sticking to each other. The steaming can be done in an Instant Pot, Electric Cooker, Pot or even in a Idli steamer (all options mentioned in the notes section of the recipe card below). Checking for doneness: After the momos are steamed, when you touch the dough it should not feel sticky. The momos will also look transparent. Gluten Free: You can make dim sum gluten-free by using a millet flour or rice flour. Just shaping them can be tricky. Add enough boiling water, ½ teaspoon oil, ¼ teaspoon salt to 1 cup of any millet flour or rice flour. Mix with a spoon. Cover and let dough become warm and then knead to a smooth dough.
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Samosa Recipe | How to make Punjabi Samosa Pani Puri Pav Bhaji Recipe (Video + Step by Step Photos) Sev Puri (Indian Chaat Snack) This Momos recipe from the archives was first published in July 2014. It has been updated and republished on September 2020.
